The Picture of Dorian Gray Reading #2

         Lord Henry and Basil are attracted to Dorian Gray because of his youth and innocence. In chapter three it is revealed that Dorian Gray’s childhood is not as picturesque as one would imagine: “The mother snatched away by death, the boy left to solitude and the tyranny of an old and loveless man”(Wilde 26). Gray was faced with adversity at an early age which makes Lord Henry and Basil’s idealistic view of him surprising. Gray is also intrigued by Lord Henry because no one has ever been as honest to Gray as Lord Henry has. Basil is now pushed aside because Basil sees Gray as everyone else does, and Basil does want to ruin Gray’s apparent innocence. Meanwhile, Lord Henry seeks to corrupt Gray and be upfront to him about his opinions and what he views as the truth.

Sound and Sense Chapter 8: My Son the Man

My Son the Man

Thesis: In the poem My Son the Man, Sharon Olds uses allusions to the magician Houdini to describe her son growing older and eventually being able to do things on his own. Olds also uses descriptive diction and a metaphor, to illustrate her son’s wonder of trying to find his way out of his sleeper and relates this to him growing up and becoming a man.

Allusion:

Olds uses the allusion to Houdini to express her son turning into a man by discovering how to complete tasks on his own.

“Suddenly his shoulders get a lot wider, the way Houdini would expand his body” (lines 1-2).

Olds references Houdini to show that just like Houdini would change shape quickly, her son is also growing just as quickly in her opinion. To a mother a child may seem to grow up in a matter of minutes when in reality, growing up takes a long time.

“Now he looks at me the way Houdini studied a box to learn the way out, then smiled and let himself be manacled” (lines 14-16).

Houdini is referenced again as the son is trying to find a way out of his sleeper just like Houdini would try to figure out how to escape. The mother realizes that her son has not grown up to be a man yet, and he still needs help escaping from his sleeper.

Descriptive Diction:

“It seems no time since I would help him put on his sleeper, guide his calves into the shadowy interior” (lines 3-5).

Olds illustrates the affection that the mother expresses towards her son, and how her actions are maternal. The lines illustrate the son’s need to be helped.

“zip him up and toss him up and catch his weight. I cannot imagine him no longer a child, and I know I must get ready” (lines 5-7).

The description in these lines expresses the innocence of her son, and that she cannot imagine her son growing up.

Metaphor:

“to learn the way out, then smiled and let himself be manacled” (line 16).

The sleeper represents the son being trapped like Houdini was in chains. In this line the mother sees her son just as a little boy who not only wants his mother’s help but needs it. At first the son is trying to escape, but he soon realizes that he cannot find a way out of his sleeper by himself. This change is expressed when he smiles and realizes he is stuck in the sleeper.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #1

             In the first two chapters of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry, and Dorian Gray are immediately interconnected. It appears that a love triangle, or a triangle of affection has formed between the three characters. Basil Hallward introduces Lord Henry to Dorian Gray, and they are immediately intrigued by each other. Basil Hallward and Lord Henry are now competing for the attention of Dorian Gray. The relationship is illustrated in Hallward’s response when Henry and Gray leave: “As the door closed behind them, the painter flung himself down on a sofa, and a look of pain came into his face” (Wilde 22). Hallward’s reaction illustrates the romantic side of his relationship with Gray, because if they were just friends he would have not been upset about Gray going to the theater with Henry.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Preface

            In the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde gives short sayings about the purpose of art. He makes it clear that artists do not make art for a moral purpose. He writes “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written” (Wilde vii). Wilde’s comment about aesthetic philosophy is that art is a judgment of aesthetics and what defines beauty, not what is moral and immoral.  Aesthetic philosophy focuses on the nature of art and beauty, and not the moral purpose. Wilde follows the philosophy because he just wants art to be accepted as beautiful and nothing more.

            Wilde’s tone toward the audience is playful and he also clearly states all of his viewpoints. The preface is made up of short sentences that are concise thoughts. Wilde wants his audience to understand exactly what he believes in. He does not lead his writing up to interpretation. He also maintains a playful tone because the last line in the preface is “All art is quite useless”(Wilde viii). Wilde clearly does not believe that art is useless because if he really did, he would not spend as much time thinking about art. The playfulness of the preface gives the audience a glimpse of how the rest of the book will be written. 

The History Teacher Outline

Thesis: In the poem The History Teacher, a teacher attempts to protect his students from history by telling different versions of the truth. The negative impact of his teaching is expressed through the understatement of events, irony, and the symbol of the life that these children are a part of.

Understatement:

The teacher takes events in history and takes the literal meaning of the word described. Due to his teaching, students now have a false perception of the world that they live in. When student do not understand the past, they cannot have an understanding of the consequences of their actions.

Example: “The Spanish Inquisition was nothing more than an outbreak of questions” (Lines 7-8).

The students instead of learning the raw facts of the Spanish Inquisition they were taught nothing and the conversation was just made up of questions.

Example: “The War of the Roses” (Line 11). The teacher made a war up about something positive, and now students do not understand the negative connotation of war.

Irony:

Example: “to torment the weak and the smart, mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses” (Line 15-18). Despite the teachers want to make the world a perfect place the students still illustrate their evil nature by bullying other students. This is ironic because the teacher did not want to discuss the violence that had occurred in the past, because he wanted to protect his students. In reality his students are violent and do not need to be protected.

Example: “in the Boer War told long, rambling stories designed to make the enemy nod off” (Lines 21-22).

The irony is that the teacher is not even making history more interesting, instead he is making history boring for the students.

Symbol:

Example: “past flower beds and white picket fences” (Line 19).

The teacher now is walking home, and he walks past flowers and white picket fences. His surroundings are a symbol of his student’s lives because they live also in an idyllic world. The realization is if he does not teach them history then who will explain to these students that the world is not a perfect place.