To the Lighthouse #2

After Mr. Ramsay struggles to extend the boundaries of his mind, he feels deflated and in need of sympathy. He enters the room where Mrs. Ramsay and James are sitting, despite the fact that James hates his father's presence. Felling needy and stubborn, Mr. Ramsay decides that he will not leave until he receives what he came for: "Nothing would make Mr. Ramsay move on. There he stood, demanding sympathy" (40). Mr. Ramsay does not care that he is interrupting James' time with his mother because Ramsay views his needs above his son's. Mr. Ramsay does not enjoy his deflated feeling, and he is desperate for his wife to make him feel better and reassure him of his intellect. Ramsay values his mind over anything else, which is why he is so desperate for sympathy and reassurance.

Understanding what her husband needs, Mrs. Ramsay appears prepared and natural in her reaction to Mrs. Ramsay's behavior. In order to express his influence and importance to others, she references Charles Tansley's view of Mr. Ramsay: "Charles Tansley thought him the the greatest metaphysician of the time" (41). Although Mr. Ramsay knows that Tansely idolizes him, he is not yet satisfied by his wife's efforts. Unphased, Mrs. Ramsay continues to discuss her husband's relevance in the world and in the lives of many until he is satisfied. Mr. Ramsay is eventually satisfied, and he moves on from his self pity: "Filled with her words, like a child who drops off satisfied, [...] he went" (42). Mr. Ramsay selfishly used his wife to make himself feel relevant and important, displaying his inability to self assure. Although Mr. Ramsay values truth, he does not recognize his wife's emotional disposition, and therefore does not discount her reassurance. Mrs. Ramsay respects her husband and believes in what she says to reassure him, but her main intention is to display her sympathy. It is not unreasonable to conclude that Mrs. Ramsay manipulates her beliefs in her husband in order to make him feel better, which directly contrasts Mr. Ramsay's value in truth. Mr. Ramsay is willing to overlook his personal values in order to make himself feel better. 

Research Paper Outline

Research Paper Outline

Prompt: Relate The Picture of Dorian Gray to Oscar Wilde's life based off of his famous line: "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be - in other ages, perhaps."

Thesis: Personal and public perception of Oscar Wilde connects him to all three main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, allowing the intertwining of these connections to make clear that Basil, Lord Henry, and Dorian spawned from Wilde himself.

1. Oscar Wilde was controversial in the eyes of society, similarly to how Lord Henry is

controversial in the eyes of the reader.

I.   Lord Henry manipulates Dorian into living a life filled with pleasure and sin.

                                             a. Oscar Wilde is thought to have seduced the young Andre Gide into a life of

homosexuality: “It is commonly held that Wilde spiritually (but not physically) seduced Andre Gide into discovering the pleasures of homosexuality”

                                            b. Similarly to how Dorian began a socially unacceptable life of sin through the

influence of Lord Henry, Wilde persuaded Gide into a life of homosexuality,

which is forbidden in society of the time. Homosexuality is considered a sin and a crime.

II. Wilde married a woman, similarly to Lord Henry, but carried on numerous affairs

with men.

                                             a. Lord Henry views women as decoration, not to be valued: “Women are a

decorative sex” (47)

i.   Henry married his wife out of convenience for the sake of

appearance.

                                            b. Oscar Wilde married Constance Lloyd and had two sons. Despite his

marriage, he carried out extramarital affairs that were eventually found out.

i.   He married Constance Lloyd, but clearly valued his relationships

with men more.

a. Marriage for appearance.

ii. Wilde is responsible for the fleeing of his wife and children to

Europe in a desperate attempt to escape his infamy.

2. Oscar Wilde made mistakes in his lifetime that Dorian Gray managed to avoid.

I.   Dorian’s assumed affairs with different men throughout the book parallel Wilde’s

homosexual affairs, but Dorian managed to live a life as a closeted homosexual,

whereas Wilde was found out and legally punished.

                                             a. Dorian never kept a friend (with the exception of Lord Henry) long enough

to be arrested for his homosexual behavior.

                                            b. Wilde was arrested on the charge of sodomy after being reported by his

father’s lover

i.   He carried out his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas for several years,

and even returned to the relationship after his arrest.

II. Dorian managed to avoid marriage, whereas Wilde married and remained married

throughout his affairs and arrest.

                                             a. Dorian is cruel to Sibyl Vane and informally breaks off their engagement.

Dorian’s treatment of the young actress causes her to commit suicide,

making it impossible for Dorian to follow through with his promise to marry her.

                                            b. Although Wilde initially married Constance Lloyd happy and seemingly in

love, his sexual preferences changed after the birth of his second son when

Robert Ross was introduced into his life.

i.   Dorian and Oscar both caused humiliation for the women they

claimed to have loved at some point.

ii. Both Sibyl and Constance died at premature ages.

3. Although Wilde’s reputation was spoiled by his homosexual behavior, his work was viewed

as genius, similarly to the well-respected and talented Basil Hallward.

I.   Basil was a well-respected painter who put much of his own self into his work, as

seen through the portrait of Dorian Gray.

                                             a. Similarly to Basil, Wilde put much of himself in his work, for he expressed

personal issue he had with society within his writing.

i.   Homosexual inspiration can be seen throughout The Picture of

Dorian Gray, such as the homosexual impulses of several

characters.

ii. Basil Hallward’s infatuation with Dorian allows him to create the

young man’s brilliant portrait.

II. Basil’s introduction to homosexual feelings in the novel occurs when he first sees

the young and beautiful Dorian Gray

                                             a. Wilde’s first homosexual encounter and his introduction into a life of

homosexuality occurred with the young Robert Ross.

i.   Robert Ross was extremely loyal to Wilde.

ii. Dorian was not loyal to Basil and ended up murdering the artist.

                                            b. Wilde had a lengthy affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, even though Douglas

proved to be troublesome to Wilde’s security and wellbeing.

i.   Douglas was publically known as arrogant, reckless, spoiled, and

extravagant.  

Picture of Dorian Gray Outline

Picture of Dorian Gray Outline

Thesis: Throughout the novel it is clear that Dorian transforms into a self-centered man that does bad things to undeserving people, but Dorian's lack of remorse and repentance for his horrific influences on others proves that Dorian is not just a person that does bad things but actually a bad person altogether. 

1. Dorian's actions immediately following Sibyl Vane's death marks a fundamental change in Dorian where he decides that he will live his life for the purpose of pleasure because his portrait allows him to appear unscathed to society. 

a. When Dorian is first informed of Sibyl's suicide, he believes that he is to blame for her death: "So I have murdered Sibyl Vane [...] murdered her as surely as if I had cut her throat with a knife" (72).

b. After Lord Henry leaves, Dorian reflects on the malicious changes that occurred in his portrait: "There were no further changes in the picture. It had received the news of Sibyl Vane's death before he had known it himself. It was conscious of the events of life as they occurred. The vicious cruelty that marred the fine lines of the mouth had, no doubt, appeared at the very moment that the girl had drunk the poison" (76).

c. "He felt that the time had really come for making his choice. Or had his choice already been made? Yes, life had decided that for him–life, and his own infinite curiosity about life. Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins–he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame: that was all" (77).

2. During Basil's final visit with Dorian, the artist tries to fix the young man's wild life of sin, but Dorian refuses to acknowledge and accept his crimes against society.

a. Basil mentions Dorian's broken relationships with several men that have been ruined in society's eyes in order to gain explanation for the horrible stories that have been spreading through London about Dorian, but Dorian does not wish to hear about his old friends and says, "Stop, Basil. You are talking about things of which you do not know of" (110)

b. Basil points out Dorian's deranged joy that seems to come from ruining the lives of friends: "Your [friends] seem to lose all sense of honour, of goodness, of purity, You have filled them with a madness for pleasure. They have down into the depths. You led them there. Yes: you led them there, and yet you can smile, as you are smiling now" (110).

c. Dorian refuses to comply to Basil's wishes and kills the artist out of rage and frustration: "He rushed at [Basil], and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind the ear, crushing the man's head down on the table, and stabbing again and again" (116).

3. Dorian uses his gift of eternal youth to manipulate men into revealing their secrets, which he uses to get what he wants. 

a. Allan Campbell hates Dorian after the end of their friendship and refuses to help the murderer clean up the crime scene, but Dorian threatens Campbell until he complies: "I have a letter written already. Here it is. You see the address. If you don't help me, I must send it. If you don't help me, I will send it" (125)

b. Campbell commits suicide: "Allan Campbell's suicide" (155)

The Picture of Dorian Gray #4

After Dorian murders Basil, the young man struggles with emotional stability. Although Dorian is extremely selfish when viewing his crime, it is clear that he feels guilty about what he has done. After Dorian wakes up the morning after the murder, he struggles to ignore what has happened: "Gradually the events of the preceding night crept with silent blood stained feet into his brain, and reconstructed themselves there with terrible distinctness. He winced at the memory of all that he had suffered" (118). Despite the fact that Dorian violently murdered Basil and caused the artist a painful death, Dorian is concerned about his suffering from the previous night. His selfish nature shines through his initial outlook on the murder, but Dorian struggles with consistency as he continues to reflect on the night before.

As Dorian attempts to ignore the crimes he has committed, he is unsuccessful and the thought of Basil creeps into his mind. Contradicting his previous self-concerned thought, Dorian thinks, "Poor Basil! What a horrible way for a man to die!" (120). Although Dorian's selfish nature and indifference towards others dominates his life, his actions are so extreme that he cannot ignore his guilt. The closest things Dorian has done that remotely resemble murder are the suicides of people that were once close to him. In those instances Dorian does not hold himself responsible for his friends deaths because he cannot be incriminated or realistically held responsible by outsiders. In Basil's case, Dorian knowingly murders the man and can be arrested for his crime. Additionally, Dorian knows every detail about the artist's horrific death, and is scarred by the experience.

Poetry Practice (Comparison, John Donne)

Thesis: In both The Flea and The Apparition, the speakers try to seduce a woman into bed, but the the tones of the two poems contrast greatly, where The Flea has a more playful tone, and The Apparition has an almost threatening tone.

Although both poems focus on getting a woman into bed, The Flea has a more light-hearted tone. The speaker playfully tries to seduce the woman, using logic to convince her. He says, "In this flea our two bloods mingled be. / Thou know'st that this cannot be said / A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead; / Yet this enjoys before it woo, / And pampered swells with one blood made of two; / And this, alas! Is more than than we would do" (4-10), in order to express his belief that it isn't a big deal if they have sex. The speaker appeals to the woman's virtue when he explains that mixing of their blood in the flea would not be considered a sin and that a mixing of aspects of themselves in another way should also not be considered a sin. Although the speaker's reasoning is somewhat foolish, it indicates that he is joking with the woman. Although he wants to have sex with her, he is not angry and threatening, unlike the speaker in The Apparition.

The speaker in The Apparition is fiercely irritated that the woman will not have sex with him. Rather than using jocular reason like the speaker in The Flea, he becomes overwhelmed with his irritation and threatens the woman. He tells her that she is killing him because she will not sleep with him: "When by thy scorn, O Murd'ress, I am / dead" (1-2). He is angry that the woman continues to deny him and threatens to haunt the woman after he dies from her rejection: "Shall my ghost come to thy bed [...] And then, poor aspen wretch, [...] Bathed in cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie, A verier ghost than I" (6-15). The speaker says that he will return as a ghost to scare her to death in an attempt to make her have sex with him. He explains that her fate will inevitably be fatal if she does not have sex with him, and therefore should.

Sound & Sense Chapter 9 Part 2

Thesis:  Both On the Sonnet by John Keats and Sonnet by Billy Collins focus on the restrictive nature of sonnets. On the Sonnet has a mildly annoyed tone, which expresses the speakers boredom with the sonnet, whereas Sonnet has a jocular tone, making fun at the strict regulations of a sonnet.

Although the tones of the poems differ, both speakers have the same complaints about sonnets. In the first line of On the Sonnet the speaker says, "If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd" (1) in order to express his complaint of the restrictive nature of sonnets. Specifically, he points out the required rhyming scheme of sonnets, using the word "chain'd" to express his complaint with the restriction on language the rhyming scheme of a sonnet implements. In the opening lines of Sonnet, the speaker jokes about the line requirement of a sonnet: "All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now, / and after this one just a dozen / to launch a little ship on love's storm-tossed seas" (1-3). Although the speakers tone is light-hearted and jocular, he identifies a restriction sonnets place on poetry. He uses the metaphor of a little ship to express his disapproval of the expectations of a sonnet. Poets are expected to fill a poem with genius in just fourteen lines, and the speaker believes that the expectations of a sonnet can be somewhat unreasonable. Despite the contrasting tones of the poems, both speakers identify a requirement of a sonnet in order to express a complaint about the restrictive nature of sonnets.

Both poets offer resolution to the problems they both have with sonnets. In On the Sonnet the speaker says, "Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd, / Sandals more interwoven and complete / To fit the naked foot of poesy" (4-6). The speaker encourages exploration of poetry past sonnets in order to fit the unique poetic style of each poet. He creates the metaphor of a shoe in order to express the individuality of poetry. Poetry is creative and artistic, and one set style of poetry cannot satisfy the creative needs for all poetry. Similarly to shoes, one shoe is not going to fit every person, and one poetic style is not going to fit every poem. Exploration allows for freedom from the restriction of sonnets, which solves the speakers problems. In Sonnet, the speaker cites the life of a famous poet when he offers resolution to his problems with sonnets: "All will be resolved, / where longing and heartache will find an end, /where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen, / take off those crazy medieval tights, / blow out the lights, and come at last to bed" (10-14). The speaker suggests the abandonment of sonnets because they are outdated. The speaker references Petrarch to express the necessity of change in the style of poetry. If one of the most famous poets abandons the sonnet, change is obviously necessary.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #3

Although Dorian loses interest in Basil and discounts the value of their friendship, the painter visits the young man before he moves to Paris. Basil still cares about Dorian even though it is clear that Dorian does not care very much about Basil. The painter wants to make a final effort to change Dorian's sinful lifestyle because he wants the best for Dorian. Preaching to Dorian, Basil says, "I want you to lead such a life as will make the world respect you. I want you to have a clean name and a fair record. I want you to get rid of the dreadful people you associate with" (111). Although Basil is blunt, he tells Dorian exactly what must be done to turn his life around. Basil became infatuated with Dorian because of his youthful innocence and purity. Because the painter knows Dorian is capable of being a good person, he wants him to return to a lifestyle free of sin and scandal. Despite Dorian's mistreatment of Basil, the painter does not want Dorian to be hated throughout London.

Although Basil clearly displays his care for Dorian, Dorian does not appreciate Basil's effort to make him a better person. After Dorian shows the deformed portrait of himself to the painter, he becomes enraged: "Suddenly an uncontrollable feeling of hatred for Basil Hallward came over him, as though it had been suggested to him by the image on the canvas, whispered into his ear by those grinning lips" (115). Although Basil has never done anything bad to Dorian, the young man blames his unfortunate change in morality on Basil. He thinks the portrait is at fault for the evil that overwhelms his soul. Basil has proven his loyalty to Dorian, but Dorian is only concerned with the supposed wrong Basil has done to him. Dorian overlooks everything Basil has tried to do for him and murders his loyal friend.