Write quote from The Picture of Dorian Gray and explain why that is important in the book. How does it reveal character or theme. Or, write down one of the aphorisms and explain how it works. What common idea does it twist or turn on its head?
"And Beauty is a form of Genius-is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflections in the dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon... To me, Beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances(16)."
Lord Henry stated this while talking to Dorian Gray. This is starting to show a devilish character in Lord Henry because he is such an influence on Dorian. Lord Henry simply states his philosophy on how he sees beauty in other people. He believes that only those who are shallow don't judge on how others look. If comparing the present to the past, things aren't much different. People who have the money to stay "young" or "youthful" look down upon those who can't afford that. So they shun them in a way. By either not being seen with them in public or just stop talking to them all together. In the book, Dorian Gray is already wary about his outwardly appearance, which could harm him in the end. Dorian also said somewhere in the book that he'd sell his old to be forever young and have the painting Basil had done of him to grow older. This shows how there is no boundry to where he'd go for beauty.
Jenny Hergert "How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June...If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that- for that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" -Dorian Gray (pg. 19)
In this quote from Dorian Gray, he claims that he would sell his soul if only he could remain forever young. It is here that we really begin to see how much Lord Henry has infulenced Dorian with his speach about the value of youth. Lord Henry's fairly immoral beliefs will have a huge impact on Dorian's thinking and behavior, which we are only beginning to see. When we first met Dorian Gray, the description of him made him seem almost like an innocent little boy, with his head in the clouds and being so young and beautiful. But he has already changed; he has an altered way of thinking. He went from that innocent young man to a person terrified by the idea of growing older.
"Always!It makes me shudder when I hear it. Women are so fond of using it. They spoil every romance by trying to make it last for ever...the only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is the caprice last a little longer." (pg 17)
Having things last forever seems to be a huge theme in this book and Lord Henry explains that he doesn't believe that someone can love something for a life time. Saying that people love something for a certain reason and those things always change. The world is always change and you can't stop it, this is why Lord Henry thinks like this. He doesn't believe that love will out stand the time. This negative thinking really shows us how Lord Henry thinks and can assume that his influence on Dorian Gray will not be for the best.
"You filled me with a wild desire to know everything about life. For days after I left you, something seemed to throb in my veins." -Dorian Gray
I liked this quote alot because it reminded me of someone I met that made me feel the same way, helping me to relate to the book. It tells me that the Lord has opened up something in Dorian that will change him deeply, to his core, who he is. I believe the lord will become somewhat of his rolemodel and he will become a replica of the person he believes to be the wisest person he knows. The only thing that worrys me is that lord Henry doesnt sound like a very good person at all, I disagree with alot of his views on life and find him to be something of a growing black spot in Dorians life, who's ambition is to, in Lord Henry's words "dominate" him.
"I always like to know everything about my new friends, and nothing about my old ones." - Lord Henry (pg. 26)
I thought this quote showed Lord Henry's true feelings toward the people in his life. He seems to be only interested in meeting new people and learning about their lives, but once he has known them for a while he becomes bored and seeks out new "friends." This reveals Lord Henry's lack of comittment and loyalty towards his aquaintences, he reminds me of a child on christmas who plays with his new toys for a week and then discards them in a pile to be forgotten. This could become an issue in Lord Henry and Dorian's relationship because sooner or later Henry will become tired of Dorian and begin looking for a new "friend", which will devistate Dorian.
"I can sympathize with everything, except suffering...It is too ugly, too horrible, too distressing...One should sympathize with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better." - Lord Henry (pg. 29)
It is perfectly normal for somebody to not think about all the negatives in the world. However, based on what we've learned about Lord Henry thus far, the actual meaning of this statement is different. It implies not that he's an optimist, but that he's a hedonist. He seeks to surround himself with pleasures while paying no mind to the real issues faced by the common folk in the Victorian era. For instance, Lord Henry and others within the aristocratic elite concern themselves with staying youthful while the urban poor struggle to live to an old age. Of course, the pleasures they seek will never keep them satisfied for long. As Lord Henry said on pg. 17 (see Crystal's quote), he has a far more positive attitude towards sex than he does for love.
"Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed."
This quote is relating to the theme of love, and especially marriage. It also further shows how Lord Henry’s views differ from that of our society today. He talks a lot about marriage and how staying faithful is not actually a goof thing. Today, most of us believe that staying faithful is the right thing to do because it takes more effort. He is saying, why marry when in the end you will end up being disappointed. I enjoy hearing all of Oscar Wilde’s aphorisms about love because they completely contradict what we value today, which makes them amusing to me.
"Faithfulness! I must analyze it some day. The passion for property is in it. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."(pg. 36)
This quote shows how Lord Henry sees life when it comes to his marrige, women, and pleasures of life. He says that most of the things we have at the moment are worth throwing away but we won't because we want possesion of it still. Such as relationships when you are with someone who you don't really like but will stay with just because you don't want anyone else to have them. In the book Lord Henry seems to think that this is the case with Dorian and his new love. And later on Dorian will either prove his theory or not.
"A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied" pg 58
In this quote, Dorian is explaining that a cigarette is pleasureful for a certain amount of time. After your done smoking the cigarette, you want another one. It is something that you crave to much so really it is not that pleasure full like something that you can only have once in a while.
"There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral -- immoral from the scientific point of view... Because to influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of some one else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him." (p. 13)
I feel that Lord Henry kind of gives us a preview to the book. Henry's influence will rub off on Dorian more and more throughout the book and he nothing will be left of him anymore, nothing will be real. It also allows us yet another view into the world as Henry sees it, a grim, bleak world. It sets up a rather depressing path for the rest of the book to follow. Whether or not it is ultimately taken is a different story.
"I don't want to see him alone. He says things that annoy me. He gives me good advice." - (Dorian Gray page 41)
Recently in the book, Dorian Gray has been slying away from Basil and becoming more and more attached to Lord Henry. This quote displays this perfectly. Dorian is saying that he doesn't like to go see Basil any more because he gives him reasonable advice, while Lord Henry feeds him nonsense. I feel that Dorian Gray likes this change in pace because Basil was beginning to bore him incredibly. I think that this quote foreshadows what will happen as the book continues to develop because Dorian Gray seems to be leaning more towards the "dark" side and beginning to believe the things Lord Henry says.
"i think you are wrong, basil, but i wont argue with you. it is only the intellectually lost who ever argue." (PG 9)
this aphorism is interesting because usually the people who know or understand alot of topics and sides of ideas aruge because they understand all sides of this. But this quote is talking about how only the dumb and intellectually lost argue because they are arguing their point or idea only because they think it "might" be right. if you know your right there is no point to argue about it
“Her trust makes me faithful, her belief makes me good. When I am with her, I regret all that you have taught me. I become different from what you have known me to be. I am changed, and the mere touch of Sibyl Vane’s hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (56).
This quote from Dorian Gray to Lord Henry demonstrates the opposite effects that Sibyl and Lord Henry have on Dorian. Lord Henry can be thought of as the devil, because he is tempting Dorian to do immoral things, while Sibyl Vane represents the power of good over evil. Dorian ultimately falls under the power of Lord Henry and brutally casts Sibyl away, an evil move that is reflected in the touch of cruelty on the lips of his portrait. Dorian is also pushing Basil away, his last friend with a good influence, which shows that he is falling even deeper into Lord Henry’s power.
“Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” Pg. 43
This quote is one of the many aphorisms I have come across throughout the book. Like the majority of the aphorisms I spot being stated or thought by Lord Henry, this aphorism is one that is deliberated upon by Lord Henry just after Dorian admitted to his spastic love for Sybil. Lord Henry is basically saying that experience is worthless to our living and that personal mistakes we make will be committed over and over because they are of our natural behavior. Later in the same paragraph he relates back to the initial aphorism by thinking, “All that it really demonstrated was that our future would be the same as our past, and that the sin we had done once, and with loathing, we would do many times, and with joy.” Pg. 43 The common idea this aphorism turns on us is the basic thought of learning from our mistakes. Lord Henry doesn’t believe that past successes or failures make us any stronger or teach us anything. He believes that even if a mistake is made, it would reoccur because humans don’t ever learn from a bad decision. I completely disagree with this aphorism because speaking from personal knowledge I have learned a great deal during my seventeen years of existence, actions and decisions that I would never repeat because of the fate they brought upon me before.
“Was it all true? Had the painting really changed? Or had it been simply his own imagination that made him see a look of evil where there had been a look of joy? Surely a painted canvas could not alter? The thing was absurd.” (pg. 69)
This quote helps develop the theme of staying young. Dorian Gray wants to stay like his portrait can so he wished that this could happen but now that it is happening, without him knowing. Dorian is confused as to what is happening to the painting. He wanted the picture to grow old so he could say young but after seeing the changes take place in the portrait he is not sure what to do. Is it that he wants to stay young so bad that he is hallucinating the changes? Maybe he has changed his mind about switching places with the picture.
“I hope that Dorian Gray will make this girl his wife, passionately adore her for six months, and then suddenly become fascinated by some one else. He would be a wonderful study.” (54)
This quote is important because it shows how narcissistic Lord Henry is. Lord Henry, we now realize, is the type of person who wants to see his friend’s romance crash and burn just for the entertainment value. Not caring whether or not your friend is happy, just to learn about human nature shows in Lord Henry’s character that he is a very miserable person and will probably soon realize it. He also is contributing to the idea that love is only a honeymoon phase in which couples only think they love each other, but in reality do not.
"[Dorian] is not like other men. He would never bring misery upon any one. His nature is too fine for that" - Basil Hallward, pg. 56
This quote is important to the book because it shows how Dorian is percieved by Basil as well as others in the beginning of the book. Through the scene backstage at the theater it is appearant that this is not true. We find that Dorian was much more in love with Sibyl's acting than with her. Through his horribly mean breakup with her, it is shown that he is capable of bringing misery upon others, thus proving Basil wrong and beginning his way down a path for the worse.
"I hope the girl is good, Harry. I don't want to see Dorian tied to some vile creature, who might degrade his nature and ruin his intellect." (53)
I found this quote ironic because of how Lord Henry thinks about marriage. He stated earlier that he believes you should give into desire, possibly adultery, so it wouldn't actually tie Dorian down like he states would happen if he just followed Lord Henry's way of thinking in the first place. This quote also touches on the idea that Lord Henry's dark ways are starting to wear off on the other characters which will ultimately influence the way they act in the future.
"Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say but they say it charmingly." P.34
This aphorism plays into the sterotype that girls are basically ditzy and are stupid. It means that women dont say anything because they know nothing about the conversation but when they do say something they say it only so they can appear attractive or cute and ditzy.
“To be good is to be in harmony with one’s self... Discord is to be forced to be in harmony with others. One’s own life—that is the important thing." -Lord Henry (57)
Though most of Lord Henry's aphorisms touch on a particular topic, this aphorism explains why his aphorisms are so different from popular belief. Lord Henry is a very strong individualist who believes that the development of ones morality should remain independent of other people's influence. Because he rejects modern morality, his beliefs are self-motivated, which is why they counter what most of us would consider to be good morals.
"The real drawback of marriage is that it makes one unselfish. And unselfish people are colourless. They lack individuality." (54)
This is what Lord Henry says to Dorian as they are discussing marriage. This aphorism challenges two common ideas in our society. The first is marriage, which most people believe to be a happy and positive thing. Based on what he says, Lord Henry clearly thinks the opposite. Lord Henry also criticizes the quality of being unselfish. Most people would think being unselfish is a good thing, but clearly not Lord Henry.
Jaina Shah “My dear Dorian, it is quite true. I am analyzing women at present, so I ought to know. The subject is not so abstruse as I thought it was. I find that, ultimately, there are only two kinds of women, the plain and the coloured. The plain women are very useful. ……… They paint women are very charming. (35) This quote shows how Lord Henry sees the women. He looks at the women two way plain and coloured. He thinks the plain women are useful and simple women are charming. Lord Henry wants his painting to look young and even younger then even her own daughter. The women should be always satisfied. This shows that looking young is so important him.
“There have been either so many people that I have not been able to see the pictures, which was dreadful, or so many pictures that I have not been able to see the people, which was worse” (pg 2).
This aphorism explains that it is bad when a person is not able to see a picture because there are too many people crowding around it and this makes it so you are not able to see the true meaning of the picture. But it is worse when you are not able to see the people standing around the pictures because there are too many pictures and a person can get lost in them because they don’t know which one to look at first. Most people would rather focus on a picture then the people, so it would be worse when you can’t see a picture because of all the people.
"Women, as some witty Frenchman once put it, inspire us with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent us from carrying them out." (58).
Lord Henry is an amazing character, will a very distinct set of morales, and it is almost exactly what one would expect Oscar Wilde to say. Wilde uses Lord Henry as his own voice, and shoots out aphorisms as frequently as possible. This particular saying further describes Wilde's knack for putting down women (among other things).
Wilde loves to use women as objects, accessories to man that either aid or harm his personal self. While at one point a women may inspire a man to do something, say, follow a hope or a dream, or carry out a task that may not be possible without another person's, or another woman's help. However, at the same time, he uses women as baggage, "the ol' chain and ball," term fits nicely here, as women keep men from succeeding at their highest level.
“There is something fatal about a portrait. It has a life of its own.”(pg 86)
At this point of the book Dorian appears to have turned almost completely to the dark side, figuratively speaking. Instead of doing the right thing and confiding in Basil, Dorian does something Lord Harry would have done, kind of twist the truth. And Dorian has already said that he would like to do and say all the same things that kind of confirms how Dorian has developed as a character. However, according to this quote, Dorian has kind of told the truth behind the portrait. It does in fact have a life of its own except its affected by Dorian's decisions. So far he's only seen it change from its pleasant innocent expression to an evil smirk. As its, it is a reflection of his true self. If something were to happen in the painting something might happen to Dorian since it is a part of him. But since the painting is a testament to Dorian that his wish has in deed come true and he is to remain young, probably forever. So if Dorian is to die I would have to say something would have to happen to the painting.
"Rouge and esprit used to go together. That is all over now. As long as a woman can look ten years younger than her own daughter, she is perfectly satisfied." (pg 35)
This aphorism really still applies today, women constantly want to stay young and sexy. Our media has set the standards and no one on earth can match them, but women feel they need to look better than everyone and will physically destroy their bodies to achieve a state of what they call beauty. Everything from eating disorders to botox to liposuction, our world has thousands of ways for women, and men to deform their bodies so that they match our "standards." And if women can look young then obviously they'll be able to get everything they want. Which simply isn't true.
When one is on love, one always begins by deceiving ones self, and one always ends by deceiviing others. That is what the world calls romance. P.38
This aphorism to me is contradicting love all together. Since when do you start loving someone after you decieve them? Then why would you end up deceiving more people at the end of your relationship then when you started?
"I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit." (58)
In this passage Lord Henry was talking to Dorian about having a cigarette and was being witty as usually. This quote represents Lord Henry well because he's always talking and doesn't mind people questioning him or disagreeing with him, but Dorian seems to be more reserved and if he has something that may not be appropriate to say he would keep it to himself. However when Dorian broke up with Sibyl he seemed to act differently than he had been and was very mean he her and it seemed like something Lord Henry would do.
"Beside, women were better suited to bear sorrowthan men. They lived on their emotions. They only thought of their emotions. When they took lovers, it was merely yo have some one with whom they could have scenes."
It this quote it seems as if Dorian has to rely on the immoral statement that Lord Hnery told stated to make himself feel better about the suffering he made Basil go through. This is just another example of how Dorain allows himself to be swayed an influenced by Lord Henry's immorality. Dorian has reached his full transformation into the same person as Lord Henry. Just as cruel, selfish and shallow as Lord Henry. Dorian believes an agrees with anything Lord Henry says since this statemnt was his view of women. If Lord Henry thinks it then Dorian believes it must be true.
"She behaves as if she was beautiful. Most American women do. It's the secret of their charm." (Page 25)
This quote helps shape the character of Lord Henry and his lack of morals and disrespect for most everything. He has a clear sexist view on women and especially Americans as we see in the quote above. He twists the two together with the idea that women are able to deceive men into believing they are beautiful. This goes with the classic sterotype that women do all their dirty work behind the scenes and are looked down on it from the typical sexist look. Also I think it's interesting that Lord Henry so dislikes Americans even though dating an American is the "cool" thing to do at this time, it shows how Lord Henry likes to be apart from society.
"If this girl can give a soul to those who have lived without one, if she can create the sense of beauty in people whose lives have been sordid and ugly, if she can strip them of their selfishness and lend them tears for sorrows that are not their own, she is worthy of all you adoration, worthy of the world. This marriage is quite right." (pg 59)
I found this quote rather interesting. At first, when Basil heard about the marriage, he, in modern senses, freaked out. He didn't like the idea at all, and wanted to make sure at least whoever Dorian married was perfect. I think he says this because he senses that Lord Henry may not like Sibyll, so anyone who can help Dorian have a positive influence, that Dorian will stay away from Lord Henry and not be as "bad" as him.
"You are an extroordinary fellow. You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing." (pg. 4)
I thought this aphorism was very interesting, and complicated. It is twisting the idea of right and wrong. This occured when Basil was talkin to Harry about how he did not appreciate or understand Harry talking about his married life. And Basil got into how he never says anything right, yet he never does anything wrong. Which seems to me impossible, but Oscar Wilde, these things can occur.
"And Beauty is a form of Genius-is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflections in the dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon... To me, Beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances(16)."
ReplyDeleteLord Henry stated this while talking to Dorian Gray. This is starting to show a devilish character in Lord Henry because he is such an influence on Dorian. Lord Henry simply states his philosophy on how he sees beauty in other people. He believes that only those who are shallow don't judge on how others look. If comparing the present to the past, things aren't much different. People who have the money to stay "young" or "youthful" look down upon those who can't afford that. So they shun them in a way. By either not being seen with them in public or just stop talking to them all together.
In the book, Dorian Gray is already wary about his outwardly appearance, which could harm him in the end. Dorian also said somewhere in the book that he'd sell his old to be forever young and have the painting Basil had done of him to grow older. This shows how there is no boundry to where he'd go for beauty.
Jenny Hergert
ReplyDelete"How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June...If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that- for that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" -Dorian Gray (pg. 19)
In this quote from Dorian Gray, he claims that he would sell his soul if only he could remain forever young. It is here that we really begin to see how much Lord Henry has infulenced Dorian with his speach about the value of youth. Lord Henry's fairly immoral beliefs will have a huge impact on Dorian's thinking and behavior, which we are only beginning to see. When we first met Dorian Gray, the description of him made him seem almost like an innocent little boy, with his head in the clouds and being so young and beautiful. But he has already changed; he has an altered way of thinking. He went from that innocent young man to a person terrified by the idea of growing older.
Crystal Nybo
ReplyDelete"Always!It makes me shudder when I hear it. Women are so fond of using it. They spoil every romance by trying to make it last for ever...the only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is the caprice last a little longer." (pg 17)
Having things last forever seems to be a huge theme in this book and Lord Henry explains that he doesn't believe that someone can love something for a life time. Saying that people love something for a certain reason and those things always change. The world is always change and you can't stop it, this is why Lord Henry thinks like this. He doesn't believe that love will out stand the time. This negative thinking really shows us how Lord Henry thinks and can assume that his influence on Dorian Gray will not be for the best.
Breanna Taylor
ReplyDelete"You filled me with a wild desire to know everything about life. For days after I left you, something seemed to throb in my veins."
-Dorian Gray
I liked this quote alot because it reminded me of someone I met that made me feel the same way, helping me to relate to the book. It tells me that the Lord has opened up something in Dorian that will change him deeply, to his core, who he is. I believe the lord will become somewhat of his rolemodel and he will become a replica of the person he believes to be the wisest person he knows. The only thing that worrys me is that lord Henry doesnt sound like a very good person at all, I disagree with alot of his views on life and find him to be something of a growing black spot in Dorians life, who's ambition is to, in Lord Henry's words "dominate" him.
Bridget Cook
ReplyDelete"I always like to know everything about my new friends, and nothing about my old ones." - Lord Henry (pg. 26)
I thought this quote showed Lord Henry's true feelings toward the people in his life. He seems to be only interested in meeting new people and learning about their lives, but once he has known them for a while he becomes bored and seeks out new "friends." This reveals Lord Henry's lack of comittment and loyalty towards his aquaintences, he reminds me of a child on christmas who plays with his new toys for a week and then discards them in a pile to be forgotten. This could become an issue in Lord Henry and Dorian's relationship because sooner or later Henry will become tired of Dorian and begin looking for a new "friend", which will devistate Dorian.
Derek Decker
ReplyDelete"I can sympathize with everything, except suffering...It is too ugly, too horrible, too distressing...One should sympathize with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better." - Lord Henry (pg. 29)
It is perfectly normal for somebody to not think about all the negatives in the world. However, based on what we've learned about Lord Henry thus far, the actual meaning of this statement is different. It implies not that he's an optimist, but that he's a hedonist. He seeks to surround himself with pleasures while paying no mind to the real issues faced by the common folk in the Victorian era. For instance, Lord Henry and others within the aristocratic elite concern themselves with staying youthful while the urban poor struggle to live to an old age. Of course, the pleasures they seek will never keep them satisfied for long. As Lord Henry said on pg. 17 (see Crystal's quote), he has a far more positive attitude towards sex than he does for love.
Katie Martens
ReplyDelete"Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed."
This quote is relating to the theme of love, and especially marriage. It also further shows how Lord Henry’s views differ from that of our society today. He talks a lot about marriage and how staying faithful is not actually a goof thing. Today, most of us believe that staying faithful is the right thing to do because it takes more effort. He is saying, why marry when in the end you will end up being disappointed. I enjoy hearing all of Oscar Wilde’s aphorisms about love because they completely contradict what we value today, which makes them amusing to me.
Leslee Fall
ReplyDelete"Faithfulness! I must analyze it some day. The passion for property is in it. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."(pg. 36)
This quote shows how Lord Henry sees life when it comes to his marrige, women, and pleasures of life. He says that most of the things we have at the moment are worth throwing away but we won't because we want possesion of it still. Such as relationships when you are with someone who you don't really like but will stay with just because you don't want anyone else to have them. In the book Lord Henry seems to think that this is the case with Dorian and his new love. And later on Dorian will either prove his theory or not.
Erik Enselman
ReplyDelete"A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied" pg 58
In this quote, Dorian is explaining that a cigarette is pleasureful for a certain amount of time. After your done smoking the cigarette, you want another one. It is something that you crave to much so really it is not that pleasure full like something that you can only have once in a while.
Maxx Forde
ReplyDelete"There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral -- immoral from the scientific point of view... Because to influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of some one else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him." (p. 13)
I feel that Lord Henry kind of gives us a preview to the book. Henry's influence will rub off on Dorian more and more throughout the book and he nothing will be left of him anymore, nothing will be real. It also allows us yet another view into the world as Henry sees it, a grim, bleak world. It sets up a rather depressing path for the rest of the book to follow. Whether or not it is ultimately taken is a different story.
Anna Billmaier
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
"I don't want to see him alone. He says things that annoy me. He gives me good advice." - (Dorian Gray page 41)
Recently in the book, Dorian Gray has been slying away from Basil and becoming more and more attached to Lord Henry. This quote displays this perfectly. Dorian is saying that he doesn't like to go see Basil any more because he gives him reasonable advice, while Lord Henry feeds him nonsense. I feel that Dorian Gray likes this change in pace because Basil was beginning to bore him incredibly. I think that this quote foreshadows what will happen as the book continues to develop because Dorian Gray seems to be leaning more towards the "dark" side and beginning to believe the things Lord Henry says.
Craig thomas
ReplyDelete"i think you are wrong, basil, but i wont argue with you. it is only the intellectually lost who ever argue." (PG 9)
this aphorism is interesting because usually the people who know or understand alot of topics and sides of ideas aruge because they understand all sides of this. But this quote is talking about how only the dumb and intellectually lost argue because they are arguing their point or idea only because they think it "might" be right. if you know your right there is no point to argue about it
Savannah Guillen
ReplyDelete“Her trust makes me faithful, her belief makes me good. When I am with her, I regret all that you have taught me. I become different from what you have known me to be. I am changed, and the mere touch of Sibyl Vane’s hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (56).
This quote from Dorian Gray to Lord Henry demonstrates the opposite effects that Sibyl and Lord Henry have on Dorian. Lord Henry can be thought of as the devil, because he is tempting Dorian to do immoral things, while Sibyl Vane represents the power of good over evil. Dorian ultimately falls under the power of Lord Henry and brutally casts Sibyl away, an evil move that is reflected in the touch of cruelty on the lips of his portrait. Dorian is also pushing Basil away, his last friend with a good influence, which shows that he is falling even deeper into Lord Henry’s power.
Sarah Hale:)
ReplyDelete“Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” Pg. 43
This quote is one of the many aphorisms I have come across throughout the book. Like the majority of the aphorisms I spot being stated or thought by Lord Henry, this aphorism is one that is deliberated upon by Lord Henry just after Dorian admitted to his spastic love for Sybil. Lord Henry is basically saying that experience is worthless to our living and that personal mistakes we make will be committed over and over because they are of our natural behavior. Later in the same paragraph he relates back to the initial aphorism by thinking, “All that it really demonstrated was that our future would be the same as our past, and that the sin we had done once, and with loathing, we would do many times, and with joy.” Pg. 43 The common idea this aphorism turns on us is the basic thought of learning from our mistakes. Lord Henry doesn’t believe that past successes or failures make us any stronger or teach us anything. He believes that even if a mistake is made, it would reoccur because humans don’t ever learn from a bad decision. I completely disagree with this aphorism because speaking from personal knowledge I have learned a great deal during my seventeen years of existence, actions and decisions that I would never repeat because of the fate they brought upon me before.
Christine Nafziger
ReplyDelete“Was it all true? Had the painting really changed? Or had it been simply his own imagination that made him see a look of evil where there had been a look of joy? Surely a painted canvas could not alter? The thing was absurd.” (pg. 69)
This quote helps develop the theme of staying young. Dorian Gray wants to stay like his portrait can so he wished that this could happen but now that it is happening, without him knowing. Dorian is confused as to what is happening to the painting. He wanted the picture to grow old so he could say young but after seeing the changes take place in the portrait he is not sure what to do. Is it that he wants to stay young so bad that he is hallucinating the changes? Maybe he has changed his mind about switching places with the picture.
Gina Chenoweth
ReplyDelete“I hope that Dorian Gray will make this girl his wife, passionately adore her for six months, and then suddenly become fascinated by some one else. He would be a wonderful study.” (54)
This quote is important because it shows how narcissistic Lord Henry is. Lord Henry, we now realize, is the type of person who wants to see his friend’s romance crash and burn just for the entertainment value. Not caring whether or not your friend is happy, just to learn about human nature shows in Lord Henry’s character that he is a very miserable person and will probably soon realize it. He also is contributing to the idea that love is only a honeymoon phase in which couples only think they love each other, but in reality do not.
"[Dorian] is not like other men. He would never bring misery upon any one. His nature is too fine for that" - Basil Hallward, pg. 56
ReplyDeleteThis quote is important to the book because it shows how Dorian is percieved by Basil as well as others in the beginning of the book. Through the scene backstage at the theater it is appearant that this is not true. We find that Dorian was much more in love with Sibyl's acting than with her. Through his horribly mean breakup with her, it is shown that he is capable of bringing misery upon others, thus proving Basil wrong and beginning his way down a path for the worse.
Kirsten Zoba
ReplyDelete"I hope the girl is good, Harry. I don't want to see Dorian tied to some vile creature, who might degrade his nature and ruin his intellect." (53)
I found this quote ironic because of how Lord Henry thinks about marriage. He stated earlier that he believes you should give into desire, possibly adultery, so it wouldn't actually tie Dorian down like he states would happen if he just followed Lord Henry's way of thinking in the first place. This quote also touches on the idea that Lord Henry's dark ways are starting to wear off on the other characters which will ultimately influence the way they act in the future.
Lexy Kaftan
ReplyDelete"Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say but they say it charmingly." P.34
This aphorism plays into the sterotype that girls are basically ditzy and are stupid. It means that women dont say anything because they know nothing about the conversation but when they do say something they say it only so they can appear attractive or cute and ditzy.
April Dick
ReplyDelete“To be good is to be in harmony with one’s self... Discord is to be forced to be in harmony with others. One’s own life—that is the important thing." -Lord Henry (57)
Though most of Lord Henry's aphorisms touch on a particular topic, this aphorism explains why his aphorisms are so different from popular belief. Lord Henry is a very strong individualist who believes that the development of ones morality should remain independent of other people's influence. Because he rejects modern morality, his beliefs are self-motivated, which is why they counter what most of us would consider to be good morals.
Brody Hovatter
ReplyDelete"The real drawback of marriage is that it makes one unselfish. And unselfish people are colourless. They lack individuality." (54)
This is what Lord Henry says to Dorian as they are discussing marriage. This aphorism challenges two common ideas in our society. The first is marriage, which most people believe to be a happy and positive thing. Based on what he says, Lord Henry clearly thinks the opposite. Lord Henry also criticizes the quality of being unselfish. Most people would think being unselfish is a good thing, but clearly not Lord Henry.
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ReplyDeleteJaina Shah
ReplyDelete“My dear Dorian, it is quite true. I am analyzing women at present, so I ought to know. The subject is not so abstruse as I thought it was. I find that, ultimately, there are only two kinds of women, the plain and the coloured. The plain women are very useful. ……… They paint women are very charming. (35)
This quote shows how Lord Henry sees the women. He looks at the women two way plain and coloured. He thinks the plain women are useful and simple women are charming. Lord Henry wants his painting to look young and even younger then even her own daughter. The women should be always satisfied. This shows that looking young is so important him.
Tori Weisel
ReplyDelete“There have been either so many people that I have not been able to see the pictures, which was dreadful, or so many pictures that I have not been able to see the people, which was worse” (pg 2).
This aphorism explains that it is bad when a person is not able to see a picture because there are too many people crowding around it and this makes it so you are not able to see the true meaning of the picture. But it is worse when you are not able to see the people standing around the pictures because there are too many pictures and a person can get lost in them because they don’t know which one to look at first. Most people would rather focus on a picture then the people, so it would be worse when you can’t see a picture because of all the people.
Mark Galambos
ReplyDelete"Women, as some witty Frenchman once put it, inspire us with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent us from carrying them out." (58).
Lord Henry is an amazing character, will a very distinct set of morales, and it is almost exactly what one would expect Oscar Wilde to say. Wilde uses Lord Henry as his own voice, and shoots out aphorisms as frequently as possible. This particular saying further describes Wilde's knack for putting down women (among other things).
Wilde loves to use women as objects, accessories to man that either aid or harm his personal self. While at one point a women may inspire a man to do something, say, follow a hope or a dream, or carry out a task that may not be possible without another person's, or another woman's help. However, at the same time, he uses women as baggage, "the ol' chain and ball," term fits nicely here, as women keep men from succeeding at their highest level.
Samielle Foltz
ReplyDelete“There is something fatal about a portrait. It has a life of its own.”(pg 86)
At this point of the book Dorian appears to have turned almost completely to the dark side, figuratively speaking. Instead of doing the right thing and confiding in Basil, Dorian does something Lord Harry would have done, kind of twist the truth. And Dorian has already said that he would like to do and say all the same things that kind of confirms how Dorian has developed as a character. However, according to this quote, Dorian has kind of told the truth behind the portrait. It does in fact have a life of its own except its affected by Dorian's decisions. So far he's only seen it change from its pleasant innocent expression to an evil smirk. As its, it is a reflection of his true self. If something were to happen in the painting something might happen to Dorian since it is a part of him. But since the painting is a testament to Dorian that his wish has in deed come true and he is to remain young, probably forever. So if Dorian is to die I would have to say something would have to happen to the painting.
Brian Gleadle
ReplyDelete"Rouge and esprit used to go together. That is all over now. As long as a woman can look ten years younger than her own daughter, she is perfectly satisfied." (pg 35)
This aphorism really still applies today, women constantly want to stay young and sexy. Our media has set the standards and no one on earth can match them, but women feel they need to look better than everyone and will physically destroy their bodies to achieve a state of what they call beauty. Everything from eating disorders to botox to liposuction, our world has thousands of ways for women, and men to deform their bodies so that they match our "standards." And if women can look young then obviously they'll be able to get everything they want. Which simply isn't true.
Dan McMillan
ReplyDeleteWhen one is on love, one always begins by deceiving ones self, and one always ends by deceiviing others. That is what the world calls romance. P.38
This aphorism to me is contradicting love all together. Since when do you start loving someone after you decieve them? Then why would you end up deceiving more people at the end of your relationship then when you started?
Nik Toor
ReplyDelete"I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit." (58)
In this passage Lord Henry was talking to Dorian about having a cigarette and was being witty as usually. This quote represents Lord Henry well because he's always talking and doesn't mind people questioning him or disagreeing with him, but Dorian seems to be more reserved and if he has something that may not be appropriate to say he would keep it to himself. However when Dorian broke up with Sibyl he seemed to act differently than he had been and was very mean he her and it seemed like something Lord Henry would do.
Denisse Manrique
ReplyDelete"Beside, women were better suited to bear sorrowthan men. They lived on their emotions. They only thought of their emotions. When they took lovers, it was merely yo have some one with whom they could have scenes."
It this quote it seems as if Dorian has to rely on the immoral statement that Lord Hnery told stated to make himself feel better about the suffering he made Basil go through. This is just another example of how Dorain allows himself to be swayed an influenced by Lord Henry's immorality. Dorian has reached his full transformation into the same person as Lord Henry. Just as cruel, selfish and shallow as Lord Henry. Dorian believes an agrees with anything Lord Henry says since this statemnt was his view of women. If Lord Henry thinks it then Dorian believes it must be true.
Laura Ahlrep
ReplyDelete"She behaves as if she was beautiful. Most American women do. It's the secret of their charm." (Page 25)
This quote helps shape the character of Lord Henry and his lack of morals and disrespect for most everything. He has a clear sexist view on women and especially Americans as we see in the quote above. He twists the two together with the idea that women are able to deceive men into believing they are beautiful. This goes with the classic sterotype that women do all their dirty work behind the scenes and are looked down on it from the typical sexist look. Also I think it's interesting that Lord Henry so dislikes Americans even though dating an American is the "cool" thing to do at this time, it shows how Lord Henry likes to be apart from society.
Will Quattlebaum
ReplyDelete"If this girl can give a soul to those who have lived without one, if she can create the sense of beauty in people whose lives have been sordid and ugly, if she can strip them of their selfishness and lend them tears for sorrows that are not their own, she is worthy of all you adoration, worthy of the world. This marriage is quite right." (pg 59)
I found this quote rather interesting. At first, when Basil heard about the marriage, he, in modern senses, freaked out. He didn't like the idea at all, and wanted to make sure at least whoever Dorian married was perfect. I think he says this because he senses that Lord Henry may not like Sibyll, so anyone who can help Dorian have a positive influence, that Dorian will stay away from Lord Henry and not be as "bad" as him.
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ReplyDeleteJade Baumann
ReplyDelete"You are an extroordinary fellow. You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing." (pg. 4)
I thought this aphorism was very interesting, and complicated. It is twisting the idea of right and wrong. This occured when Basil was talkin to Harry about how he did not appreciate or understand Harry talking about his married life. And Basil got into how he never says anything right, yet he never does anything wrong. Which seems to me impossible, but Oscar Wilde, these things can occur.