Dorian Gray Essay

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Dorian Gray
(How responsible is Lord Henry for the ruined life of Dorian Gray?)

The soul coexists with our bodies which are credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion. In Oscar Wilde's, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray, destroys his innocence and his soul and becomes corrupt. He becomes corrupt by failing to live a life of virtue but of sin. Although the painting was a huge factor in Dorian’s transformation, Lord Henry is largely responsible for the ruining of Dorian’s life. Lord Henry fills Dorian's head with his outrageous philosophies such as, "….youth is the one thing worth having. …. You have only a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully. When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it…" (pg.34)
His philosophies lead Dorian to believe that the only why he will ever be happy is through his youth and beauty. As a result Dorian exchanges his soul for immortal youth. This caused him to become corrupt due to the fact that his body would not pay for his action but rather the portrait would. In addition, Lord Henry is responsible for the suicide of sibyl, which causes Dorian to live a life of sin. Dorian has great admiration for Lord Henry and his view on art. Dorian, Lord Henry, and Basil go see sibyl perform at the theater. Sibyl has an awful performance. Dorian is embarrassed because he spoke so highly of her and her acting. Basil seems to brush off the whole performance and tells Dorian that his love is more important then her talent but on the other hand Lord Henry tells him, "It is not good for one's morals to see bad acting. Besides, I don't suppose you will want your wife to act. So what does it matter if she plays Juliet like a wooden doll? She is

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