September 16, 2012
1978. Choose an implausible or strikingly
unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized
literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is
related to the more realistic of plausible elements in the rest of the work.
Avoid plot summary.
Imagine what it would be like to have a body which hid your evil doings by never growing old, with only a haunting portrait to remind you of your corrupt soul. The 19th century British novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde tells this story of a physically beautiful man with a corrupt and ugly soul, his secret hidden within a fantastic painted portrait. The portrait, which decays as Dorian commits one evil deed after another, is an unrealistic event which changes the life of Dorian forever. While it is both implausible and unrealistic, the portrait relates to the realistic elements within the novel, creating a whole and understandable story.
The changing portrait is not something anyone can relate to. However, readers of the novel can relate to Dorian's struggle with his outward appearance. He feels like his beauty is his greatest asset, and that he is a worthy person because of it. Dorian later despises his perfect appearance, saying that it is not worth being haunted by the portrait. His obsession with looks is only magnified by the portraits existence, making it an element that the reader can associate with.
Dorian goes to all sorts of extremes within this novel. He even reaches the point where his actions are controlled by the portrait, leading him to kill another man after he shares his secret with him. Being controlled by a desire or secret is a very realistic element many readers can relate to. While I'm sure none have committed murder in order to guard a secret, it is fair to say that many people have things about themselves they wish not to share and will protect from others. For example, I have friends who will never, under no circumstances, leave the house without makeup for fear of being seen without. Is this not unlike Dorian Gray, doing all he can to guard the secret of his inner corrupt being? I think not. The portrait is more than a portrait to Dorian, and the reader can understand how they have similar "portraits" they hide.
It's an absurd idea, that there really could be a "picture of your soul", but Oscar Wilde weaves it in to the point where the reader can't doubt its existence, even if it only is alive in Dorian's head. And while it may be crazy, it fits. It adds a whole new fantastic level to the novel, while still being familiar and relevant to the reader.
Response:
At first, 40 minutes seemed like a long time, until I was working on the last paragraph and saw I had 2 minutes to finish it up, and was still planning on writing another paragraph. It was also difficult to think back to last year when I read the book, and instead had to rely on past knowledge. As I went on writing it started to all come back, but a review of it would have been very helpful before I started writing!
I think you did an excellent job of answering the question in a non-boring way. Honestly, I feel like I learned a lot after just reading a short essay! This was very good. You did a great job of using unique sentence beginnings so it was not redundant. Also, I felt like you got your point across in a very interesting way. There is not much criticism I can give this. I also really liked when you used real life examples. That made it very relatable. One thing I remember learning last year was that when a writer asks a rhetorical question it makes it more forceful when they do not answer it. In your essay, you answered your rhetorical question in the 3rd paragraph. Overall, very nice job!
ReplyDeleteKenzie, again you were not repetitive. Great! I loved this book. But I agree it was not something people could relate to. No one has a picture of themselves that changes with every evil they committ. But you used someo great examples to show how people CAN relate to the book. It showed me new things I hadnt thought of before. Like that people can relate to how he feels the only thing he has going for him is his outter beauty. You also used great form of the rhetoric! Very good job!
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