The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Essay
Updated: Apr 1st, 2019
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story which reflects many ideas and themes which are interesting and actual for people in the modern world. Answering the question why Dorian Gray was motivated to adopt his life philosophy and to lead a double life it is possible to look at the facts.
Many people in the society have to lead double lives in many reasons. Sometimes these reasons are rather obvious, people want to hide their private life from public, that is why they are looking for the means to do it. However, there are situations when leading of the double life is presupposed by the desire to hide something that is illegal.
The situation with Dorian Gray and his mystic double life is exactly the case. Having killed Basil Hallward, Dorian Gray has nothing to do but to hide his real appearance and lead a double life. However, there are also a lot of other hidden reasons for dualism in personal expression.
Looking at the history of the novel creation and checking the situation which was in the society, it is possible to predict that sexual orientation of Dorian Gray was one of the reasons for his dual life.
However, this reason is not discussed and considered in the novel, even though it is possible to find the lines which prove this point of view, “Dorian is my dearest friend … he has quite a simple and beautiful nature” and “all the candour of youth was there as well as all youth’s passionate purity … no wonder Basil worshipped him” (Wilde 33).
However, the most important reason for leading such a double life was the murder. Having killed a person, Dorian Gray has to decide for himself whether he has to go to police or to make sure that no one gets to know what he has done. The desire to continue the life he has led before makes Dorian Gray change his vision of the surrounding world.
Considering the novel, it is possible to see the whole society in one personality. All people live in this world and they have to hide something. This is the main idea why people wear masks.
It is impossible to see one person who is trying to live without a mask. Of course, not all people in the society have committed the murders, but all people have the sins they are to hide.
These sins may be considered as simple actions by some people and the cruel and unforgivable ones by others. Therefore, to make sure that no one is going to reproach people in their actions, they prefer to hide them and lead a double life.
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that those people who wear masks, whose hidden actions are too serious and they are unable to carry them are going to end in the way Dorian Gray did It is impossible to lead a double life without constant pricks of conscience.
If the reasons people lead a double life are too serious, it is obvious that people will always wait for those who have seen them committing those actions. It is difficult to live under that pressure. The same has happened to Dorian Gray.
Even though the novel contains a number of different themes and the double life was not the main reason for Gray’s actions. Therefore, the new philosophy he pursued, the desire to remain unknown in the world he lived in and the same person for him led to the tragic consequences.
Works Cited
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Plain Label Books, 2004. Print.
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