The Picture of Dorian Gray

So the story starts out with a list of the basics in the Aesthetic movement, which both Lord Henry and Oscar Wilde were believers in. They are pretty interesting, in fact almost all of the crazy ideals that Henry, and eventually Dorian Gray, talk about through out the entire book are pretty interesting. Some are just plain hilarious, some show how pompous Henry is about his aristocratic station, and some are really creepy, (like crazy pervert in the woods creepy); but they are great fun to read and think about.

The main focus of the first half, and the whole book really is Dorian and exploring his corruptive influences from Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian starts out as this beautiful, innocent young man, still trying to step out of the womb and into his big boy pants, when he is introduced to Henry from their mutual friend and painter, Basil. Henry lays it on Dorian right off the bat, telling him that the only thing that anyone can have in this world is youth and beauty, which Dorian has; but like with all men it will wither away. It is at this point that Mr. Gray has to make a decision; does he want to end up like most men in the upper middle class of this time, and become dried up and boring by the time that he is thirty, or; enjoy all of the pleasures, feelings and desires that life has to offer. Dorian wants to feel to the capacity that Henry does and pretty much sells his soul to the portrait that Basil has just painted of him for a life of immortal youth and beauty.

Then Dorian meets this girl, Sybil Vane, who is an actress in this low rent theater that is about two steps up from a whorehouse. The accomidations are severely lacking, the sets and stage props are horrible and the acting is even more horrid. But Sybil atracts a crowd, because she is beautiful and can act pretty well. Dorian becomes smitten and the two become engaged. Like, two seconds later Dorian leaves her because she acted badly on purpose, and was trying to tell dorian it was his fault. She was spewing some rose-color filtered poop about the exreme love they had for each other made her realize that the entire acting bit was fake and she didnt want to be fake any more. OF COURSE ITS FAKE!! thats the point sweetheart, we dont really want to see Romeo slay Tibaly. That is why it's called ACTing. So then she kills herself, and Dorian's life turns to hell in a handbasket, though he doesn't realize untill years later.

When he goes home after breaking up with Sybil (he doesn't know that Sybil killed herself yet), he notices that the painting that Basil did sort of looks different, like there are some lines around his face that look like he has spent years scowling. He suddenly remembers throwing his fit earlier in Basil's studio about wanting to be as young and beautiful as his painting for all of eternity, and then realizes that he actualy did sell his soul. He decides that he is going to become good again and marry Sybil like he said he would, because he left her for all of the wrong reasons, and the painting will never become wrinkled or ugly again. Then Harry, like every thing else in Dorians life, comes over and tells Dorian that Sybil had died. After this point Dorian doesn't really care about being good anymore and does pretty much as he pleases.

THis just shows how malleable, for the most part, that young, ineperienced adults can be when exposed to the influences of those that are way more experienced than the average human is. The defining moment in Dorians switch from good to bad wha after enry gave Dorian the book about the young Parisian. This young man would watch people in numerous differn situations and try to capture the emotions that they experienced; and then try to experience them for himself. This philosophy of life intrigued Dorian, and he adopts it; to his own ruination of his soul.