The Readers Sympathy for Dorian from Wildes The Picture...

The French born author, Anais Nin once wrote, â€Å"We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative† (Think Exist Quotations). Anais is expounding upon the inconsistency all people have in aspects of their personalities. Some days a person may be hailed as a saint for their actions, while other days they seem absolutely evil. In most literature, characters are defined as good or evil based on their revealed thoughts and actions. On occasion an anomaly may be found, where a character is more ambiguous. Dorian Gray’s Actions throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray paralyzes the readers’ ability to condemn Dorian as purely good or purely evil, causing†¦show more content†¦They also sympathize with how conflicted Dorian seems to be, trying to care about personal and tangible aspects of his world. At this point, readers still cannot condemn Dorian as necessarily go od or evil. Most people would consider Dorian’s personality to be swaying towards the evil side based on his vanity and extreme concern with himself until Sibyl Vane becomes the most prominent part of his life. Dorian meets Sibyl and instantly loves her. His instant love and compassion, though shallow, could mean that he does care about others on a deeper level. Dorian cares so much as to ask his good friend Lord Henry to â€Å"tell [him] how to charm Sibyl Vane to [loving him]. [He] wants[s] to make Romeo jealous† (ch 4). His desire to challenge the charm of one of the most infamous romantics shows that he is deeply devoted to, and seriously concerned with winning the affection of Sibyl Vane. Dorian makes his admiration for Sibyl apparent when he openly proclaims, â€Å"I love Sibyl Vane. I want to place her on a pedestal of gold, and to see the world worship the woman who is mine† (ch 6). Dorian wins over the audience a bit with his avid display of love. Readers sympathi ze with his ability to love, care and even worship a woman he has barley met. His evil and vain words pale in comparison to his light-hearted compassionate ones, making the readers feel bad for the shame they condemned himShow MoreRelatedOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray2021 Words   |  9 PagesProfessor McNeight English Lit II 3/1/15 Dorian Gray: A Battle With One’s Self Oscar Wilde’s â€Å"The Picture of Dorian Gray† is a story that focuses on the journey of an innocent and pure man, and his downward spiral of giving into temptation and committing crime, and living a life of pleasure. The story is centered around the idea of aestheticism. Everything is beautiful, the thought of something having any kind of â€Å"moral† meaning is just absurd. â€Å"The Picture of Dorian Gray† by Oscar Wilde both honors and