The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, tells the philosophical story of the beautiful and young Dorian Gray. After he meets Lord Henry Wotton the boy becomes paranoid about the inevitability of aging and losing his beauty. He wishes for the portrait of himself, painted by his friend Basil, to age while he remains forever young, but through the events of the book, he learns to regret his wish.
I found that much of the imagery and interactions between characters made it a pleasant read. There are times however when the book can go on long tangents about a character’s thoughts, and that is expected as it is philosophical fiction, but due to the period it was written it can make it difficult to comprehend without a thesaurus. There are some times in which these tangents are not necessary at all, chapter 11, in particular, is mainly dedicated to informing the reader on the numerous interests Dorian takes over the years. While that in its self is important to the story, the level of detail makes it boring and unnecessarily long (32 pages!). This is soon made up by the next few chapters, which I find to be the most enjoyable as well as the climactic peak. The main message that can be derived from this philosophical fiction is that hedonism, the pursuit of only pleasure, leads to shame and harm to the people around us. I agree with this. While I do think simple and fleeting pleasures in life are very important to be happy, they should not be a person’s first priority. Making sure that other people can be happy is important too. If you fail to be there for anyone or anything outside of yourself I do think you will become shameful because I think It is human nature to want to help people. Lord of the Flies is another book that explores the issue of human nature. Although at first glance you might think the writer, William Golding, claims that humans are inherently selfish, I don’t take to this interpretation. Yes throughout characters act selfish and seize power for their benefit only, the vast majority of characters are doing their best to navigate their difficult situation without hurting anyone. The book also seems to support the main thesis of The picture of Dorian Gray, in that they both hold the idea that simple fleeting pleasures should not be a person’s first priority. When the characters of the book do choose to ignore responsibilities and helping the people around them the entire cast suffers. Wilde’s classic serves as a good example of the importance to be good to the people that surround us, regardless of whether or not we think it will affect us or not.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a good book for those who enjoy fascinating plots and possibly even a great book for those who enjoy philosophy. This book is well worth checking out.
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