Basil Hallward and Lord Henry
How can both Basil Hallward and Lord Henry be seen as manifestations of the conflicting sides of Dorian’s psyche? Every person struggles for good and bad. Everyone will face the choice between good and evil during a lifetime. Dorian knows it exists in him. He is aware Lord Henry has influenced him and that Basil is trying to convince him to be on the good side. The conflict is depicted by the oppositions that Basil and Henry represent. Basil and Henry represent the opposing forces of good and evil as they are seen fighting over Dorian’s soul. Dorian struggles to live a life full of temptations and he is the only character in the novel that faces this choice. Henry and Basil do not have many choices to make as they have taken their sides already. They show by actions the effects of thinking and living as they do.
Basil and Henry clearly show the consequences of taking one position despite the other. Dorian is the only person between the conflict of Basil and Henry. Dorian finds it difficult to be on either side, he represents every person whose dilemma is an outcome of his struggles. His dilemma is like that of every human being.
Wilde said, “Each of us has heaven and hell in us.” Discuss how this remark applies to Dorian Gray. Individuals choices and the environment greatly influenced their thoughts and decisions. A situation like the one between Lord Henry and Dorian Gray. The impacts of hell have greatly caused several deaths and ruined many reputations. The bad outcomes create the interpretation of evil towards its victims. When a person allows sin to overpower him, it finally reaches a point of becoming prominent and it can be noticed in an individual’s soul. Choices and actions are the virtues which truly define a person.
Discuss the role Sibyl Vane plays in the novel. Sibyl is an actress from a humble background and she performs Shakespeare’s heroines every evening at a low-class theatre. Dorian falls in love with her performances, but she finds performance unimportant in comparison to true love and her acting suffers after her engagement to Dorian. Dorian, in turn, lose interest in her after she no longer has her art. He leaves her heartbroken and Sybil, greatly known for love, commits suicide. She is a symbolic character, pure in her love and personifies an artistic ideal.