1970 Also. Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another.
People often lack appreciation for a simple portrait. In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, a portrait is central to the story, arguably as important as any of the characters. The title object serves to remind Dorian Gray of his moral decay as well as ultimately destroy him. These purposes combine to convey Wilde’s message about the dangers of beauty.
The painting acts as a portal of truth. In the world in which Dorian lives, everything appears fine. Dorian is a young, handsome man. He attends fancy parties, falls in love, and has good friends. However, through Wilde’s use of imagery, the painting allows us to peel back the shiny exterior of Dorian’s life and see what lies beneath. Really, Dorian’s “soul grows sick”. Although he stays beautiful, his moral wrongs manifest themselves in the painting. It grows old and hideous. Wilde’s description makes readers shudder just thinking about the twisted lips and fiery eyes of Dorian’s portrait.
Even Dorian is unnerved by his painting. At first, Mr. Gray hides his painting. As time passes and Dorian grows more evil, he begins to delight in the painting. The physical manifestation of his evil is something only a truly corrupt person can enjoy. This signals that the innocent Dorian Gray is gone. Finally, remembering the horror it had once caused him, Dorian decides not to let a painting control him. Why had he not destroyed it years ago? Diction gives the final scene an ominous air. As Gray plunges a knife through the painting, the evil flows back into him. Dorian is replaced by a dead old man.
The portrait of Dorian Gray serves to document evil and to kill it. These meanings are not independent of each other. Dorian destroyed the painting in an attempt to erase evidence of his evil. In destroying it, he destroyed himself. Despite his external beauty, Dorian Gray was not attractive on the inside. Wilde, through purposes created by diction and imagery, is saying that beauty really is only skin deep
You have a good structure, and it's impressive that you remembered a quote! I have a couple of suggestions. In your third paragraph, you could describe the diction so that it's evidence. The last sentence would be more effective without the "beauty is only skin deep" cliche. Over all, nice work. Those are some picky suggestions.
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