The Picture of Dorian Gray

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde is a 19th-century story that looks at art, beauty, and doing what's right and wrong, mainly through the life of Dorian Gray. Dorian is a young man who gets obsessed with how beautiful he is and the idea of living only for pleasure, which is pushed on him by Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian becomes well known and enjoys life because he looks so youthful, but he has to deal with what it means to be obsessed with looks and the price of never getting old. We meet Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward, a painter who’s made an amazing picture of Dorian Gray. Basil is in love with Dorian's beauty and keeps his feelings secret. The start of the story shows the relationship between Lord Henry's negative way of seeing the world and Basil's positive view, leading to Dorian visiting the studio. When Dorian meets Lord Henry, it changes him; as they talk, Dorian learns about Henry’s ideas about living for pleasure, which change how he views beauty and life. The tone of the chapter suggests the scary price Dorian might have to pay for his love of youth and beauty for its own sake.