The Picture of Dorian Gray #1

1.) “Realize your youth while you have it. Don’t squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar” (24).

Lord Henry brings a new fear into Dorian’s mind; the fear that his beauty will not last forever. Originally, Dorian never thought he was gorgeous. When he was told that he had the most marvelous youth, Dorian responded, “I don’t feel that, Lord Henry” (24). Therefore, he did not worry about losing something valuable he did not possess. A new horror enters Dorian’s mind when he realizes his good looks will soon be gone. Lord Henry leaves Dorian with the advice to be gracious for what he has now. He should not waste his time worrying about something he has no control over or trying to please others who are impolite. The advice was not helpful; instead it turned out to be an influence, exactly what Basil warned Lord Henry of doing: “Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” (16).


2.) “But Beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face” (5).

Lord Henry’s philosophy is that beauty and youth are imperative, intelligence is overrated and will destroy attractiveness. To him, it is not possible to be truly beautiful and intellectual. After Basil insists he cannot show the painting because it has too much of him in it, Lord Henry shows his ignorance and shallow nature by claiming the picture has no resemblance to him at all. His inability to see the picture as a whole illustrates his small-minded personality. Basil understands that beauty is not everything and there is more to life than looks. Unfortunately, Lord Henry’s arrogant viewpoint will soon manipulate the naive Dorian Gray.

Vocab Words:

1.) Sauntered: A leisurely pace or a leisurely walk or stroll
“The rose up, and sauntered down the walk together” (26).

2.)Candor: The state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; freedom from bias; fairness; impartiality
“I think that would be a rather nice excuse: it would have all the surprise of candor” (31)