Dorian Gray Character Analysis

What makes a man a monster? Many say that a monster is someone who looks scary, but a monster can acquire good looks or bad looks. A monster is someone who attains malignant characteristics. In Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray, characters such as Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s creation, and Dorian Gray all accommodate the malignant characteristics that make each of them a monster. The malignant characteristics consist of lies, murder, and selfishness.
Recurring lies make a person monstrous, and the lies that the characters in both Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray tell are what make them monstrous. For example, the lies that are told by these atrocious characters cover the crimes that they have committed in order to obscure
Unfortunately, Frankenstein’s creation commits murder instinctively and habitually. He decides to kill William because he wants to get revenge on Victor: “Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy- to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge” (Shelley 102). Revenge and murder go along with each other for the reason that revenge instigates the murder that these monsters commit. The wretch continues to murder the family of Victor in order to keep up with his revenge of making Victor feel lonely. Anyone who wants revenge on someone else is a monster and cares for no one but themselves. Victor’s murderous science experiment being kept a secret denies his family the right to know of the danger out there, so he in a way is responsible for the murder of his loved ones. Although Sibyl Vane kills herself, Dorian Gray instigates her motive to kill herself. Dorian Gray conveys obscene comments to her before her suicide. Later, he finds out of this suicide, and he tells Harry “Why is it that I cannot feel this tragedy as much as I want to? I don’t think I am heartless. Do you” (Wilde 73). He feels as if he should feel worse than he does; however, he sees this tragedy as romantic and “a wonderful ending to a wonderful play… I took a great part, but by which I have not been wounded” (Wilde 73). This side of Dorian Gray is eerie because it illustrates his
One of the many characters that obtains this trait is Frankenstein’s creation. His first selfish moment is revealed when he watches over the family from his hut and wonders about his memories as well as his childhood, for he wants “in an innocent, half-painful self-deceit, to call them” (Shelley 86). This realization made him selfish in the way that it sparks the thought of revenge on Victor. All he cares about is his life and not the life of others or Victor’s. The daemon becomes so involved in trying to ruin his creator by killing the people closest to Victor, and it ultimately reveals how selfish the wretch truly is. As Ronald Britton states in his article, Victor died because of the monsters “vain pursuit of him” (Britton 8). The wretch begs Victor, “create a female for me… I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (Shelley 104). This demand shows an interest and benefit for himself by irritating Frankenstein to create another monster for him; the creations assumes that Victor will create another monster because of his previous murder. In return, Frankenstein thinks of himself as well; he fails to think about the feelings of his creation. Afterall, he owes it to the creation for all the loneliness that he feels in his life. He is also selfish because he