Analysis Of The Titular Character, Dorian Gray - 837 Words

This year, TJ’s One Question was as follows: â€Å"How can we strive to discover and pursue our own passions despite societal norms and external pressures that would compromise our aspirations and dissuade us from pursuing them?† Well, if one listens to The Picture of Dorian Gray, the answer is to do the opposite of what the titular character, Dorian Gray, does, which is ignore societal norms and live a life as a work of art, free of pesky morals and humanity. Dorian starts out as a young and innocent teenager who is influenced by the people and society around him. The book focuses on eternal beauty as a goal. Lord Henry is obsessed with such glamor and when the two meet, Lord Henry s obsession rubs off on Dorian. From then on, Dorian s life is dictated exclusively by Lord Henry s interests. His life ends in failure and the book implies that ignoring influences and focusing on self-development is a better way of achieving one s aspirations in life. At the start of the novel, Dorian Gray is a handsome, vain, young, and innocent man but he grows into an ageless debauched sensualist. In the novel, almost every character has a passion for beauty, a passion that is frequently borderline obsessive, and shows a disregard for the consequences of living such lives. Basil is devoted to Dorian because of his looks and Basil s fascination with Dorian creates the portrait which becomes evil. Lord Henry refuses to believe that Dorian could do anything bad because of his exquisiteness