Oscar Wilde states in Chapter II, "They made a delightful contrast" (Wilde 13), as he foreshadowed the first half of the book for the readers. Throughout the first section of The Picture of Dorian Gray, there are many references of Dorian Gray and Lord Henry influencing each other. Dorian Gray is greatly influenced by Lord Henry while Dorians influence on Lord Henry is much more subtle. .
Dorian is a very dynamic character, changing over the course of the first half of the book. From the moment lord Henry and Dorian Gray met, Lord Henry was very interested in Dorian. When Henry visits his uncle shortly after him and Dorian met, he learns that Dorians' parents both passed away and that he was raised by a loveless tyrant. Lord Henry then delights in the thought that he might influence Dorian, "There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. No other activity was like it There was nothing that one could not do with him. He was becoming even more cocky in" (26). Henry was becoming even cockier in Dorians presence and even more selfish. He wanted do use Dorian for his own amusement and make him think just as he does. As the book develops, we learned as readers that Dorian changes his attitude and personality and he is not as wonderful as we initially thought. Dorian is becoming more and more like Lord Henry, which is understandable considering he is always with him. In Chapter IX, Dorian blames Lord Henry for him having no heart. Dorian fell in love with a girl named Sibyl Vane an actress at a cheap theater in London. He discovered her while walking through the slums, inspired by Lord Henry's advice to know everything about life. Dorian would have never met and fell in love with Sibyl if it weren't for Henry's influence. Sibyl becomes awful at acting because she fell in love with Dorian and could no longer emulate emotions necessary for acting. Dorian then realizes that he doesn't love Sibyl and that he was just in love with her because of her acting.