Scarica Analisi del testo Dorian's Death (inglese) e più Esercizi in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Dorian’s death Analysis The first lines of the extract begin in a positive way: Dorian is walking home in a lovely warm evening. He begins to remember how he used to talk to the girl he had seduced. In fact, when he told her he was wicked, she had refused to believe it because he is not old and ugly, like wicked people usually are (lines 13-14). After feeling nostalgic towards his pure boyhood (lines 22-23) he becomes aware of his own corruption, but he expresses his desire to change, as he remembers the evil influence he had on others and the shame and horror he had brought to his own life and behavior. First of all, Dorian blames his own pride and passion for his situation, then he underlines the fact that he has received no punishment that made him change. Then he affirms that the cause of his failure is his youth and beauty (lines 31-36). Despite all, Dorian doesn’t blame himself for the deaths of Basil Hallward and Alan Campbell, whose memory is already disappearing in Dorian’s mind (line 58). In fact Dorian affirms that Basil’s murder did not weigh most on his mind (line 60) and he describes it as a moment of madness(lines 64-65). Campbell committed suicide, so Dorian does not consider himself guilty (lines 65-66). The only one good thing he has done is that he has spared an innocent girl (line 68) and decided that he will not tempt innocence again. Considering this act of goodness, he hopes that the portrait will show some improvement, but it does not: it still shows signs of his evilness and corruption. The look of cunning and the hypocrite (line 83) on the portrait tells Dorian that his act of goodness has been vanity or even just another curious search for a new sensation (lines 86-87)- and his reaction is of pain and indignation (line 81). On the other hand, he rejects the idea of confession, because he does not think people will believe him as he had destroyed everything belonging to him and therefore there is no evidence of the murder. He decides to destroy the painting, which represented the last evidence of Dorian himself. The servants identify the dead body in front of the picture of a handsome, young and immaculate Dorian Gray only by his rings(lines 154- 155), since the dead man’s face is withered, wrinkled and loathsome and therefore unrecognisable. While looking at the picture, Dorian considers his portrait loathsome (line 84), and while noticing the bright red spot on a hand, he feels guilty towards his behavior. Theprotagonist considers the portrait as the reflection of his own soul and not as an independent being, extraneous to himself. In lines 22-125, Dorian is aware of his sins and crimes, which are reflected on the picture, as well as of the fact that it is impossible to escape old age and death. In the attempt to change his reality, he looks back at his unstained boyhood with a sort of nostalgia and wonders if it is possible to destroy his maturityand put an end to his life of corruption. Before reaching the final decision to destroy the picture, Dorian’s thought follows different steps: at first he feels nostalgic towards his pure boyhood (lines 22-23), then he becomes aware of his own corruption (lines 24-25). After that, he remembers his pact to achieve eternal youth (lines 30-32) and he wishes for repentance and purification (lines 33-36), since he understands that youth and beauty caused his ruin (lines 47-48). In stabbingthe portrait Dorian kills himself because the portrait symbolises the dark side of his own soul, it represents the most corrupted
