Dorian Gray

Although vague in memory, the black-and-white movie version of this book was pungent and persuasive.

The library doesn't seem to have a copy of the movie! :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Koa

I second that.


I'm not completely sure... it can be an original person.. I don't know, I liked the idea of someone not gay who has such infatuation on a person of the same sex. Maybe I don't know how men really work in that sense (or in any other sense) but I wouldnt be surprised by a woman finding that kind of inspiration in another woman, despite liking men... I think it can be possible for some kinf of 'sensitive' people...I might be wrong, but that was my idea...



I like this analysis, the lack of personality of Dorian is what strikes most about him... I agree about Henry too, as I said I like his wit but he had no ground, no real purpose...it was wit for the sake of with, like art for the sake of art...so it fits perfectly in the mood of the book! I'm not sure he really sees the crap of the society...he can analyse it and put it into wit, but I'm not sure he realises himself that that's really crap and something can be done about it... he sort of contemplates it and puts into beautiful sentences and thinks there is no more to it. Pretty aesthetic, too...

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about harry... it's obvious he doesn't like the society he lives in. i don't have a copy of the book with me and i usually don't write down quotes, but i'm pretty sure i remember some scenes, when he talks at some parties i think, when he points out the others' shallowness right in their face. he realises that, but he's no better than them.

when it comes to basil... it's kind of striking that he sees in dorian not only innocence etc, but especially physical beauty. dorian's appearance is not only a means of conveying his inner qualities, but it's an important quality itself.

yeah i tot it was a great novel.
i understood all of that gay thing & it being unrealistic. and i also
100% agree that its a 'homosexual novel' and all that.
but u noe wat? realism was never real. and Wilde?
He's such a emotionally charged homo who needed to exude all
his feelings in subtlety. Thats pretty much sad isnt it. esp sinz when then
homosexuality was a crime. give that guy a break.
hes sexually disoriented thats all.

I have heard of Dorian Gray but never knew what it was about so on my birthday I bought the book. I really liked it and I was so into it and when I finished it I read it again.

Mmm....Surprisingly, I like it.

I like this novel "Portrait of Dorian Gray"!

the novel was mainly about " the forgotten value of pleasure". the human who always tries to hide and suppress the reality of his desires and passions behind moralities and is also suppressed by the fear of society. he has forgotten his greatest duty of all. the duty he has to himself (as lord Henry states).
somehow , the whole underlying concept of the novel can be seen in one of lord Henry's aphorisms. " the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. resist it and your soul grows sick with longing for all the things it has forbidden to itself."
and Dorian is just like that. under the influence of lord Henry, he becomes the one who attempts to yield to his temptations, rather than resisting them. he takes a very liberal view towards his passions and seemingly shallow temptations. he yearns to stay young and to control people with that youth and beauty. he doesn't resist his desires with moral or social fears, rather he successfully dominates the surrounding society to his own desires.

and if you think he ended up in a bad way, just ask yourself, what would become of him if he hadn't lived like that? if he had lived like a respectable and morally loyal member of the common society?
then he would just get old and die eventually, with the difference that his whole life wouldn't worth writing a novel about. the way i see it, Dorian gray lived a life much better and fuller than that of the "morally committed" people around him.