What is the main conflict in Dorian Gray?

What is the main conflict in Dorian Gray?

Major conflict Dorian Gray, having promised his soul in order to live a life of perpetual youth, must try to reconcile himself to the bodily decay and dissipation that are recorded in his portrait.

What is Dorians tragic flaw?

The three aspects that make up Dorian Gray’s tragic flaw are his desperation for perfection, the need to maintain a high social status, and his desire to preserve youth and beauty.

What was Dorian Gray afraid of?

Wilde also shows the reader the tension that Dorian feels about keeping his pact a secret. Dorian becomes gripped with raging fear when he hears that Basil wants to see the painting and to show it to others — he is so afraid that he actually breaks into a sweat.

What does the mirror symbolize in Dorian Gray?

Dorian himself looks into a mirror, Lord Henry’s gift and the symbol of his influence. Carved with little love-gods, it is designed to make Dorian fall in love with himself.

How does Dorian Gray change throughout the novel?

Dorian Gray is innocent in the sense that he is still unaware of good and evil knowledge. His meeting with Lord Henry brought him to realize that he can use his good looks to influence and charm people. Hence, he changes to a different person as seen in his attitude of showing-off and selfishness.

What caused Dorians downfall?

Overwhelmed by the endless compliments from Lord Henry regarding his portrait painted by Basil, Dorian eventually completely shifts personalities and becomes extremely self-absorbed, which eventually leads to his demise.

What does Dorian think is sad about life?

Dorian fears that James Vane has come to kill him as revenge for his sister’s suicide. However, he does not care much about the value of his own life in the moment, and it seems he never has. Even when finally faced with his own mortality, Dorian does not feel the need to make his life worthwhile.

What does the painting in Dorian Gray represent?

By Oscar Wilde Basically, the picture represents Dorian’s inner self, which becomes uglier with each passing hour and with every crime he commits. It is the image of Dorian’s true nature and, as his soul becomes increasingly corrupt, its evil shows up on the surface of the canvas.

What does Dorian think the painting represents?

The portrait is the main symbol at work here. It’s a kind of living allegory, a visible interpretation of Dorian’s soul. Basically, the picture represents Dorian’s inner self, which becomes uglier with each passing hour and with every crime he commits.

What do the flowers mean in The Picture of Dorian Gray?

Here, Gray is compared to two flowers, the rose and the narcissus. The rose symbolizes love, although in this sentence it implies Gray is more of a body of love because Wotton is describing physical attributes. However, announcing him as a narcissus describes and foreshadows Dorian Gray’s character.

What are the symbols in Dorian Gray?

Symbols

• The Opium Dens. The opium dens, located in a remote and derelict section of London, represent the sordid state of Dorian’s mind.
• James Vane. James Vane is less a believable character than an embodiment of Dorian’s tortured conscience.
• The Yellow Book. Lord Henry gives Dorian a copy of the yellow book as a gift.

Why does Dorian destroy the painting?

The portrait reflects this hypocrisy and drives him to his final, desperate act. He decides it is better to destroy the last evidence of his sin—the painting of his soul—than face up to his own depravity. The depravity he seeks to destroy is, in essence, himself; therefore, by killing it, he kills himself.

How did Dorian corrupt himself?

When the servants go to investigate a noise from Dorian’s room, the see the portrait of Dorian: young and beautiful, and an old, disfigured Dorian Gray laying on the floor with a knife buried in his chest. Dorian wished to destroy the immorality that corrupted his soul, which destroyed himself.

What sins does Dorian commit?

Throughout the story, Dorian commits many sins, for example, using his influence to ruin others’ lives and the murdering of Basil Hallward. However, Dorian’s appearance is still young and beautiful because the portrait suffers from all the sins he commits but not him.

What type of essay is the picture of Dorian Gray?

Any type of essay. We’ll even meet a 3-hour deadline. Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is without a doubt a reflection of its author and its time.

What is the importance of the theater in the picture of Dorian?

The theater becomes very important to the plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray. It is the setting in which Dorian sees and falls in love with Sibyl Vane—not for who she truly is but for what she represents on the stage, for her ability to bring art to life.

What is the setting of Chapter 1 in the picture of Dorian Gray?

Chapter 1 of Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is set in painter Basil Hallward’s studio, where the painter observes in awe his most effective portrait; that of a young London… What are the changes that occur in the portrait over time in The Picture of Dorian Gray?

What does Henry Wotton teach Dorian in the picture of Dorian Gray?

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton, the hedonistic aristocrat, teaches the protagonist, Dorian, how to embrace a libertine lifestyle. Dorian is a young man noted for his…