Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray. Introduction Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray Author: Oscar Wilde Publisher: Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine Year: 1890 Type of book: Tragedy II. Summary of the Plot A. Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hayward become good friends with Dorian Gray, the young model that Basil uses for his paintings.
They grow greatly fascinated by the boy and take a great liking in him. Basil is finishing a picture of Adonis using Dorian as the model. Upon completion, Dorian is fascinated by it, for it is a strikingly real representation of himself. He sadly laments that the picture will always show a young, beautiful face while he will grow old and wrinkled. He says that he would give anything in the world if it could be the picture that grows older and he remain young. He says that he would give his soul for such an arrangement.
Little does he know that he has sold his soul to the devil. III. Section of Central Focus The Picture of Dorian Gray is set in late Victorian England. The characters are mostly of the upper classes, and can be compared with the more wealthy characters in the novels of Charles Dickens. They are very arrogant and have many unkind things to say about those ‘below’ them.
This was also a time when other cultures were not accepted into that of Victorian England. The book describes the theatre-owner as an ‘abominable Jew.’ The rich ‘epicures’ of the time were truly idle, often showing lavish displays of wealth, such as expensive products imported from afar. The Picture of Dorian Gray resembles a play set in London during the 1800 s. Although this was Wilde’s only novel, many of his plays had a similar setting and general atmosphere. IV. Evaluation I enjoyed this book because it was a rather dark and cautionary tale about ” making horrible wishes that one just might get.’ I would recommend this to those Search For: Free Essays – Free Term Papers – Free Book Reports.
The Essay on The Picture of Dorian Gray 3
I believe a great deal of thought went into the writing of this book. It is very detailed and in addition, it is very hard to sustain an allegory throughout. The Picture of Dorian Gray has many thought provoking phrases and paragraphs. There are many different literary techniques used such as foreshadowing in the first two chapters in very subtle undertones. Also used was a great amount of ...
