When I was done reading the book, I thought of it as an enjoyable read with an interesting plot, this was due to several reasons. Therefore, I consider “The Picture of Dorian Gray” to be a memorable book.
One of the most interesting things about the book is it's plot. In it, Basil Hallward, a known painter, becomes friends with Dorian Gray who starts to enhance the artistic imagination of Basil. Dorian is described as pure beauty and his genius is often compared to those of historical figures. One day, as Basil finishes a portrait of Dorian, Dorian becomes aware of the fact that he will age, while the painting won't. Over time, Dorian will notice that his wish came true, as he wont age anymore, but the picture will. After all, the story will become a true tragedy as Dorian accidentally kills Basil, and in the end kills himself by trying to destroy his own portrait. I thought that the plot was compelling due to the amount of excitement which was constantly building up. Further, I liked the deep message that Wild tries to deliver through his story. I belief that even though the book was written more than a century ago it contains values and morals that could not be more recent. It seems like in today's world people are more concerned about their beauty and age than ever before. For example, as one walks down the aisles of a grocery store one will recognize tons of anti-aging products, and as one drives on the highway one will see billboards of doctor's offices that advertise surgery to re-gain twenty years of one's beauty. One can interpret this as Dorian's industry, the try to achieve what he has done. In his book though, Wild is trying to teach an important lesson, that one should not sorrow after one's beauty...
Secondly, Wild adds lots of historical and mythical references, which adds to the intellect of the book. For this, he pulls from Roman and Greek history, but also from many plays from Shakespeare. As an example, Wild describes characters as “Titans” (p.39), which are Greek mythical characters, or as Messalina who was the wife of the Roman emperor Claudius (p.78)...
Another aspect in which the book excels in, are the characters. Wild does a wonderful job of creating different persona, each one of them having a special charm to them. Dorian for example, is described as one of the most beautiful and pure beings on earth...
Lord Henry is another main character who has a special charm to him. He seems to be very wise as he guides Dorian through life and gives him lots of advice. Many of his comments are very thoughtful and have an intellectual humor to them...
Further, I liked the language Wild used for his book as it is very sophisticated and makes the book lots of fun to read. The book is written in third person, making it possible to observe what is happening from an outside point of view. Throughout the story, passages are very well and detailed described with many adjectives, making it very easy to imagine the scenery. For example, while reading the book one will get to know England in the late 1800s well, as Wild includes lots of places that were popular during the time period. Also, I felt like there was always something super natural or dark present in the book. It was partly due to the magic and the mysticism that was involved in switching the aging process between the portrait and Dorian himself. The dark shade made the story more appealing to me...
