Sunday, December 2, 2012

The Picture of Dorian Gray Reading #5



‘“Of course I am very fond of Harry. But I know that you are better than he is. You are not stronger—you are too much afraid of life—but you are better”’ (Wilde 81).
            Basil goes to see Dorian, and Dorian acknowledges the changes that he has undergone since meeting Harry. It is clear that Dorian understands that Harry is not a good person, and that Basil is a better influence over him. Unfortunately, Dorian decides to choose Harry over Basil, because Harry is more captivating to Dorian. Dorian understands the divide between good and evil, until Harry gives him the book. The book takes over Dorian’s soul and he no longer understands what is good and evil. At the end of the eleventh chapter the change in Dorian’s character has changed: “There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful” (Wilde 107). Dorian’s aesthetic philosophy has completely changed from the beginning of the book because now he views art as the ability to see the evil in the individual.

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