Power Of Youth And Beauty
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Darsielle Hayes
2/2/06
Eng 202B
Power of Youth and Beauty
Some say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Others say that it(beauty) is only skin deep. A person that is considered to have overwhelming beauty can commit a heinous crime and be forgiven because they have such beauty. In a society that puts beauty on a pedestal, youth and physical attractiveness become valuable possessions. Oscar Wildes novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, prove all of these things to be true. Throughout this novel beauty reigns, it revitalizes the wearied senses. Beauty can be used to escape the brutalities of the world. One persons beauty can mask the ugliness they possess inside from the outside world.
Basil Hallward is a painter who at one point was struggling with his pieces, but when he met Dorian everything changed. Basil started painting beautiful masterpieces because of his fascination with Dorian. There is one piece in this book that in some way becomes a character and that is the self portrait of Dorian. Basils good friend Lord Henry comes to visit and sees the incredible painting. He tells Basil that he should exhibit it, but Basil refuses because he says he put too much of himself into the portrait. Lord Henry refers to Dorian as a young Adonis, who in Greek mythology was known for his beauty.
“Dorian Grays good looks-we shall all suffer for what the gods have given us, suffer terribly” (Wilde3). Some people use their beauty as a weapon and it can be a deadly one. This quote will play a major role in this book and this paper. Basil already knows that Dorians beauty will cause problems. Basil and Lord Henry have different beliefs about beauty. Lord Henry thinks that beauty is one of the most important things in the world, but Basil on the other hand appreciates Dorians beauty but feels in order to be beautiful one would have to pay a price.
Lord Henry is fascinated by Dorians beauty also. Dorian was supposed to meet with Lord Henrys aunt but forgot all about it. Lord Henry tells Dorian not to worry about it because his aunt is captivated by his beauty. This is the first part in the book where it shows how ones beauty can make another forgive them for their actions. Lord Henry is so fascinated with Dorian to the point that it is impossible to see any evil in him because he has such beauty. Lord Henry is the first to let Dorian know that beauty can help him get things in life and also that it fades with age. “It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But . . . it is better to be good than to be ugly” (Wilde143). Dorian realizes his own beauty when Basil finishes the painting and lets him see it.
Once Dorian sees the painting and thinks about what Lord Henry has said, he wishes that he would stay young and the picture would grow old. Lord Henry makes Dorian think that beauty is everything, and when Dorian looks at this picture, he thinks that beauty is the most important thing he has. Dorians beauty becomes more important to him than his soul, “If it only it could be the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! There is nothing in the world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!” (Wilde19).
Beauty and Dorian are connected when he looks at his portrait. He sees the effects of age that Lord Henry expressed to him. Dorians cruelty has had an effect on the painting and he realizes that the painting looks less beautiful because of it. Wilde says that the painting is a mirror of Dorians soul, everything that Dorian does will be reflected in this picture. Basils art will bear the sins of Dorians age. Dorians portrait loses all of its innocence and begins to look vicious. Dorian is getting a look at his own soul. Since Dorians outside appearance still holds his innocence, people have a hard time believing the stories about his bad habits.
Once Dorian learns that he does not have to pay for his sins by losing his looks, he goes into a life of sin. His beauty helps him forget about the horrible things that he has done. He uses his beauty as a way to escape reality. Dorian lives a double life throughout the rest of the novel. Dorians demise comes when he tries to destroy the painting and ends up killing himself. At the end of the book, the portrait is restored to its original form, and Dorian was described as, “withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage” (Wilde165). Beauty and youth retain the utmost importance at the end of the novel.
Even in todays society, beauty is held up on a pedestal. It is used as a weapon. Some people use it to get away with crimes, others use it to get the things they want out of life the same way Lord Henry expressed it to Dorian. To some what matters the most is a persons outside appearance. During the Victorian Era and today it does not matter if a person is good at heart, but if they are handsome.
“The effect of beauty on the emotional state of others is a frequently broached topic. Magazines, news programs, and movies often focus on the dichotomy between beauty and ugliness, the relationship between persons of each characteristic” (Patterson). I sometimes catch myself getting overwhelmed by something or someones beauty. It happens to everyone, but not everyone plays into it all of them time. Beauty hides some of the worlds nastiest secrets and nobody will know of them because “we” are so busy worrying about the outside.
Appearance plays a huge role in the “real” world. When it comes to employment, the women that are prettier most likely get hired on the spot, get paid more, hold higher positions, and get promoted more often. “A society born without the ability to see physical beauty in humans would not be able to make any sort of judgment based on looks. These attractiveness inequalities that we are confronted with everyday would cease to exist, perhaps to be replaced by others just as potent, yet let us assume that somehow it would be possible to remove any new alternate” (Patterson).
“If we rid the world of physical beauty the injustice we see will not be the