2009 A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do no merely summarize the plot.
In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde writes about a boy named Dorian Gray, who starts off as an innocent boy, but is changed after being corrupted by Lord Henry. Dorian, who met Lord Henry while sitting for a painting by his friend Basil, wished that the painting that Basil created would age, rather than himself. Wilde uses the actual painting of Dorian Gray as a symbol that shows Dorian Gray's loss of innocence and his selfishness.
During the beginning of the novel, Dorian was an innocent boy with a good heart, according to Basil. Though, when Dorian hears Lord Henry's theories and thoughts on life, he begins to change. The same day that Lord Henry visits, Dorian wishes that the picture would be the one that ages, in fear that he would be ugly when he ages. From then on, the painting begins to change, much like how Dorian's innocence has changed. Lord Henry's teachings had exposed Dorian and Dorian was then no longer able to hide behind his innocence, and caused him to be "cursed". The painting also had changed as Dorian continuously became more corrupted. For example, when he killed his friend Basil, the painting changed too. Dorian's hands in the picture were covered with blood, and his face held an evil grin. The changing of the painting highlights how Dorian is quickly losing his old, innocent, self, and is turning into a sick, ugly, person.
The picture also exposes Dorian's selfishness. When he wished that the painting would age, he himself had wanted to be perfect forever. By doing so, the painting changes, showing the imperfections that he would've had. Another instance where the picture shows Dorian's selfishness is when he dumps the girl he proposed to, only because he thought he loved her for her acting. He didn't care about how she felt, which then led her to kill herself. This resulted in the painting gaining an unattractive grin, which made Dorian realize his selfishness and feel guilty.
Overall, the painting reveals certain aspects of the character, Dorian Gray. By placing the painting as a symbol, Wilde shows that Dorian is a selfish man and that he loses his innocence through influence.
Hi Caitlin! Nice example for this prompt! I really can't think of anything you should fix in this! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if the painting counts as a symbol. I mean, I know it reflects Dorian's corruption, but that's sort of the point of the whole book. It isn't really a hidden meaning it takes on, but rather an explicit one that Wilde fully intended to be obvious. And depending on whether you count Dorian's loss of innocence and selfishness as the same thing or not, this might be an allegory, not a symbol.
ReplyDeleteBecause this quasi-symbolism is such a big part of the plot arc, the essay reads a lot like a plot summary. I realize this is pretty hard to avoid, since any evidence you could use to support your claim would be a plot element, and all the warrants would just be examples of events in the book that demonstrate the change in Dorian. Along the same lines, it's hard to say what this shows about the characters beyond how Wilde is depicting them. Instead, you might want to focus on the theme of the work, which is much less explicit.
I disagree with Mayank, a symbol doesn't have to be hidden, it just has to have multiple meanings which is where the question of whether or not a loss of innocence and selfishness are the same thing comes into play. I do agree that this essay read as more of a summary however. The last paragraph was really well written as it didn't summarize as much as the first two. It might help if you don't analyze the painting chronologically but simply pull important pieces where it is clear that the painting is symbolic and analyze those.
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