Individualism: Free From Corruption
In Oscar Wilde’s philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, the most salient and significant feature is the advocate of individualism which is oppositely shown by the negative consequences of Lord Henry’s influence toward the main character Dorian Gray. In the beginning of the novel, during a conversation between the painter Basil Hallward and his friend Lord Henry Wotton, Basil introduces Dorian as a good-natured, innocent young man. However, as innocent as Dorian is, he is vulnerable to Lord Henry’s negative influences. After hearing Lord Henry’s enchanting speech about the significance of youth and beauty, Dorian stares at his beautiful portrait and utters: “If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! I would give my soul for that”(29). It is clear that Dorian is allured by Lord Henry’s philosophy of Hedonism, and starts to value beauty more than morality. From this point on, Dorian gradually loses his conscience and views the main goal of life as to “search for new sensations” (149) and pleasure, which is the theme of the yellow book that Lord Henry gives to Dorian. Dorian’s unrestricted speeches and actions lead to the suicide of the young actress Sibyl Vane and the murder of Basil. Eventually, Dorian begins to contempt his evil transformation and appalls by the decay of his own soul; he stabs his portrait and kills himself. In this heartbreaking tragedy, Wilde skillfully depicts how Dorian’s credulous nature causes his destruction. Furthermore, Wilde illustrates the importance of having individuality and not to be easily corrupt by outside influences. This value of individualism helps explain the idea of transcendentalism in which people need to rely and trust themselves and be free of outside influences.
google我以前试过,好多错误都找不出来呢~
麻烦回答的具体一些,谢谢了~!
我也觉得过去时比较好,可是我们老师说写文学鉴赏都要用现在时呢...
还有什么其他问题么?
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