Topics for Dorian Discussion of Chapters 8-13
Leaders, please post topics for Friday's discussion here.
posted by mferrill | 10:26 AM
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2 Comments:
What is the significance of Oscar Wilde switching from Lord Henry’s point of view at the beginning of the novel to Dorian Gray’s point of view at the end of the novel?
How is Lord Henry’s influence over Dorian Gray more present even though Lord Henry seems to have passed from the perspective of the novel?
How has the motif of “creeping shadows” become increasingly important and symbolic? (they have been present when Lord Henry talked to Dorian and when Dorian was reading the book Lord Henry sent him)
Why is it significant that Dorian takes up the study and collecting of beautiful things such as jewels, tapestry, ecclesiastical objects, musical instruments, etc.? Does it correspond to an inner beauty and pleasure he has lost and must regain?
How has the effect of “Faustian Pact” Dorian made become increasingly present as Dorian has become corrupt and how has it made Lord Henry seem more like the Devil who Dorian has sold his soul to?
On Wikipedia, it is suggested that a reference to the Dorians and the “Greek Love,” or homosexuality which was common among the Greeks, by Oscar Wilde is his way at hinting at the relation Dorian Gray has with other men, even possibly Lord Henry. What other significance is present in Dorian Gray’s name and how does it add another dimension to the novel?
It has become obvious that Dorian’s portrait bears the toil of life while he remains untouched. How does this open a possible answer for Mrs. Ferrill’s question about aestheticism (Is art a reflection of life or life a reflection of art)?
How does the murder of Basil affect the possible future of the Dorian and the novel?
What is the impact of Lord Henry’s statement that asserted the bad things in life were just a dream and should be forgotten and erased from reality?
Consider the meaning of the names of our major characters (thus far):
Dorian— From the Sea
Henry— Home Ruler
Basil—King
Sibyl— Prophetess
Does any of these reveal things that surprise you? What fits, and what doesn’t? What predictions can you make based on what these names reveal?
Dorian comforts and surrounds himself with art, in tapestries and music. He also is fascinated by the book that Henry gives him about the Parisian man. Recall the Preface to Dorian Gray: It states of art, “All art is quite useless”, and of books, “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all” (6-7). Through this novel, is Oscar Wilde ridiculing or supporting this Preface? Can a man who makes a living by writing possibly believe art to be useless? If there are no such things as immoral/moral books, can there be immoral/moral art?
Consider the (relatively) major female characters we have met thus far: Sybil, Mrs. Vane, and Victoria. What do they reveal about Wilde’s view of women? What is the role of the female in society during this time?
Dorian buys many copies of the book Henry recommended to him and is fascinated with it, treating it like some treat a bible. Why do you think Wilde never gives the title of the book? What is Dorian’s religion—that is, what is it that he believe to be right and true; what does he have faith in?
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