1. The picture of Dorian Grey
Made by : Iordan Natalia 1LM2,
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2. The Picture of Dorian Grey
Author – Oscar Wilde
Publishing company – Pearson Education Limited
3. Main character - Dorian Grey
A radiantly handsome, impressionable, and wealthy
young gentleman, whose portrait the artist Basil
Hallward paints. Under the influence of Lord Henry
Wotton, Dorian becomes extremely concerned with
the transience of his beauty and begins to pursue his
own pleasure above all else. He devotes himself to
having as many experiences as possible, whether
moral or immoral, elegant or sordid.
4. Setting of the story
The story takes place around 100 years ago, in
London, England. The main characters are Dorian
Grey, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton. Painter
Basil Hallward is impressed by the beauty of Dorian
Grey and paints his portrait.
5. The Plot
The famous London artist Basil Hallward shows his
dear friend Lord Henry Wotton his new painting: a
portrait of a young and noble man, named Dorian
Grey. Basil is really attracted by Dorian’s charm and
beauty, and considers the youth an inspirational
gift for his art. Lord Henry asks the painter to meet
Dorian and Basil; after some hesitation, he agrees.
The young man becomes enthralled by Lord Henry’s
eloquence and his worldly view. As a new kind of
hedonism, according to Lord Henry, the only aims in
life are to pursue beauty and to satisfy one’s own
senses. He persuades Dorian not to waste his beauty,
but to make use of it, and to indulge in any
pleasurable experience.
6. In fact, when Dorian realises that one day his beauty
will disappear, he wishes that the portrait painted by
Basil would age instead of him. His wish comes true,
indeed he finds that the portrait’s expression changes
and ages for every sin he commits. For eighteen years
he experiments with every kind of vice, and step by
step Dorian loses his innocence, behaving in a sinful
way. In fact, he causes the death of a young and
talented actress, who had fallen in love with him; he
ruins and corrupts a lot of friends and young noble
men;
7. he even kills his friend Basil, but his outward
appearances remains unchanged. Instead, the
portrait, now old and ugly, is a sort of mirror
of the effect of each sin upon his soul. At the end,
he decides to be really good and to forget the past.
He decides to destroy the portrait, and does so, in
a fit of range, by stabbing it. The servants hear his
cry, and call the police, who find the corpse of
Dorian suddenly aged, and the portrait in its
original form. They identify the corpse through
the rings on his hand.
8. Conclusion
I was deeply impressed by this book, it is a
psychological one that puts the readers to think about
human being, about life itself. I gave the highest rate
to it. I would recommend it to you, because it is useful
for our souls, it guides us to think about the
consequences of our actions and that self-worship
leads to self-distruction.