English B

Through this essay, I’m going to discuss the changes that Dorian Gray experiences, and how they affect the outcome of the novel. Dorian Gray is the character that evolves the most throughout the novel, and these changes are mainly due to Lord Henry's influence over him. At the beginning of the story, it is clear to see Dorian’s innocence and purity. This is clearly reflected when Basil is opposed to introducing Dorian to Lord Henry, as he doesn’t want the boy to get corrupted by Lord Henry’s immoral philosophies. As presented in the following quote, “Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad.”, Basil is afraid for Dorian, and acts protective over him. I would argue that the first moment in the novel in which Dorian’s boyish personality became altered by Lord Henry’s ideas was when Basil was painting his portrait, and Lord Henry made a comment about Dorian’s youth, and how it would eventually go away. This quote makes reference to Dorian’s thoughts after Lord Henry’s haunting words, “The few words that Basil's friend had said to him […] had touched some secret chord that had never been touched before, but that he felt was now vibrating and throbbing to curious pulses.” This concept of youth clearly seemed to affect Dorian, as he became obsessed with his looks and he wished that he could stay young forever. It was at this point that the portrait became enchanted, which eventually had a huge impact on the evolution of Dorian’s personality. 

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Ater this day, Dorian became intrigued by Lord Henry's way of thinking, and they started to become close friends. At the beginning of their friendship, Dorian didn’t seem to be affected by Henry’s immorality, and he was even repelled and disgusted by it. However, another turning point in Dorian’s identity was breaking Sybil Vane’s heart. This was the first time in the book in which we saw him behave so ruthlessly, especially towards someone he loved. The following quote shows how harsh he spoke to her, “You are shallow and stupid. My God! how mad I was to love you! What a fool I have been! You are nothing to me now.”. In fact, his words were so jarring, that they lead Sybil to commit suicide. 

Once again, Dorian’s reaction to Sybil’s death was indifferent and cold, but only after Lord Henry changed Dorian’s mind on the subject. His first reaction to the news was filled with sadness, regret, and even fear. Nonetheless, once Henry talked about Sybil’s death with him, Dorian went from being unbearably upset, to feeling perfectly fine and going to the club that same afternoon. This quote makes reference to how little Dorian cared about Sybil “An hour later he was at the opera”, meaning that he didn’t even give much attention to such a dreadful event, and rather spent the evening with his friend. At this point in the story, Dorian Gray starts to get involved in more immoral actions, and one would even argue that he becomes a little evil. However, he constantly asks Henry if he finds him corrupt and vile, and he tries to convince himself that he is not. On one hand he is looking for his own approval, while at the same time, his portrait reveals to him all of his sins. This creates a conflict inside Dorian’s head, as he no longer knows if he is pure or wicked. 

Another important event that transformed Dorian’s way of thinking is when he read The St. James's Gazette. This was a little yellow book that Lord Henry had gifted to Dorian, and he spent all his time reading it. Dorian described it as “the strangest book he had ever read”, and he immediately became “absorbed by it.”. This book made Dorian arrive late to important events, and basically kept him hypnotized and amazed for years, as presented in the following quote, “That book you sent me so fascinated me that I forgot how the time was going." He became so obsessed with the book, that he even ordered a bunch of copies from different colors, so he could choose the color that best adapted to his mood. After all, “Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book.”

As the years went by, Dorian started to become despised among society. Every kind of rumor and story was told about him, and he slowly started to lose friends. Basil Hallward, who was once one of Dorian’s closest friends, had drifted away from him. It was said that “[…] the most dreadful things are being said against Dorian in London." Another of Dorian’s relationships that had fallen out was the one he used to share with Alan Campbell. He and Dorian used to be great friends, but Alan stopped talking to him, and “Campbell seemed always to go away early from any party at which Dorian Gray was present.” When they met again after years of avoiding each other, Alan resented Dorian, as presented in the following quote, “me. I entirely decline to be mixed up in your life.” It is clear that Alan had stayed away from Dorian because of his infamous immoral acts. Everyone in London constantly talked about how Dorian had become vain and evil. 

The part in the book in which Dorian’s character seems to drastically change, is definitely when he murders Basil. In this scene, Dorian lost all trace of the joyful and kind person he once was, and he kills one of his dearest friends without hesitation. The most shocking thing, however, is that he didn’t seem to feel remorse or regret after murdering Doriand, and rather acted unbothered by the event, as presented in the following quote, “He felt strangely calm, […] he didn't even glance at the murdered man.”

To conclude, it is clear to see that Dorian Gray’s character had a complete transformation throughout the book, as he started as an innocent boy, and ended up as a vain man, and even a murderer. It could be argued that these changes were influenced by Dorian’s friendship with Lord Henry, as Basil had predicted. At the end, it was Henry who first got the idea of eternal youth into Dorian’s head. Towards the end of the book, the only thing that Dorian cares about is his youth and beauty, and he is willing to do everything on his hands to remain youthful. Dorian Gray became completely poisoned by his appearance, which was the thing that eventually got him killed.