A definite must read
By Alice / Spinebreakers Crew
At the beginning of Oscar Wilde’s story, London’s favourite artist Basil Hallward, is painting a young, beautiful man called Dorian Gray - a man whose beauty has inspired what is to become Basil’s magnum opus. Basil reluctantly introduces Dorian to a friend, Lord Henry Wotton, a man who indulges in the pleasures of life, beauty and youth and a man who Basil believes will have a bad influence on Dorian. Henry soon upsets Dorian by telling him that his youth and beauty are limited and, although they will always remain the same in Basil’s painting, on the real Dorian they will fade away in the years to come. Dorian pledges his soul, if only it were the other way round (the painting will grow older but he will not). Throughout the book Dorian becomes more and more corrupted and like his new friend Lord Henry. He falls in love with a young actress, Sibyl Vane, and soon becomes engaged to her. However, one night he decides to heartlessly bring an end to their engagement and when he returns home he finds that Basil’s painting has changed slightly, somehow looking more ugly than it first did. Dorian begins to suspect that his wish for the painting to bear the nasty effects of his behaviour has come true and so he decides that the next day he will make amends with Sibyl. However, the following day Henry brings Dorian the bad news that Sibyl has killed herself. Dorian decides to hide the painting away in the attic so that no one else can see the ugly transformation that is taking place. And so, as Dorian’s life becomes more corrupted and wrong, he remains the same, but the painting becomes more and more hideous as it is showing his soul.
I think that The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a real masterpiece, as it shows the ugly inner side of beauty and how such an innocent, beautiful man can be led astray and turned into a corrupted murderer, all because his powerful friend has made him believe that youth and beauty are the only things that matter in life. I noticed the similarities it bears to Doctor Faustus, a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge.
I have been to see the new film of The Picture of Dorian Gray and I thought it was a good film, but not as good as the book. The story-line is basically the same as it is in the book, but with some changes. I think Collin Firth does a really good job in playing Lord Henry Wotton, as he captures just the right amount of nastiness that I got from Henry by reading the book. And I think that Ben Barnes is brilliant at illustrating how beautiful, if corrupted, Dorian Gray is. The film is worth seeing if you get the chance, but the book is a definite must read.