A General discussion on TPoDG

[John]

i have not personally seen the movie as of yet, i do like the book and understanding of it being a classic but it kind of un-nerved me a tad i was so very suprised just how homoe erotic the book was in all element; but you know i read it through and did like it a little i am in no way anti gay or lesbian but i have read it i think though i will not read it again though i am not knocking the book in any manner as oscar wilde is still a cult classic book author but not for me

[Kari]

Siman wrote: "I personally believe that everybody are responsible for their own fate, having the right and power to judge and choose their paths themselves, but still Dorian was 'pure' and 'innocent' before Lord..."
Lord Henry is the Devil incarnate.?

[John]

i think maybe we all may have a little element of the book in each of us siman we all have our innocent side and our not so innocnet side the little devil on one shoulder and the angel no the other but yeah i do agree with what you say kari

[[deleted user]]

I think it is one of those books that you read and think "That's exactly true." Everyone falls sometimes. We all make mistakes in order to find ourselves, regardless how much we are influenced by other people. This book clearly states to me that we all should beware of the paths we choose to take in order to "improve" ourselves. Because, in the end of the day, that's all we do. Right?

[John]

Djameni sometimes even th path that may favour the better choice at times may not be apparent and as much a sfolk would say though dorian made his fate and was sour mannered his sentiment on his journey was thought to be of a kind and pure but he to me got lost in the flood of his own vanity and driven ego

[Chris]

I'm a little over halfway done with this book but I get the feeling that Henry is like the devil on of Dorian's shoulders and Basil is the angel on the other. Anyone else think so?

Janice, I just finished chapter 11 as well and agree; it was hard to get through.

[Michael]

1. Basil & Henry are the two major apparent influences that shaped Dorian’s future. What do you think?.

I think Henry represented the cynical and nihilistic view that Dorian Grey adopted. This led to his ultimate rejection of religion and of any other values other then trying to feel the next physical sensation of youth. In the beginning of the book we look at Henry as the man who has all the witty answers for every situation. However, we see even he isn't infallible at the end of the book when we find out he was married and then divorced. Henry in the beginning of the book would have never even considered marriage. He also misjudged Dorian Grey completely wrong when he tells him that murder is out of his nature.


What Henry and Dorian both don't understand is that youth may be an excellent time for feeling and sensation, but it is also a conducive time for mistakes. Henry and even Dorian believe that even the sensation of a mistake is worth it's own end, because when you grow older you don't feel that same heartache, tragedy, the same romance that only comes with the energy of youth. Granted, mistakes are the collateral that comes with these feelings. They aren't something to be treasured in an infinitely static state; part of growing is the process of learning from your mistakes, and that is what Dorian Grey has such a hard time doing in the book. His youth is stuck the picture, he never grows older. Part of being young that you make mistakes, and you learn from them. Without that pattern, you're left like Dorian Grey, in an unmovable place deep within the power of your mistakes.


Henry must have eventually given in to this reality, but ultimately his personality seems unchanged at the end of the book which is why a divorce seems no surprise. Dorian was our main character and test subject, and his tragic end gives us the harsh lesson of the consequences of idolizing youth.

[Inês]

I?LLL KILL THAT STUPID HENRY for making Dorian sell his sould for being the picture for ever... I BLAME HENRY for show that places and forced him to live that life of luxury and so on that made him the cruel guy at the end.

I like Basil. He is the honest one and tried to bring back dorian to reason.. Tried to made Dorians a better man, without success.


Beauty is not EVERYTHING... and what Counts its not your outter beauty its your inner beauty. AND AFTER YOU TRADE THE DAMN SOUL THE PICTCURE BEACAME YOUR SOUL - YOU SHADOW - YOU'RE INNER: showing that YOU, you bastard for going with the ideas of Henry, were corrupted by society (things from romatism)
(LOL i'm arguing with a ficcional character XDDDDDDDD)


But the book is very, VERY good :)

[Alyssa]

Melissa wrote: "Anyone liked the movie?"

The movie,I thought, was very artfully done considering the small budget allowed for the film. It kept true to the book for the most part as well, which is very important!

[Alyssa]

Some of the comments have already touched on the topic, but I felt the need to add my two cents as well. Oscar Wilde is a woman hater and I disagree with everything that he writes, but he writes so artfully and eloquently that I can't not love him and his work.

I especially think that Dorian Gray is a novel that every young man or woman should read. It remarks so honestly and blatantly on the subject of the shallowness of beauty in our society. I believe that this novel shows that beauty is not all that there is to a person. As someone who was made fun of a lot in grade school, I understand the pressure and the need to look a certain way. I am also studying graphic design and advertising in college at the moment and so I am constantly surrounded by the retouched and overly-edited photographs of models. This novel works so well because it reminds us that the evil that can come from having a shallow thought process and putting too much stock in one's appearance.

This is such an excellent novel; my favorite book ever.