Fishbowl Discussion topics for Chapters 3-7 of Dorian Gray
Leaders of our first Dorian fishbowl: Please post discussion topics here.
posted by mferrill | 12:13 PM
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3 Comments:
Subjects for The Picture of Dorian Gray Fishbowl:
1. Has the Dorian Gray so heavily influenced by Lord Henry already outgrown the Dorian Gray in Basil's portrait?
2. I feel that Lord Henry has changed Dorian into someone less wholesome and pure, do you feel the same? Is the Dorian Gray we now know better or worse than when we met him in Basil's studio?
3. Everyone, deep down, cares for something. Henry show's absolutely no genuine concern for anything or anyone. Is there anything you think Henry has an honest concern for?
4. Why can Henry influence Dorian to such great extents? I feel that Dorian is relying completely on Henry and never participating in his own intellectual process.
5. At the end of chapter seven Dorian realizes that he fell in love with Sybil's acting and not Sybil. Do we ever fall in love with people because of who they want them to be or who they truly are?
6. I am a painter, and feel a great connection to Basil because of this. Before I paint I take my blank canvas, lay it across my easel and picture what it is I want to paint. I see Dorian as a blank canvas. I see what the canvas can become, and paint. Does Henry see what Dorian can become, and influence? I paint because I find peace in it, and love to put how I feel on the inside into something you can see. I paint because I enjoy doing something i'm talented at. Henry is talented at painting on others canvases, but where is his joy coming from? Is he creating the beautiful or destroying it?
Correction, #5 should say ...who WE want them to be...
More questions to ponder:
1. "To project one's soul into some gracious form...to hear one's own intellectual views echoed back...perhaps the most satisfying joy left to us" (37). To what extent do each of the three main characters project their soul on another? (Dorian-Basil, Henry-Dorian, etc). Are such projections detrimental or beneficial for each one involved?
2. Understanding Henry is nearly impossible for those close to him, because he is constantly surprising them with unconventional and radical ideas. Does he honestly believe his statements, or is he merely trying to avoid facing his true character?
3. What is the significance of Sibyl's name for Dorian? (Prince Charming)
4. Lord Henry says " 'To be good is to be in harmony with one's self.'" From this standpoint, is Henry really "good?"
5. Just as Dorian valued his portrait more than his life and soul, he values Sibyl's acting more than her person. Is he a shallow person? To what extent has his character been morphed by Lord Henry?
6. What is the significance of Sibyl being connected to flower images and motifs?
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