Basil's portrait of Dorian has two main plot functions in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It serves as the catalyst for Dorian's descent into hedonism when he wishes that the painting would age in his stead. Ultimately, Dorian's problems are resolved with the destruction of the painting.
When Dorian is first introduced to Lord Henry Wotton, Henry warns him that his youth and handsomeness will not last long. Lamenting this realization, Dorian wishes that Basil's portrait of him will age in his stead, leaving him free to enjoy his youth indefinitely, and initiating a downward spiral into a hedonistic lifestyle. His eternal youth drives him to cause Sibyl's suicide, murder Basil, and ruin a number of other lives.
The story concludes with a paranoid and regretful Dorian wishing to repent. Guilt and fear of karma catching up to him overwhelm Dorian, so he destroys the painting, the manifestation of all of his guilt. The painting returns to its original appearance, and Dorian and promptly dies.
The two plot functions of the portrait are directly related. The painting allows Dorian to enjoy his youth indefinitely, which he takes full advantage of. As time passes, however, he becomes paranoid, thinking somebody will find the painting, or karma will catch up with him. He also becomes guilty, so destroys the cause of his problems, which restores his proper age and kills him.
I am having trouble seeing where the second plot function is, but I may just not be recognizing it. Again in the concluding paragraph I am confused as to how the two plot functions are directly related tot he portrait. Perhaps you could elaborate on it. Additionally it seems as though you repeat yourself a lot in this piece; maybe you could add more ideas to talk about. However, using Sibyl's death and the murder of Basil were good examples to choose to help convey your point.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that you responded to the prompt at all. You only summarize what happens in the book but I don't see how your essay connects to how the painting is a representation for something more important in the book. I also am having trouble locating the second plot point. Frankly, this essay needs a lot of work. I suggest sitting down with this and coming up with two strong reason as to why the portrait is so important and then rewriting the essay. You also should consider re-reading the prompt and really figure out what the question is asking you.
ReplyDeleteyeah, I wrote this right before heading into work one night (excuses, excuses). basically, the portrait is the alpha and the omega; it catalyzes all of the problems of the story, and it eventually facilitates their resolutions. I agree that the essay is very bad, and I hope this clears some things up. :)
ReplyDeleteYour comment answers the prompt, but that whole essay didn't. From your comment it sounds like you definitely understood the prompt and had a thoughtful answer, however, that thoughtfulness did not show up in the essay. Not having read this book I was confused from the first sentence. You don't set the story up well enough in the first paragraph to prepare your audience for your analysis of the portrait. There are a lot of problems with this essay and I know you know that so if you edit this I would start out with using the statement you made in your comment as your thesis and rework it from there.
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