Hey there friends,
In class yesterday I got to thinking about the picture a lot, which is fitting because of the title of the book. I just thought to ask you all: if you had a picture, would you look at it? And if you would do you think you could stop looking at it? I don't know if I could or would. I think that there is something to be said about showing people ugliness, and not just someone else's ugliness, their own ugliness. This kind of picture isn't just a horrible picture where your hair is flat and you have red eyes. This kind shows your inner soul and how your actions show your character. Is Dorian acting how other people would? I don't know if I could bring myself to look at it. We're always told that our actions affect other people so we must act accordingly. This picture scares me because it doesn't show what we do to others, because we can't directly see how our actions affect other people. It shows how our actions affect our soul and how we are perceived by other people.
Also, would looking at the picture motivate you to become a better person? And if so, do you think you would act for the betterment of those you affect around you or for selfish reasons, like Dorian? It really makes you think about everything you've done since, well, ever. See you all tomorrow!
5 comments:
I feel like if I had a picture, I would not want to look at it. I think by looking at it, I would be inclined to make myself act upon every change I saw in it, in order to counter the picture's actions. Although this may cause me to act like a better person, I think this would make my situation worse, since by worrying about it, I may make decisions that cause the picture to change more.
That's really true. It's kind of like that idea that if you were handed a book that told your life story, would you open it? Because your actions to change the end may end up making the end worse than it was to begin with. Or better, if you like to look at the cup half full. But I agree. I think I would freak out and try to fix everything and end up making it worse.
I think its particularly interesting that Dorian actually enjoys looking at the picture of himself. "The very sharpness of the contrast used to quicken his sense of pleasure. He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul." (128).
Dorian doesn't seem interested in "fixing" the ugliness that has resulted from his immoral actions.
It may be that he is not interested in fixing the ugliness because the ideology he follows does not acknowledge any sort of morality in art or life, all that matters to the aesthetics is the experience, therefore Dorian would have no reason to want to fix what he was doing.
I would say that it comes down to the face you show. In the strongest way, the picture represents a person's true face. Most often, people put on false smiles and hide who they are. As a result, they fear a picture that paints their innermost image. For me, the picture wouldn't really bother me, because I always am my own picture. I am true to myself, and I face that reality. And in general, I know who I am. I trust myself. I feel that seeing a picture like that is only disheartening if you don't know who you are, or you are afraid of what might be shown. Thus is the reality of society. We are afraid of how others might judge our appearance, and so we are afraid ourselves of what we might see.
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