Friday, February 26, 2010

Dorian Grey Chapters 5-8

Do you think the changes in the painting are real or are they just something that Dorian sees out of guilt?
Do you think Dorian would feel bad about Sibyl's death if the painting hadn't changed?

22 comments:

  1. I think that the changes in the painting are just something that Dorian sees out of guilt. I think that Dorian doesn't like to look at the painting anymore because it reminds him of who he used to be and how he has changed so much since it was painted. Dorian is guilty for the way he has treated other people and instead of owning up to his actions he is blaming the portrait. I think that if anyone else looked at the painting it would look the same to them but Dorian sees it differently because it is of him and it shows the kind of person he really is. I do not think that Dorian would have felt bad about Sibyl's death because he did not really feel bad even after he saw the painting. I do not think that he ever really loved Sibyl and that she was just a girl that he lusted over.

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  2. I think that the traits have always been a part of the painting but Dorian is just now seeing them in the picture because he is beginning to see the traits in himself. I think that seeing the traits makes Dorian see the amount of change that he has undergone and also how much his infatuation with Lord Henry has molded the way he treats people. I do not think that anything would have changed the way he felt about Sibyl's death. He never really loved her and that would not have been changed by what he saw in a painting.

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  3. I think that the picture reminds him of who he used to be. When he looks at the picture he sees the changes in himself that one might see in a mirror. Its like he isnt realy looking at the painting but at him inside out. How he is underneath his good looks. I think the makes him guilty and also scares him because he knows his looks wont last forever and eventualy all that will be left is the ugliness of the painting that displays his personality.

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  4. I think the painting is a metaphor for the human soul and it is out of Karma, not just guilt. Dorian is forced to have a visual representation of his soul, though most of us do not. I believe that all of us have an inner portrait that maps and reflects our true selves and the changes we undergo. I think that Dorian might not have felt so bad if it had not been for the portrait. I think, being that he is a human, he would have felt bad regardless...yet the painting has a certain shock value to it that is innescapable.

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  5. I think that the changes in the painting are not real and that they are just what Dorian is seeing out of guilt. I think that his friendship with Lord Henry has allowed him to look at himself in a different light and the changes he is seeing are not neccessarily good ones. I do not think that Dorian would have felt too bad about how he treated Sybil if the picture had not changed. Dorian is too in love with himself to care for other's feelings unless it is making him look bad. I like Kyle's point about the painting as a metaphor for the soul. I think it is interesting to think of Dorian being forced to see himself in good and bad lights.

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  6. I think the changes in the paintings are a little bit of both. I think that Basil has noticed the changes in Dorian and his view of Dorian is more negative than it was before because of the close relationship that has formed between Lord Henry and Dorian. He knew in the beginning that the friendship would ruin Dorian, and now he is portraying that in his painting. And I believe that Dorian subconsciously knows he has gotten uglier on the inside and that is reflected in the way that he sees himself in the portrait. I don't think Dorian's reaction to Sibyl's death would have been any different. He never loved her and that wouldn't have changed if he saw himself differently.

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  7. I agree with Kayla, I think the paintings are just what Dorian is seeing out of guilt. I think that each character has showed him to look at himself in different ways, whether positive or negative manner. I also think that Dorian wouldn't have felt bad for the way he treated Sybil if the picture didn't change, so I definetly agree with Maddie. I don't think Dorian has ever loved Sybil and he cares about himself way to much and again wouldn't have changed if the picture was seen.

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  8. The painting is there to remind him of the many emtions he is faced with right now. I believe that guilt is just one of them. Although, Basil prides the paiting as his best work, Dorian has never been to sure about it and just the slightest change really sets him off. I think he is seeing what he wants to see though. If he wants the picture to change then when he looks at it closely it may just do that. "Was it to alter now with every mood which he yielded.?" Also, if the painting did not change I think Dorian still would have felt the same way he did about Sybil's death.

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  9. Since this is a story and not a non fiction novel, I believe that the painting is really changing in appearance. I think that Wilde uses it to symbolize the sins Dorian has committed. I am not sure it necessarily has to do with his guilt as much as just being a portrait of his soul with all of the wrongdoings portrayed as blemishes on his face. I don't think that Dorian would have felt as bad about Sybil's death had he not seen the portrait (which is sad cause he doesn't feel all that bad about it in the first place) because the changes in the portrait made him realize he made a mistake in being so mean to her. Without the portrait he would have had nothing to do with her death.

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  10. I believe that the flaws in the painting have always been there, Dorian has just never realized them. I think that he is now noticing them because he is changing in real life. Sybil's death did not spark anything about the picture, Dorian never loved her in the first place he loved who she pretended to be. Dorian is just now beginning to realize how much the influence of Lord Henry has done to the way he treats people.

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  11. I think the changes in the painting are very real. I think they are a literal manifestation of Dorian's vain and self-centered lifestyle and the "skin deep" nature of his relationship with Sybil. Going along with what Kayli said, I think the painting is a reflection of his soul, like an inside-out portrayal of who he is and who he's turning into. At the beginning, his relationship was pure, his conscience was clean and thus the painting was young and beautiful and fresh and spotless. But as he grows under Lord Henry's advice, and puts that advice into practice in daily life, the portrait begins to reflect his changes and his wrongs and sins and so on.
    He definately would have felt guilty had the painting remained the same but I feel like with the change in the portrait his guilt (and in turn, his realization of the selfish nature of his relationship and how he ended it) becomes manifested in a very literal and real way, thus making him face it directly. Imagine if every time we did something wrong there was a physical reminder of it to follow us around or something we had to see on a daily basis. Would we not feel guilty every time it was presented?

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  12. I think that the picture is a reflection of how Dorian views himself. When he thought he was young and beautiful, he thought the picture looked young and beautiful as well. Now that he feels guilty and ashamed, he also finds flaws in the painting. Dorian felt guilt before the he even saw the painting, so I think he would have felt the same amount of guilt without seeing it. I also think his guilt is insincere because it is so short lived. He feels bad for a moment but he very quickly goes back to following Lord Henry.

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  13. I would have to say that the changes are real. Because a man like Dorian wouldn't feel guilt or that he is changing unless the thing he truly loved was changing and becoming hideous. And I know this is not a perfect representation, but in the movie "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" Dorian’s picture does change and it is not a figment of his imagination.

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  14. I think the changes in the painting are the changes that are occurring within Dorian. The picture is what Dorian's image truly is; it's how he appears to others. His wish for his body to remain unchanged while the painting grew old and gray. With each action that is influential towards his persona, the painting takes what would be a fatal blow to his character onto itself and morphs to accommodate the flaw. His wish came true however not in the way Dorian wanted it to. The painting had an affect on Dorian, however, if it hadn't changed I don't think that he would have changed his mind towards Sybil. He never really loved her and thus was incapable of feeling the proper sorrow at her death.

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  15. I think that the changes in the painting is Dorian's guilt but also like Jenna said, "the changes that are occuring within Dorian". Now that Dorian is being changed on the inside because of his "blinders" coming off his eyes he is living with guilt but also with the fact that he is changing on the inside. To say that Dorian would feel different about Sibyl's death if the picture did not change is not really true. He did not honestly love her like he thought he did, so the fact that it changed was not because of her, it was because he was changing on the inside.

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  16. I dont think the changes in the painting are real, I think that is Dorian growing old and because he was so mean to Sybil and when he found out that she killed herself it put a dent in his heart, now that he feels guilty all the bad things in the painting are standing out to him.

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  17. I think the painting is actually changing. Since Dorian wished for the painting to grow old it is. It is a fantasy story anything is possible. But I believe that the painting will end up driving him mad.

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  18. I think that although the painting is literally changing, it is a symbolistic realization. It is almost like the painting is his soul, while his body is the way he looks on the outside. As he continues to act the way that he is acting, we will continue to see the portrait grotesquely change. I do believe that he still would have felt bad about the death of Sybil, but not as bad, because after all, it wouldn't be affecting him as much.

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  19. I think the painting changing is a fake thing that Dorian thinks he sees. If the painting hadn't changed Dorian would never had felt bad about Sibyl's death. The painting also probably made him realize that he won't always be young and beautiful. I think that by the painting changing it may forshadow the changing of who Dorian is and how he acts.

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  20. I think the changes in the picture are really in order to show Dorian's progress in becoming a man. Dorian is a charcter that resembles the coming of age each individual has to undertake and the portrate is used as a visual aid in understanding what type of person Dorian is slowly becoming. The new expression that appeared occured because he didn't feel guilt over the death of Sibyl.

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  21. i think the changes he sees are out of his guilt and i think the painting will drive him over the edge and make him go crazy

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  22. The changes in the picture seem very real, especially with how Dorian wants to show others close to him. He feels really guilty when he looks at the picture, and if the picture had not changed, then I don't think he would feel as bad for Sybil's death. Dorian does not seem to care about anyone or anything other than his beauty. He doesn't even care about himself as a person.

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