The Pressures Of Youth And Beauty - 2204 Words

The Pressures of Youth and Beauty The novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the story of a man obsessed with the pursuit of beauty and youth. He goes as far as to sell his soul, both literally and figuratively, in order to maintain his own youthful beauty. To preserve his youthful beauty, Dorian Gray allows his sins to be captured in a canvas self-portrait. However, in doing so, he does not take into account the impact his actions will have on others as well as on his own soul. In the novel, the titular character desires the power and privilege that youth and beauty brings, but he does not realize the true sacrifice such power requires. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian Gray gives up his soul to the devil for eternal youth. With the idea of eternal youth also came the idea of being eternally beautiful as well. Before doing this, Dorian loses one of the most important parts of who he is, his innocence. In the novel, Basil told Lord Henry that he did not want him ever to speak t o Dorian. He said this because he did not want Dorian to lose his innocence to Lord Henry’s words. Lord Henry says, â€Å"We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. . . . Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has beenShow MoreRelatedEssay on Medias Portrayal Of Beauty Affects Socieites Youth1142 Words   |  5 PagesBeauty is an omnipresent characteristic that plagues societies’ youth today because mainstream media has them convinced that inner beauty is less important than physical beauty. 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