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Summary: Appearances are not what they look like
Review: Oscar Wilde is a man who is obsessed by appearances. In this particular novel, he follows from the moment Dorian Gray sells his soul to the devil named beauty and youth, pleasure and enjoyment, to his death and he describes how someone who looks perfect, perfectly young, intelligent, brilliant, beautiful, moral and healthy is in fact nothing but a monster decaying in all possible immoral actions, deeds and ways just under the surface. It is a very strong criticism of victorian society that considers appearances as more important than real ethics and morality. He exposes the hypocrisy of such a society where a whole class of people are nothing but perambulating pictures of perfection hiding the mire and mud of crime and evil. We can also feel another dilemma in this book. Oscar Wilde's own dilemma who has to keep up appearances, the appearances of a well behaved, well educated and perfectly integrated man in this aristocratic society of his, and who yet lives a passion and a whole basket of desires and impulses that are absolutely rejected as crimes by victorian society. We know he will not be able to hide this deeper nature forever. But the book shows that no one can evade one's being exposed and rejected, condemned and sentenced to some punishment forever. There always comes a moment when one will be exposed and rejected. This shows how deeply Oscar Wilde must have suffered in his life. The painting is nothing but a mirror of the deeper self of Dorian Gray, but a mirror who will become one day his accuser.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan.
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Summary: The heavy price of eternal youth
Review: _The Picture of Dorian Gray_, a story of morals, psychology and poetic justice, has furnished Oscar Wilde with the status of a great writer. It takes place in 19th-century England, and tells of a man in the bloom of his youth who will remain forever young. Basil Hallward is a merely average painter until he meets Dorian Gray and becomes his friend. But Dorian, who is blessed with an angelic beauty, inspires Hallward to create his ultimate masterpiece. Awed by the perfection of this rendering, he utters the wish to be able to retain the good looks of his youth while the picture were the one to deteriorate with age. But when Dorian discovers the painting cruelly altered and realizes that his wish has been fulfilled, he ponders changing his hedonistic approach. _Dorian Gray_'s sharp social criticism has provoked audible controversy and protest upon the book's 1890 publication, and only years later was it to rise to classic status. Reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, it is popularly interpreted as an analogy to Wilde's own tragic life. Despite this, the book is laced with the right amounts of the author's perpetual jaunty wit.
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Summary: Every picture tells a story
Review: Rod Stewert once sang that "every picture tells a story", and in no case is this more true than of one Dorian Gray. By now everyone knows that young Dorian makes a childish wish that a beautiful portrait of his should age in his stead, and that he should remain forever young and vibrant, and somehow this wish is granted. What follows is a tale of increasing debauchery and depravity that poison a man's soul, while leaving no visible clue upon his face. This is not the most entertaining or gripping novel that you will ever read. Far from it, in fact, but the real merits of the novel come not from the action and plot, but from the extremely clever dialogue and the shredding social commentary. (not surprisingly, this novel took a long time to get published, and was later used as evidence against Wilde during his trial for indecency) Wilde takes several shots at the aristocracy, especially their values, as well as art itself, hedonism, and the very concept of morality. Perhaps the finest aspect of the novel are Wilde's quotes, often through his favorite mouthpiece: Lord Henry Wotton. Henry serves as a goad to Dorian through all of his excesses, and he waxes philosophical upon almost any subject that he can get anyone to listen to. He's wonderful and horrible all at once, and best of all, he doesn't even believe half of what he says. This is definitely a 'classic' novel, and well worth the read. Again, if you're expecting high paced action you'd probably best look elsewhere, but if you're in the mood to think a bit, then chances are you'll enjoy "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
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Summary: Wilde Is the Master of Wit
Review: Oscar Wilde makes for an enjoyable read with his incessant and undeniable penchant for dry and cutting wit. He asks the reader to ponder the unsymbiotic dichotomy of beauty and goodness. Can one possess both while maintaining a clear conscience? As for the irrepressible and intrepidly narcissistic Dorian Gray, "I admit that I think that it is better to be beautiful than to be good." The Picture of Dorian Gray is a short work of literature that I read in one day. However, its brevity is due to Wilde's publisher purposefully omitting material at the time that was deemed vile and unprintable. This causes some holes in the story - references made to the many sins Dorian committed along the way to others were left unanswered upon finishing the book. More than a little frustrating. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised with the Gothic, sordid, and dark themes that Wilde so aptly transcribes. Wilde amuses us with the copious amounts of witty quotable lines from Lord Henry such as, "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
I found myself writing down clever witticisms constantly as I read the book. A good read if for nothing else than the unsurpassed wit of Oscar Wilde.
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Summary: Interesting concepts
Review: Oscar Wilde's strange and intriguing mind is apparent in this book, which is full of interesting concepts and bizarre happenings. Dorian Gray, a young man who is obsessed with his own good looks, befriends an English Lord and a struggling painter. After Basil, the painter, finishes Dorian's portrait, they are stunned by its magnificence and how lifelike it appears. Seeing this, Dorian is angered when he realizes that the portrait will live forever and retain its beauty while he himself is left to age. Dorian decides to trade his soul for everlasting youth, and to always retain his beauty, just like the portrait. Since Dorian believes himself to be immortal, he dabbles into various sinful acts. He carelessly pursues a relationship with Sibyl Vane, an actress, constantly letting her down and breaking her heart. Dorian is involved in several mysterious deaths, and he even explores the London underground opium scene. Even though Dorian does all of these things, somehow he remains young, to the surprise of his peers. In the end, however, Dorian receives the punishment he deserves through a series of bizarre events. The "what goes around comes around" theme is strongly emphasized in the conclusion of the novel, which serves as a fitting end for Dorian's struggle with sin. This classic literary work is frequently exciting, but can sometimes delve into the monotony of 19th century British affairs (which may be a little tedious.) All in all, the novel is a wonderful concept which is given life by the genius of Oscar Wilde. It is a perfect research topic as well because it contains many themes which can be applied to anything from English rhetoric to the Original Sin. I myself wrote a term paper on the book and it was very easy to express my ideas because Wilde is so straight forward in his literary agendas. So, whether you pick it for required reading or just for pleasure, The Picture of Dorian Gray is definitely a good choice.
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Summary: Mark from Holy Angels
Review: I thought the picture of Dorian Gray was ok. There were some parts that I was confused with and some parts I did not like. It is about a man named Dorian Gray who asks for his portrait to be done. His friend Basil Hallward does his portrait. When he recieves it he wishes he could always be beautiful. He is this really handsome guy. So he gave away his soul in order to have eternal youth,so no matter what happened nothing would happen to him and the portrait would grow old instead. Later he goes insane and kills... In between these confusing times he still has a normal life at the same time. He is engaged to a girl but she commits suicide. He has this good friend named Lord Henry. Lord Henry helps teach him how to have emotions and he teaches him about life. Sometimes it is really confusing advice. He even throws parties. Then Dorian's engaged person's brother is seeking revenge and tries to kill him but is accidentely shot; but how? Then he is tired of having eternal youth so he... You will have to find out what hapens to him.
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Summary: All art is quite useless
Review: Art for art's sake? Oscar Wilde's "Dorian Gray" is about youth, corruption, and esthetics. Reflective of Wilde's own life and revolt against Victorian era sentimentality, young Dorian Gray slowly changes after his philosophical discussions with the cynical Lord Henry Wotton, whose cold criticisms and harsh wit are often humorous in an addictively jaded kind of way, and tempting to arm oneself with; however, read on and observe Wilde's destruction of Lord Henry's young protoget. The immediate power of Basil Hallward's portrait of Dorian retains a demonic hold on its confused subject, taunting and torturing his vanity with its strangely metamorphizing characteristics. Who's changing, and what exactly is changing? Wilde creates an unforgettable "portrait" here of one man's (or is it the whole of Victorian society?) demise. Many critics of Wilde have seen him and "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" as pure evil and criticized the undertones of homosexuality, and linked it with a lifestyle of debauchery and degradation. Wilde was thrown in jail for his "unlawful activities". To them I must concur with Wilde, that "Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault."
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Summary: Picture of a Soul
Review: This story about a man whose wish for eternal youth comes true through a portrait of himself delves into numerous philosophical nether regions. Set in upscale 19th century London, The Picture of Dorian Gray deals with such topics as truth, death, and most especially beauty. Dorian Gray's portrait ages while he remains his youthful self. Gray uses this to his advantage (let's be honest, who wouldn't?). Gray breaks hearts, corrupts others, and avails himself of numerous vices...most notably opium. Gray also takes advantage of his youth by learning new things...music and gemology come to mind. But Gray's self-enhancement does not make up for the copious sins he commits, both large and small...and even though his face does not bely his crimes, the portrait's face does. Wilde's play on eternal youth was almost certainly novel for the time. These days the concept has been played out time again. But I do not begrudge Wilde for this...in his time, he was an innovator. Four major things irked me about this book: First, the prose is overly flowery. I don't read many books written in the 19th century...maybe most of the books were written like this. Second, Wilde seems to use this book as a platform to give us his take on philosophical issues large and small. True, most good works of fiction are a reflection of the society in which the author lives, but Wilde is NOT subtle about giving us numerous opinions on art, love, life, beauty, etc. I think he could have been a bit more subtle doing this. Third most of characters seemed overly naive. Granted, this story is supposed to be set in a time and place where the rich did not concern themselves with trivial matters. Nonetheless...so much was going on under the characters' noses! Even, Henry Wotton -- Gray's longtime friend -- seems to come down with a bout of extreme naivete toward the end of the book. Somehow, this made the characters seem shallower than they otherwise might have been. And my final gripe kind of ties in with the characters' overall naivete. From the time that Dorian Gray is granted eternal youth by whatever powers that be, to the end of the book, nearly two decades elapse. There is only one, very minor, mention of Gray's youthful looks toward the end of the book. Didn't anyone notice that this guy has, supposedly, aged nearly twenty years and yet still appears as youthful as ever? Come on, even these days with plastic surgery and $100+ cosmetic cream, a 40 year old doesn't look half his age. Why did only Gray's closest friend only offhandedly mention this toward the end of the book? Surely someone else must have noticed? Wilde's concept had a lot of potential, and it certainly does make one ponder life's intangible mysteries, but Wilde spent to much time proselytizing his 19th century philosophy for this book to really stand out. This book is only recommended to those who enjoy Wilde's other works.
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Summary: Dorian Gray
Review: Wilde's Dorian Gray is such a powerful book because it explores the path of one man's sins and their effect on his life and the lives of those around him. Wilde uses Dorian as an example to demonstrate the struggles of humanity coping with its flaws. Wilde's plot is simple enough. Dorian was a man who had everything going for him. He was young, beautiful, wealthy, and unspoiled. Then he met Lord Henry, whose bizzare philosophies that he himself didn't even take seriously had a great impact on the impressionable Dorian. Lord Henry had convinced Dorian that once his youth had passed, he would have nothing enjoyable left in life, which caused Dorian pray aloud that a portrait he had of himself would take on his own physical burdens. As Dorian becomes more and more corrupted by Lord Henry and commits more sins, he notices that the painting (which represents his conscience) is becoming more and more wretched. He occasionally feels remorse and tries to change, but his plans always fail when Lord Henry draws him back under the shadow of his influence. The discouraged Dorian finally resolves to start his life anew by destroying the painting, the only record he has of his sins. When he stabs the picture, however, he kills himself.
This is a powerful story that portrays the important lesson that sins are inescapable and everybody's actions catch up to them. This isn't a hard concept, but Wilde's writing is very challenging. He uses very poignant expressions constantly throughout the book that can get the reader off track because they tend to cause him to attempt to frequently stop and process what has just been said. I think that this was a great book, but it wouldn't be good to require it at Mercy High because it takes so long to get through.
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Summary: Beauty, sin, and vanity - oh my!
Review: With today's slippery morals and exhausting vanity, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an eerie comparison to "then" and now. There are many interesting scenes in the book that make this book very exciting. It is about a man who, upon receiving a portrait of himself, is so upset that it will "mock" him with it's permanent beauty, while he will age and decay. He makes a wish that he will remain young and beautiful and the picture will age and take his sins for him. In the end, though he is beautiful on the outside, he is horrendous on the outside.
Definitely a good read for high school students. It's interesting and short, and not as cumbersome as other Romantic novels can be. You can relate it to today's times and it is not a hard read. I did not want to read ANY Romantic novels but I am very happy that I chose this one! And you will be, too!
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