‘A Look had come into lad’s face that he had never seen before’. How does Wilde represent the change in Dorian’s character in the opening of the novel?
Throughout the novel ‘A picture of Dorian Grey’ , Wilde explores the ways in which Dorian is influenced by other characters to change his expressions and speech tones and the general way he acts in the opening chapters of the book.
Dorian is introduced in the book as a youngster, a beautiful boy unspoiled by life or sin. But he is about change. When he meets Lord Henry, Dorian soon adapts his theories on hedonism, sinning and pleasure. This changed Dorian. It altered his views on the world He started to love himself, thinking above others because of his unmatched beauty.
We can see how Wilde alters Dorian’s mind …show more content…
We know how he changes into chapter 2 as he becomes defensive of Lord Henry as he looks to him as a role model in a childish and immature way ‘If Lord Henry Wotton goes I shall go too ‘Cried Dorian. The way Dorian cries this statement also indicates his immaturity.
Dorian also becomes divulged in immoral attitudes whch is another example of how and why Dorian’s character changes from being described as Antinous at the start to where he is by having been influenced by Lord Henry. Wilde’s reference to Dorian inheriting the idea of hedonism (Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good) from Lord Henry which changes Dorian’s immoral thought patterns relates to Wilde’s real life homosexuality as the word hedonism descends from the Greek word