The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of

moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel,

the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian

Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical

Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully

affects his life forever. "If it were I who was to be always

young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I

would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole

world I would not give! I would give my soul for that"

(Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil that Dorian sells his

soul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not only as

something external to Dorian, but also as a voice within him

(Bloom 107). Dorian continues to lead a life of sensuality

which he learns about in a book given to him by Lord

Henry. Dorian's unethical devotion to pleasure becomes his

way of life. The novel underscores its disapproval of

aestheticism which negatively impacts the main......

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Title: The Picture Of Dorian
Approximate Word Count: 1289
Approximate Pages: 6 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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