Influence in The Picture of Dorian Gray And The Book of Job
The Picture of Dorian gray is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. Dorian Gray is the main character in this book and it revolves around his life and how the characters in the novel influence the protagonist’s life. Dorian Gray is depicted as a wealthy, beautiful, and unspoiled male who changes his life completely by sinning and pleasure after meeting Lord Henry who totally influenced his life. Wilde writes a story whereby the main character Dorian Gray is influenced to embark on a hedonistic life; a life he had feared for a very long time. Dorian was an innocent man who was forced to pursue his desires and later on became hopeless because he never looked into the ethical side of his desires.
The protagonist ventured in a life to pursue his desires without limits especially after meeting the other characters in the novel. When he met Lord Henry, his eyes were opened and he was sure that it was his way to freedom for his desires. When they met, Henry says “You, Mr. Gray with your rose-red youth and boyhood you have had passions that have made you afraid nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul”(Wilde, 25-26). Because of his desires, Dorian was influenced by Henry and he decided to follow his bodily desires because Henry made it clear to him that if he does not, his soul will be sick. Henry’s influence on Dorian was immense; in fact, he became an echo of Henry and followed every bit of what he said in order to satisfy his passion.
When Dorian met Sybil Vane, he thought he had fallen in love with her, yet he was in love with a Shakespearean actor. After Sybil did not perform to his expectations, Dorian’s love for her faded away and he realized that he never loved Sybil, yet he had influenced her life by making her believe that he loved her (Liebman 301). For Dorian, Sybil Vane was only a piece of art that he loved and not a person. After Sybil committed suicide, Dorian’s monstrous side begins to be seen.
Basil’s obsession for Dorian leads him into painting a picture of him and Lord Henry easily convinces him that his most prized possessions, youth, and beauty are fading away. Dorian’s thought of waking up one day without all these qualities makes him panic. In addition, it makes him wish that he could live without growing old and he longs to maintain the picture that Basil painted. Dorian wished he could swap places with his painted picture because according to him, he could give anything in the world just to remain young (Peters 8). He says "If it was only the other way! If it was I who were to be always young, and the picture that were to grow old! For this--for this--I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give,"(Wilde 28). Dorian was a man who loved his youthful looks and he could not bear the fact that, he could loose it one day when he grows old. Lord Henry takes advantage of Dorian’s weakness and vulnerability to exploit him. Dorian leaves Basil’s studio and adapts to Henry’s doctrines of new hedonism, pleasure, and sinning and vows to live a pleasurable life with no consideration of morality. He breaks the hearts of many in the process of having pleasure, and he does it without emotions and does not care about conventional moral behaviors.
Years later, as Henry’s words echo in Dorian’s mind, he feels tarnished and hopeless because he had destroyed the life of the people around him. His pursuits were in vain and even if he desired to change, his reflection of the portrait had destroyed his inner being completely. Dorian thought that the portrait was going to change, but it never changed and this made him feel dead inside. In the process, he was not able to bear himself anymore and he thought of Basil and his principles and he ended up killing Basil. Lord Henry’s influence made him a bad person and he could not bear to remember what Basil had told him and so he thought by killing Basil, he would liberate himself from his conscience. Initially, he thought that, if he followed his heart desires, he would be a master of his soul and he will not be controlled by moral opinions, but no, he was destroyed. Dorian was influenced by Lord Henry, in the process, he lost his independence and free-will and he was totally destroyed. This marks the beginning of his downfall for he eventually dies by a knife stabbed in his chest. If the portrait was not introduced into his life, his life could have been different because it led to his downfall.
Basil is a talented and an open mind painter and his love for Dorian Gray depends on his visualization of art. He dedicates most of his life to art and is behind the portrait that caused Dorian to sin. When Dorian was offended because of the portrait he did for him, we see him ready to destroy it despite the fact that, he had considered the portrait as the best art of his work. Basil is murdered by Dorian after he insulted him when he learnt that he destroyed the portrait he did for him. Basil admired Dorian so much and ended up competing with Lord Henry on Dorian’s attention. He influenced Dorian’s homosexual feelings, even though he hid them, unlike Dorian who showed them and slept with men. His admiration for Dorian influenced the protagonist’s life because, Basil idolized Dorian. In addition, just like Lord Henry, Basil influenced Dorian’s life through the written word which was the French novel and the portrait. After Dorian saw Basil’s portrait, his life changed and he became more obsessed with his beauty. Oscar Wilde notes that "when he saw the portrait, he drew back and his cheeks flushed for a moment of pleasure, and a joy came into his eyes as if he had recognized himself for the first time" (Wilde 36). After seeing the portrait, Dorian was influenced by the fact that he had to remain young.
Lord Henry and the painting had an influence in the self destruction of the protagonist in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Lord Henry’s painting showed Dorian the reality of life and all the sins he had committed. With the picture, Dorian destroyed it plus his own life; because he could not bear the fact that his beauty was going to fade. In addition, Henry influences Dorian by manipulating him because; he carries on with his idea of remaining youthful. This is evident when he says, "To get back to my youth, I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable" (Wilde 27). Dorian was ready to do anything just to retain his youthful body except through waking up and exercising. Lord Henry had everything to do with Dorian’s obsession of wanting to remain young, especially with the picture and his philosophy. His words and painting influenced Dorian’s life immensely, and this made him so determined to want to retain his youth after taking a look at his picture.
The book of Job is one of the compelling books in the bible that deals with the theme of suffering and an individual’s relationship with God. When the book begins, Job had everything he needed including all the riches and fame. Job was considered as a righteous man who could not sacrifice his loyalty to God, despite the suffering he was going through. The devil was criticizing Job that he only serves God because He protects him. As the book progresses, God gives the devil permission to test Job and make him suffer but to a certain limit. God says "Behold, he is in your hand, but don't touch his life" (Job 4). As job suffers, he loses everything including his health, family, and wealth, but he still keeps his trust in God till the end. At the end of the book, Job is restored from his health and wealth and nothing influenced his faith, confidence, and trust in God.
Even though Job is tormented, he keeps on holding onto his faith, despite his friends persuading him to denounce his God. Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar blamed Job for committing a sin against God and that is why he was suffering. When a friend comes in a time of suffering, he/she is supposed to comfort the suffering person, but Job’s friends added to his suffering because, they claimed that he was being punished for his sins. According to Eliphaz, Job was a man of wealth and prosperity and men of prosperity and wealth have sin. In addition, Bildad tells him to stop crying and repent his sins because, he was certain that Job had sinned against God. Furthermore, he even says that, the death of Job’s children is because they were paying for the sins they committed and if Job asks for forgiveness, God will surely forgive him. Apart from Bildad and Eliphaz, Zophar also thought the worst of Job. He also accused him of committing sin and to stop whining and ask God for forgiveness. His friends judged him instead of giving his strength in his trials. On the contrary, Job was sure that he was innocent and his suffering was unjustified because he had not committed any sin. All his friends’ believed that he had committed a certain sin and that is why he was facing the wrath of God, but he was never influenced by their suggestions and arguments; Job believed in His God. Moreover, Job’s friend were only concerned about his well being and suffering, and they were all searching for a reason for his suffering, and the only reason was sinning against God. All they wanted was to alleviate the pain Job was undergoing through their influence by appealing to him to repent his sins. However, Job was able to stand his ground and in the end, his health and wealth was restored by God whom he had put his trust and maintained his loyalty to Him.
Even though his three friends and his wife were influencing him to curse God’s name, he never did it, he only questioned Him about his suffering. When he got the news that his ten children, servants, and livestock had all died, he never cursed God, instead he mourned what had happened to him at the same time blessing the name of God. During this time, Job’s wife encouraged him to curse his God and die instead of suffering, but despite this influence, Job still praised God and blessed His name. Job’s wife said "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). Nonetheless, Johnson points out that, even though everyone thinks that Job’s friends influence was negative, their thoughts strengthened him in his faith in God and that is why he never gave up his trust in God (Johnson 392). In addition, they helped him understand the meaning of suffering and how to endure it regardless of the circumstances surrounding him. One of his friends, Elihu supported Job on his stand because, he believed Job was innocent and God was still just and had an explanation for everything that was happening to Job. Elihu took a stand of condemning Job’s three friends and maintained that God is sovereign and righteous and not what Job’s friends thought. In the end, the book of Job ends up with Job getting everything he lost including his health (Job). Job experienced a spiritual and emotional crisis and even cursed the day he was born and wished to die, but he was able to overcome both because of his trust and loyalty to God.
Although anguish was the main theme in he book of Job, the exact reason of Job’s suffering is not given, nonetheless, we learn that, Satan asked for permission from God to torment Job. However, in the end, the book teaches that, it is good to trust in God regardless of the circumstance sin our lives because, Job lost everything in his suffering, but all was restored in the end because he was not influenced by the circumstances. Job trusted in God and never gave up even with his friends’ mocking because he says "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him"(Job 13:15). God allowed Satan to cause pain and suffering in the life of Job, yet he had acknowledged him as "my servant Job," meaning he never deserved the pain he went through. Satan wanted to test Job’s faith in God and for sure, Job never strayed from the path, he still had his faith in God. Even though there is a moment he questions God, he never let his faith down, all he wanted to know what his mistake was so that he could repent. Even though his friends had retributive views about God, they were proved wrong when Job’s wealth and health was restored by God. After his suffering, Job continued enjoying the tremendous blessing from God after everything was restored to him in double because he maintained his trust, faith, and confidence in God.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian lost all the beauty he had and destroyed his own life when he decided to pursue his desires after Lord Henry’s influence. However, in the book of Job, Job lost everything he had, but as it ends, he was able to get back everything including his health. Dorian was a beautiful male who was influenced by Henry and this led to his downfall because he decided to be influenced by Henry’s principles. In contrast, Job was a character who never allowed the people around him to influence his life or beliefs. Job believed in God and despite his suffering, he never gave up his faith and in the end, his wealth and health were restored.
Works Cited
Liebman, Sheldon W. Character Design In "The Picture of Dorian Gray" Studies in the Novel, 31. 3 (1999): 296-316. Print.http://www.jstor.org.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/stable/29533343
Johnson, Fred. A Phonological Existential Analysis to the Book of Job. Journal of Religion and Health, 44.4 (2005): 391-401. Print.
http://www.jstor.org.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/stable/27512887
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Web 9 June. 2008. Web. 25 Dec. 2014.
‹http://www.gutenberg.org/files/174/174-h/174-h.htm ›.
King James Bible Online. Web. 25 Dec. 2014.http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Job
Peters, John G. Style And Art in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray: Form As Content.
Victorian Review, 25.1 (1999): 1-13. Print.
http://www.jstor.org.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/stable/27794920
