I have just finished reading the book The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This book was written in late 19th century England and tells the story of a young, rich and good looking man in that time, named Dorian Grey and his two friends, a good natured painter named Basil and a corrupt aristocrat named Henry. Both friends are older and wiser than Dorian and have a big influence on him. Basil is fascinated with Dorian and paints a beautiful portrait of him, his masterpiece.
While admiring the painting, Lord Henry, declares that the only thing worth having in life is youth. In my opinion, this is the most important line in the book. Dorian realizes that with time he will loose his good looks and his innocence, but the image in the painting will stay forever young and beautiful. He is very upset and wishes it was the opposite.
From then on, the story follows Dorian in his life of pleasures and self indulgence and the strange fact that he remains young and good looking in spite of the years that go by. The author is very good at describing all the scenes with vivid details not just of the physical places but also of the personalities of all the characters that create the story. The dialogues are sometimes many pages long and full of shocking ideas, all of them coming from the character of Lord Henry who is always making fun of the other aristocrats. Dorian doesn’t seem to have a mind of his own and follows Henry’s advise without questioning. But whenever he talks to Basil, he feels guilty about not being good.
The book is excellent at describing the life of the English Aristocracy in the late 1800’s, and how they filled their days with social activities since they didn’t have to work. It is not an easy read but it is not very long. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history and ideas that question much of the things that we take for granted.
That sounds like a great book that incorporates many important lessons and gives the reader historical knowledge! I would imagine that it would be difficult to read, as you said it was, because of the time period it was set in. Perhaps they spoke with different words back then. I think that youth is valuable, but it can also be a bad thing. For example, you may be healthy and strong when you are younger, but you won't have made as many mistakes or learned as many lessons, so you can't be as wise. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book, i have heard of a different version of the story where each year he doesn't look at the painting it ages and he stays young. I find it interesting that the author wrote that his friends are both older and wiser, and dorian is young and innocent. he wants to stay young but if he does will he ever become any wiser?
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