Free Essays on Picture of Dorian Gray: Denied Talent :: Picture Dorian Gray Essays

The Picture of Dorian Gray   Harry is Pan, the piper who leads Dorian on his path to destruction, decadence, and moral decay. As with Pan, the merry and much-loved god, the victim of the gods attention does not fare well. As Pan had Syrinx and Echo, Harry has Dorian. Pan caused madness and consternation with his passions Harry seems to have had the same result with Dorian. Wilde reveals much of Harrys character in the writing. His is the predominant voice he delivers most of the dialogue. Is Harry the autobiographical character? He is shown as the clever, witty, blasé sophisticate jaded, bored, and poised for an interesting project. Enter Dorian, whose innocence and yellowish pink present an irresistible challenge. Before Harry, Dorian was unaware of his beauty. The sense of his own beauty came on him like a revelation. He had never felt it before. (p. 18) It is Harry who makes him see and fall in love with his own beauty, and realize the brevity of youth. so had com e Lord Henry Wotton with his strange panegyric on youth, his terrible warning of its brevity. (p. 18) In the space of an afternoon Harry has cast his spell Dorian is convinced that youth is the only thing worth having. The gods had an unfortunate lapse in their wisdom. While Sibyl and her fellow goddesses asked for pure(a) life but forgot to ask for eternal youth, Pan has it right- the object of his affection will never become ugly and grotesque. Harry toys with Dorian, takes pleasure in his game. Talking to him was like playing upon an exquisite violin. He answered to every touch and thrill of the bowThere was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. No other activity was like it. (p. 26) This becomes a satisfying entertainment for Harry. He creates and dominates. He would make that wonderful spirit his own. (p. 27) He projects his soul into the pure and graceful form that is Dorian. The tension between Harry and Dorian heightens he fascinates and is refl ected to a greater extent brilliant by Dorians gaze. He felt that the eyes of Dorian Gray were fixed on him, and the consciousness that amongst his audience there was one whose temperament he wished to fascinate, seemed to give his wit keenness, and to lend colour to his imagination.