PODG #6

I found the rest of The Picture of Dorian Gray to be fairly interesting. The last chapter was by far my favorite. "When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was" (Orwell 165). I found this particular paragraph of the novel to be fairly interesting. Basil's portrait of Dorian changed due to the sin and evil he had committed throughout the book. At the end of the novel, Dorian attempted to ruin the portrait of himself, to rid the hideous face that he did not have, yet the portrait did. In a way, Dorian was destroying a part of himself that he did not know was part of his personality, or at least did not recognize it. This is significant because it shows that Dorian did not appreciate the changes he saw, even if they were on a portrait and not his physical changes.

This section of Orwell's The Picture of Dorian Gray further illustrates a drastic character change in Dorian. After our class discussion today, I noticed that Dorian is becoming more sinful as the book progresses, as Basil notices. In chapter twelve, Basil has an "intervention" with Dorian to explain Dorian's personality change due to an exterior factor, whom they both know to be Lord Henry. Basil is concerned for the well-being of his friend because many are talking about him behind his back, and says to Dorian, "'But you, Dorian, with your pure, bright, innocent face, and your marvellous untroubled youth--I can't believe anything against you. And yet I see you very seldom, and you never come down to the studio now, and when I am away from you, and I hear all these hideous things that people are whispering about you, I don't know what to say'" (Orwell 109). Basil does not believe that Lord Henry's influence on Dorian is beneficial. This situation relates to real-life issues amongst high school students. People will alter their moral standards to fit a societal role, or by giving in to peer pressure. Others may notice this change, and will try to get the influenced to realize what has happened to them. Basil is trying to accomplish this with Dorian, but is failing. After all, Dorian stabs Basil in the next chapter.

PODG #3

At this point in the novel, it is very clear that Dorian's attitude and personality are changing due to the effects of those around him. Dorian is easily influenced, naive, and manipulative because he is young. Lord Henry acts as a positive role model in Dorian's eyes, and Dorian becomes easily influenced by the Lord's "wise" words. When Dorian discovers Sibyl's death, he acts calm and seems as if he is unaffected by the tragic event. He says, "'What is done is done. What is past is past'" (Wilde 79). Dorian's attitude has changed greatly since he claimed his profound love to Sibyl, to not being overly emotional regarding her death. Basil notices the change in Dorian, and blames Lord Henry. Basil sees how manipulative Lord Henry is, and refuses to give into it. 

PODG #2

In chapter 7 of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian realizes that he loved Sibyl for her acting, and that he does not love her anymore. Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry attend a play Sibyl is acting in and Dorian realizes what a terrible actress she is. Before the play, Dorian describes Sibyl with such beauty and excellence: "'she is divine beyond all living things. When she acts you will forget everything'" (Wilde 59). During Sibyl's performance, Dorian's opinion is changed drastically. He "grew pale as he watched her...[and was] puzzled and anxious" (Wilde 60). Here, Dorian realizes that his love was influenced by an alterable characteristic. Sibyl claims that before loving Dorian, she was able to become more emotionally one with her characters, and now that she loves him, all her emotion is directed in his direction. Dorian is outraged with Sibyl's performance, and calls off their love. He leaves Sibyl devastated, only to discover that she killed herself later that night in the next chapter. Dorian no longer loving Sibyl shows an important characteristic: Dorian can be easily influenced with what is presented to him, just as Lord Henry is appealing to Dorian's character.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Assignment

Dorian

1.  "'When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself. I did not want any external influence in my life'" (Wilde 5).

2.  "'It is not merely that I paint from him, draw from him, sketch from him. Of course I have done all that. But he is much more to me than a model or a sitter. I won't tell you that I am dissatisfied with what I have done of him, or that his beauty is such that Art cannot express it. There is nothing that Art cannot express, and I know that the work I have done since I net Dorian Gray, is good work, is the best work of my life. But in some curious way…his personality has suggested to me an entirely new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style'" (Wilde 7-8).

3.  "The lad started and drew back. He was bare-headed, and the leaves had tossed his rebellious curls and tangled all their gilded threads. There was a look of fear in his eyes, such as people have when they are suddenly awakened. His finely-chiseled nostrils quivered, and some hidden nerve shook the scarlet of his lips and left them trembling" (Wilde 15).

4.  "'I don’t think I am likely to marry, Harry. I am too much in love. That is one of your aphorisms. I am putting it into practice, as I do everything that you say'" (Wilde 34).

-Dorian seems to be easily influenced by Lord Henry.

-As a character, he seems a bit naïve.

-Not assertive. He follows what people say and do.

-Doran treats Lord Henry as a superior figure: "'You filled me with a wild desire to know everything about life. For days after I met you, something seemed to throb in my veins'" (Wilde 35).

Lord Henry

1.  "'I believe that you are really a very good husband, but that you are thoroughly ashamed of your own virtues. You are an extraordinary fellow. You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing. Your cynicism is simply a pose'" (Wilde 3-4).

2.  '"Ah, my dear Basil, that is exactly why I can feel it. Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithfulness who know love's tragedies'" (Wilde 9).

3.  "'Thanks for giving me the information I wanted. I always like to know everything about my new friends, and nothing about my old ones'" (Wilde 26).

4.  '"Good-bye, Lord Henry, you are quite delightful, and dreadfully demoralizing. I am sure I don't know what to say about your views'" (Wilde 31).

-Wants the more popular people (Dorian) to like him, and acts better in comparison to Basil.

-Social placement is important to him. He questions Dorian's family history.

-Affiliated with money.

-Seems arrogant.

Basil

1.  '"What odd chaps you painters are! You do anything in the world to gain a reputation. As soon as you have one, you seem to want to throw it away. It is silly of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about'" (Wilde 2).

2.  "'Oh, I can't explain. When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy…When I leave town now I never tell my people where I am going. If I did, I would lose all my pleasure. It is a silly habit, I dare say, but somehow it seems to bring a great deal of romance into one's life. I suppose you think me awfully foolish about it?'" (Wilde 3).

3.  '"Stay, Harry, to oblige Dorian, and to oblige me,' said Hallward, gazing intently at his picture. 'It is quite true, I never talk when I am working, and never listen either, and it must be dreadfully tedious for my unfortunate sitters. I beg you to stay'" (Wilde 12).

4.  '"I believe you would, Basil. You like your art better than your friends. I am no more to you than a green bronze figure. hardly as much, I dare say'" (Wilde 19).

-Basil is more realistic than the other two characters.

-It seems as if he is jealous that Dorian may like Lord Henry more than him.

-He is intellectual, and expresses his feelings through portraits of others: '"Basil, my dear boy, puts everything that is charming in him into his work'" (Wilde 41).

- He is very honest and true to the other characters: "'Oh, Basil is the best of fellows"' (Wilde 41).

Merchant Of Venice III.i. and III.ii

In this section of The Merchant of Venice, the racism against the Jewish people really stood out to me. I practice Judaism as a religion, and to read these comments was offensive and degrading toward my religion. Toward the beginning of the section, Solanio and Salarino are conversing when Shylock walks in. Solanio says, "Let me say "amen" betimes, lest the devil/ cross my prayer, for here he comes in the likeness/ of a Jew" (III.i.20-22). Here, Solanio is referring to Shylock as a devil because of his religion. The devil is not often associated with positive connotations. Shylock is puzzled as to why Antonio speaks badly of him and takes his business: "what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not/ a Jew hands, organs, dimen-/ sions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the/ same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to/ the same diseases, healed by the same means,/ warmed and cooled by the same winter and sum-/mer as a Christian is?" (III.i.57-63). Shylock is curious as to why Jewish people are treated differently than Christians. He says that a Jew's body is the same as a Christian's, and that people of both religions go through the same life processes.

Hamlet #8

In this section of the play, Hamlet is in the graveyard with Horatio. The two are talking with the gravedigger when a funeral procession arrives. hamlet is unaware that this is the funeral for Ophelia, since she drowned in the previous scene. When Hamlet learns that it is Ophelia who has died, he jumps into her grave alongside Laertes and declares his love for Ophelia. He says, “Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love/ Make up my sum” (V.i.285–287). Here, Hamlet is saying that his love for Ophelia is greater than that of forty thousand brothers. The King and Queen are astonished by this action from Hamlet. This only further shows that Hamlet is indeed crazy. However, hamlet is purely addressing his feeling for his love who has just recently died. hamlet has the right to be upset, yet, he is deemed crazy for expressing his true emotions.