Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Picture of Dorian Gray : Chapter 15 & 16

I. Quotations
1. "There were opiumdens, where one could buy oblivion - dens of horror, where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new." (page 189)
  • Although the painting is bearing the burden of Dorian's sins physically, the spiritual torture of the punishment of sins is taking his breathe away. Due to this miserable situation, Dorian Gray tried to free himself from the spiritual torture by spending time in opium dens. Lord Henry told him that "to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul" (189). Embracing this philosophy of life, Dorian is now trying to alleviate his pain of heart by anesthetize it using drugs. This revealed Dorian's negative attitude of life.
  • Dorian is not a devil on earth - devils do not feel pain committing sins - the still-human Dorian does however. Therefore we can view him as an incorrigible pathetic creature whom is trying forget his sins by committing greater sins. This is a vicious circle which can lead one to temptation and villainy.
2. "Ugliness was the one reality. The coarse brawl, the very vileness of thief and outcast, were more vivid, in their intense actuality of impression, than all the gracious shapes of Art, the dreamy shadows of Song. There were what he needed for forgetfulness." (page 191)
  • Dorian has a different understanding of morality. In his mind, moral is arts. As long as something is aesthetic enough , it could be considered as moral. Therefore, when Dorian said that "ugliness was the one reality" (191), he was basically saying that the world is immoral and sinful. By visiting London's filthiest places, Dorian can be relieved from the burden of his sins temporarily. Dorian would get a sense of feeling that his sins may not be that shameful compared to those sinners whom cannot even pretend they are moral.
  • Dorian devoted himself into arts in search of his ideal morality. He tried to be forgiven by simply forgetting the sins he committed: "You always want to know what one has been doing. I always want to forget what I have been doing" (186). However, he does not understand that forgotten is not forgiven. One cannot be forgiven unless he is open to be punished by his sins. We have to truly forgive ourselves first in order to be redeemed ultimately by God.
II. Vocabulary
1. incorrigible - [adj.]
1> incapable of being corrected or reformed
2> firmly rooted; ineradicable
3> difficult or impossible to control or manage
Ex. "'Isn't he incorrigible?' cried Dorian, leaning forward in his chair." (169)

2. silhouette

[n.]
1> an outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow)
2> a drawing of the outline of an object filled in with some uniform color
[v.]
1> project on a background. such as a screen. like a silhouette
2> represent by a silhouette
Ex. "Most of the windows were dark, but now and then fantastic shadows were silhouetted against some lamp-lit blind." (190)

1 comments:

Unknown said...

Why do you not have 17-20????