I have read The Picture of Dorian Gray two times now. The first time I read the book was while I was in high school. I enjoyed it when I read it the first time, but I will admit that I did not understand it very well. The second time I read the book was a little over a week ago for my Gay and Lesbian Literature class. Being a little older I understood the story better. The first time that I read the book, I did not understand all the sexual references, and the references to drugs. However, this time I did realize it, and I liked how they were used.

I am really glad that I got the chance to reread this novel because I have forgotten how funny it is. I have read other writings by Wilide and have enjoyed them very much. They are always so funny and they always make fun of the society of the time period. Oscar Wilde was someone who was able to see into society from the outside, and see how ridiculous people behaved. The way he writes his characters is just so creative, and so exciting. Whenever I start a new story about him I always wonder what kind of silly things the characters are going to talk about.

Another reason why I love this book so much is because of its reference to the gothic period. If you have read my other posts, you will realize that I enjoy reading books that were written during the gothic era. I do not believe that the book is supposed to be considered gothic though. However, what else am I supposed to call Dorian's painting. The painting obviously takes on the role of the supernatural. Instead of Dorian aging the picture does it for him. The picture also absorbs all of the sins that Dorian has committed. This idea of a picture changing appearances and the person staying the same is a form of magic. In a sense, Hallward could also be considered the magician since he is the one who painted the picture. Before Dorian enters the novel, Hallward speaks very highly of him to Lord Henry. The image that the reader gets from Hallward is the image of someone who is absolutely amazing. In Hallwards eyes, Gray is a saint. Since this is how Hallward portrays him, and wants him to be, it is how Gray will stay forever. Hallward could have the power to keep people young and alive forever.

The idea of staying young and alive forever sounds wonderful. Especially during Dorian's time. Once Dorian meets Lord Henry, he becomes obsessed with his appearances. If Gray can stay handsome and wonderful looking, than he is considered doing a deed to society. However, I am not sure I would want to live forever. There is so many horrible things going on in the world, I am not sure I want to experience any more than I have to. I also do not know what I would do when all my friends got older. It would be hard to have to continue to have to make new friends. The characters in the novel do understand why people have feelings, they only understand appearances, which I find to be hilarious.

Another character that I really enjoyed reading about was Sybil Vane. I am not sure if I would call her a character in the story, or a character within the story. She is an actress who Gray falls in love with, however he does not really fall in love with her. He falls in love with her acting, and becomes upset when he realizes that she is a real person, independent of her character. I love how her last name is Vane, especially the spelling of it. The way that it is spelled tells the reader that Sybil is someone who is readily changeable. We can see this changing in all of her plays.

I think I love her character the most because in today’s society, people are judged on how they act and behave. People are no longer judged on who they are individually, but rather what they look like, who they hang out with, and the different personalities that they have. Where I am from, people are judged based on the type of sunglasses you buy, the types of bag you have, the brand of pants you wear, etc. I find this to be very annoying, as I am sure a lot of other people do as well. That may be the reason why I love this book so much. Everything that the characters say is so obscured that you just can't help but laugh. If the reader took the book literally, than how are we supposed to really look at our society? Are we supposed to ignore the different ways people act? I hope not.

As much as I loved this book, I will admit that there was a section of the book that I did not enjoy reading. There is a section where Gray goes off exploring the world. After he realizes that he will never age, he decides to do whatever he wants and he travels. I found the first few paragraphs to be interesting, however, by the time I got to the third page I was ready to throw the book down. I understand that Gray is having a wonderful time, and he is seeing new things, but I do not want to read about it. I don't know about you guys, but I am more interested in dialogue and real actions that are going on, not just descriptive paragraphs, especially ones that jump around from place to place. If there is too much description and not enough diagloge in books, I begin to zone out. It is a horrible habit but there is only so much that I can read and take in at one time. I enjoy using my imagination and finding out what happens with the characters. I am one of those horrible people who love to look at the end of the book while I'm still only half way through it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has not read it yet. It is an easy book to read and it is very funny. For those of you who have read it, I would love to hear what you guys thought about it! I know that I always miss important/exciting things that happen in books, so if you noticed anything that I missed please let me know!