Samenvatting: The Picture of Dorian Gray
The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
The story:
The story begins with Basil Hallward who has just finished a portrait of Dorian Gray, a beautiful young man. Dorian is very happy with his portrait but as he is thinking he realises that the will grow old and the painting will remain young. He wishes that it was the other way around, that he will stay young and the painting will grow old. He says he would give his soul for that. After some time has past, Dorian falls in love with an actress. He asks her if she will marry him and when she says yes, he promises to marry her. But then one evening she acts very badly and he deserts her. She is so upset that she kills herself. Than one day Dorian is looking at the painting and he notices that the painting is growing old. Dorian is shocked by the thought his wish might have come true. Dorian finds it very good that he will remain young now and that his portrait will have to bear the burden of his shame. Than he decides to put the portrait in the old room upstairs. So that no-one can see that it is growing old. Meanwhile Dorian stays young and beautiful. After Dorian has been away for some time he shows the portrait to Basil and stabs his in the back. He blackmails another friend to get ride of the body. As the years go by Dorian becomes more tortured by sins of his past. He goes one last time to the room where he has hidden the portrait and wants to kill the portrait. He takes the same knife, that he used to kill Basil, and stabbed the picture with it. At that moment his servants heard a cry of pain and they went to the room. They fond a portrait of there master as they had last seen him. They saw a dead body lying on the floor with a knife in his heart. They recognized him at his rings.
My one opinion:
I fond it a very peculiar book. You really have to concentrate while you are reading the book. I think the story of the book is fiction. I had never thought about what Dorian said about the portrait that will never grow old. But actually it is true what his said. But I find it stupid why he makes such a wish like that. His wish is that he would stay young and the painting will grow old. He makes that wish because he is afraid of growing old. The impression that I get of Dorian Gray in the beginning of the book : is that he is an very beautiful and young man who’s never does anything wrong. As you read further, Dorian begins to change especially his attitude changes. From the moment that Lord Henry had told him that his nature is both evil and good, he can’t resist the temptation to explore his evil side. So he tries to find pleasure and beauty in evil and corruption. At first I was doubting about the changes in the portrait, I thought Dorian was imagining it but after a while I knew the change was real. I think Dorian is very happy with what has happened in his life. He thinks that from now everything will by fine. But that is not true because now he does terrible things. And than he goes to see the portrait because he has sinned many times. Dorian mental stability is very badly, he is becoming really nuts. He is totally obsessed with beauty and decay and youth and old age. But after a while his attitude to his portrait changed, he wants to set himself free. He think he can to that by destroying the portrait, but by doing that he destroys himself and he dies. So the portrait became back as it was in the beginning. Dorian died whit the knife in his heart. I think the ending of the novel is rather strange, I had to read it three times before I understood it. But once I understood it I fond it a good but special ending. I think Dorian made a terrible mistake because as we grow old we lose our looks but we gain wisdom. That is something what he didn’t think about so he never got wiser as the years went by he remained young. Dorian didn’t want to see reality.
In the beginning it was very difficult to concentrate while reading the book. In some parts of the book it is very long-winded. But eventually I enjoyed reading it.
The story:
The story begins with Basil Hallward who has just finished a portrait of Dorian Gray, a beautiful young man. Dorian is very happy with his portrait but as he is thinking he realises that the will grow old and the painting will remain young. He wishes that it was the other way around, that he will stay young and the painting will grow old. He says he would give his soul for that. After some time has past, Dorian falls in love with an actress. He asks her if she will marry him and when she says yes, he promises to marry her. But then one evening she acts very badly and he deserts her. She is so upset that she kills herself. Than one day Dorian is looking at the painting and he notices that the painting is growing old. Dorian is shocked by the thought his wish might have come true. Dorian finds it very good that he will remain young now and that his portrait will have to bear the burden of his shame. Than he decides to put the portrait in the old room upstairs. So that no-one can see that it is growing old. Meanwhile Dorian stays young and beautiful. After Dorian has been away for some time he shows the portrait to Basil and stabs his in the back. He blackmails another friend to get ride of the body. As the years go by Dorian becomes more tortured by sins of his past. He goes one last time to the room where he has hidden the portrait and wants to kill the portrait. He takes the same knife, that he used to kill Basil, and stabbed the picture with it. At that moment his servants heard a cry of pain and they went to the room. They fond a portrait of there master as they had last seen him. They saw a dead body lying on the floor with a knife in his heart. They recognized him at his rings.
My one opinion:
I fond it a very peculiar book. You really have to concentrate while you are reading the book. I think the story of the book is fiction. I had never thought about what Dorian said about the portrait that will never grow old. But actually it is true what his said. But I find it stupid why he makes such a wish like that. His wish is that he would stay young and the painting will grow old. He makes that wish because he is afraid of growing old. The impression that I get of Dorian Gray in the beginning of the book : is that he is an very beautiful and young man who’s never does anything wrong. As you read further, Dorian begins to change especially his attitude changes. From the moment that Lord Henry had told him that his nature is both evil and good, he can’t resist the temptation to explore his evil side. So he tries to find pleasure and beauty in evil and corruption. At first I was doubting about the changes in the portrait, I thought Dorian was imagining it but after a while I knew the change was real. I think Dorian is very happy with what has happened in his life. He thinks that from now everything will by fine. But that is not true because now he does terrible things. And than he goes to see the portrait because he has sinned many times. Dorian mental stability is very badly, he is becoming really nuts. He is totally obsessed with beauty and decay and youth and old age. But after a while his attitude to his portrait changed, he wants to set himself free. He think he can to that by destroying the portrait, but by doing that he destroys himself and he dies. So the portrait became back as it was in the beginning. Dorian died whit the knife in his heart. I think the ending of the novel is rather strange, I had to read it three times before I understood it. But once I understood it I fond it a good but special ending. I think Dorian made a terrible mistake because as we grow old we lose our looks but we gain wisdom. That is something what he didn’t think about so he never got wiser as the years went by he remained young. Dorian didn’t want to see reality.
In the beginning it was very difficult to concentrate while reading the book. In some parts of the book it is very long-winded. But eventually I enjoyed reading it.
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- Meer boeken van:Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde