The first of these items listed is stating that "The artist is the creator of beautiful things." ... Basil Hallward is an artist who paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. At first, the piece is wonderful, displaying the young mans loveliness perfectly. ... Because of the painting, young Dorian acquires a new found belief in the importance of physical attractiveness. ... A simple piece of art that once appeared to be wonderful drastically changes the life of a man for the worse, creating a terrible person with a spotted soul, easy to see in the aging lines of his portrait....

• Word Count: 486
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In the novel, the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. ... "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! ... Lord Henry Wotton, the most influential man in Dorian's life, is an aesthete of the mind. ... He gives Dorian a book about a man who seeks beauty in evil sensations. ... A young man who was pure at the beginning of the novel becomes depraved by the influence of Lord Henry. ...

• Word Count: 1332
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

He is often considered to be the first "modern artist." ... As Wilde later wrote in one of his letters: ˜Each man sees his own sins in Dorian Gray. ... ˜The artist is the creator of beautiful things,' (Wilde 6) as it is said in the Preface. ... With each sin, Dorian's portrait becomes uglier. ... In the beginning, Dorian is young and innocent; he does not know anything about life. ...

• Word Count: 1890
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Sin is a thing that writes across a man's face But you, Dorian, with your pure bright, innocent face, and your marvellous untroubled youth- I can't believe anything against you."" ... At the beginning we can see Dorian as a happy, vigorous young man so the surroundings adapt to this state. ... The novella starts in spring and ends in winter, so the environment becomes as old as the portrait and Dorian. ... In the novella this idea is shown through Dorian's fate because his portrait forms his life and not inversely. When the portrait returns to its original condition and Dorian b...

• Word Count: 2278
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Dorian was a very wealthy, intelligent, man with a very high status. ... Basil, the painter of the portrait, influenced Dorian in more of a good, honest way. ... Don't take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charm it possesses: my life as an artist depends on him."" ... These examples are just a peek at all of the different things that influenced Dorian into becoming an evil, greedy, and vain man. This book proves some very good points, especially to the young readers who are still in the growing up process: Choose wisely your friends and the people you hang around...

• Word Count: 511
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School