THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. analysis

As easily seen, The Picture of Dorian Gray has a strong philosophical feel while reading. We watch relationships with good and evil grow. We also watch as the prominent "bad guy", Lord Henry, influences Dorian's life in all the wrong ways. Even when Henry is not with Dorian personally, we see him through Dorian's actions. All articles have strong feelings toward the influence Henry had on Dorian. The first article brings up some irony and foreshadowing that came about in the beginning of the novel. Similar foreshadowing is also seen in the second article as well. They also all talk about the relationship between Dorian and the evil he was filled with until the day he died. We also saw how easily Dorian was influenced. He seemed to live on the world, not in it. He was superior being in his mind, and I read many opinions in each article I read.

Philosophical approach, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

a. what view of life does the story present? to which character best articulates this viewpoint?.
We seem to view life as a shell in The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's like a place we are in, nut separate from. We see this very strongly in Dorian Gray and Lord Henry.
b. according to this works view of life, what is mankinds relationship to God? the universe?
Since we watch Dorian sell his sole to the Devil, I'm going to say that he doesn't have the best relationship with God personally. As for the universe, the characters seem to be living "on" it, but nor really in it. They see themselves as very important (most of them).
c. what moral statement, if any, does this story make? implicit or explicit?
I find the saying, "what goes around comes around" to really fit in with this novel. I'd say it was implicit because we only see this through the characters (ahh hem, Dorian Gray) actions.
d. what is the authors attitude toward his world? fate? God?
The author seems to have some deep feelings about our world, and he shows those through this novel. We also watch how the different characters have very different interactions with God.
e. what is the authors conception of good and evil?
The author has a dark side to evil, seeing how one of his characters sells his sole to the devil.
f. what does the work say about the nature of good or evil?
This work shows us how evil can become over powering if in the wrong hands.
g. What does the work say about human nature?
Human nature obviously is controlled by the person in which you are talking about, but we also see that humans can get easily caught up in the pointless things in life.

Thesis! :D
The Picture of Dorian Gray takes you on a philosophical adventure through the wonders of what could potentially be an evil world.

I.... am..... DONE

FINALLY. I HAVE REACHED MY FINAL BLOG. Yay. Okay, so over the past month or so, I have been reading essays and novels to prepare myself for the work that is ahead of me in this English course. I am not completely sure if I like blogging better than writing essays because both have their pros and cons. As far as essays go, you can simply write one and done, but blogs seem to go on and on. But! Blogs are shorter, and I feel like you can put more personal thought into them. Unfortunately, I am a major procrastinator, and that may be obvious by my last minute blogs. In that case, I feel like I still have no idea which would be worse, cramming an essay in, or finishing up my blogs? Hhhm, Essays are rough, and long, so as far as that goes, blogs are wonderful. I also liked the idea of blogs this summer because it is different. Essays are so routine and boring, that this was an insightful change! I hope that I am ready for not only this English class, but my other classes this year. Keeping my brain going this summer should have definitely helped!
:D

Jane Eyre question 8

Jane Eyre is obviously a historical novel. It was written many years ago, and is a good example of “the old times”. It seemed quite accurate as well as interesting. Jane has many different relationships throughout the novel, and each one seems to have different responsibilities. The first one, is the family relationship, which seems to fall short of the understood responsibilities. Jane is very uncared for, and leaves this relationship. It seems to me that women did not have the same responsibilities as men, and that is very understood; the women worked for men. This is an important and dislikable relationship. The times itself had a big role in the authors inspiration while writing, or so I think. They were much more sexist than times are now, and this is cause for a rough life as a female. If these times had been different, Jane’s life would have been different, causing the entire story to be different! Golly gee, that would be a bummer. If things had been different “Jane Eyre” could have been a boring classic just like so many others. Thank goodness it wasn’t.

Brontë, Charlotte, Fritz Eichenberg, and Bruce Rogers. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Jane Eyre, characteristics (Question 7)

Jane Eyre is an exciting novel containing the story of a tragic young girl’s amazing twist of fate. It is interesting, real, and different. It is those characteristics that make a reader want to continue reading any book, especially a classic. Unfortunately, to many high school students, hearing a book being classified as a “classic” is an instant turn off. Fortunately, Jane Eyre seemed to be an exception. I actually found it to be quite interesting. I felt like it was a relatable and “real” story. This quality is what separates Jane Eyre from many other classics. This is also how Charlotte Bronte draws in her readers. In my opinion, she did a very good job of that in this novel. The entire novel seemed to be filled with a type of symbolism undertone. All along, we are reading about her life, which symbolizes change. As we watch Jane grow and become a better, stronger person, we realize that that could be us. We could also symbolize change, and be an example for others. This was also nice to me. I really enjoyed the topics and ideas brought up throughout the entire novel.

Brontë, Charlotte, Fritz Eichenberg, and Bruce Rogers. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Jane Eyre, Still read? (Question 6)

Jane Eyre is a timeless classic. It could draw in any reader, and actually tells a good story. It’s historical, interesting and timeless. These are just a few of the reasons that I believe that this book is still read today. The book not only tells an awesome story while being interesting, but it has a very relatable theme. It is almost inspirational reading about Jane’s life. I find the novel to be extremely timeless because anyone of any time period could relate to Jane’s story. She had such drive and independence (Bronte 75) that anyone could learn a little bit, and that brings us forward. Throughout the entire novel, we could just continue to learn more and more if you choose to. If you are planning on reading Jane Eyre you must go into it with a positive and open mind. If you do this, the learning could be endless. Not only can you learn from the theme, you can also learn from Jane’s actions. She is a wonderful woman who anyone could model certain parts of their lives after. I really enjoyed reading this novel. :D

Brontë, Charlotte, Fritz Eichenberg, and Bruce Rogers. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Jane Eyre, significance (Question 5)

Because of the time in which the book Jane Eyre was written, as a reader, you notice some differences in social and political situations. It seems to me that the novel is very accurate when talking about social issues of the period. The whole idea of an orphaned girl growing up independently and wonderfully seemed pretty accurate, and not all that farfetched. Jane’s life is described as a difficult and harsh, though she makes it out very ahead. The way she does it is much different than how it would be done today, though. She goes to a school specifically for orphaned children, and today, that is not very common, though for the time period, that seems accurate. Nothing seems to be out of place for the time period, and I liked the realism.

The significance of the novel really seemed to fall back onto the theme. The whole idea of setting your mind to a great life and making it for yourself was very deep. Reading the story of a girl’s life seemed so real, and that was also significant. The realism was just as important as the theme itself, in my opinion.

Brontë, Charlotte, Fritz Eichenberg, and Bruce Rogers. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.