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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'll start this review by saying that I have not read the full version of this story yet, but I'm planning to do so very soon. This one is a shorter version. I wanted to read The Picture of Dorian Gray for years and years, but I never did. This year, I finally made a decision and read it.
Dorian Gray was a young, handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes. At the beginning, he radiated the innocent nature of a confused boy who doesn't really know what life is just yet. He doesn't know what to look out for or who he really is. For me, I notice that he was very naive, very trusting, and easily influenced by people around him, especially older people.
When Dorian Gray gets told to enjoy life and enjoy being young and beautiful, I feel like he gets this sort of boost of ego that isn't really healthy for a young man like him. He definitely took it the wrong way. Dorian had no idea what happiness meant, what being kind was, how he should express love, or how to control his negative emotions.
Throughout the story, I also noticed that in some parts he did actually try to be good to the women he met or his old friends, but once again, he had no idea what 'good' meant or how to express it. Dorian is someone who, if I had to describe him in one word, it would definitely be 'lost'. Of course he did horrible things; he was cruel to someone he thought he loved; he was cruel to his friends and everyone else, but on the other hand, he didn't know any better.
Being an orphan without parents to tell you why this thing is probably wrong is definitely hard. Dorian listened to someone who he thought had more experience with life and got easily consumed and manipulated without knowing.
The painting itself definitely gave him a glimpse of the person he was supposed to be and what his actions were. He definitely wanted to be kind; he hated the painting and his actions, but Dorian had no idea how to be kind or anything positive that would result in him actually changing his personality.
In some parts, it was really hard to try and believe that Dorian is capable of being kind to people around him. He was very selfish and cruel at times, and it was interesting to see him slowly changing because of the constant reminder of his not-so-pretty painting that he was trying to hide.
This story definitely shows that looks do not actually matter. The painting shows what's actually inside—what you try to hide, just like Dorian did when he placed a cloth over it. Your actions will change not only your surroundings but also you from the inside, which is shown through the painting as an actual object in reality.
I will definitely rate this 3/5 just because it's a shorter version of the original novel, which I will read in the future and review as well.
Dorian Gray was a young, handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes. At the beginning, he radiated the innocent nature of a confused boy who doesn't really know what life is just yet. He doesn't know what to look out for or who he really is. For me, I notice that he was very naive, very trusting, and easily influenced by people around him, especially older people.
When Dorian Gray gets told to enjoy life and enjoy being young and beautiful, I feel like he gets this sort of boost of ego that isn't really healthy for a young man like him. He definitely took it the wrong way. Dorian had no idea what happiness meant, what being kind was, how he should express love, or how to control his negative emotions.
Throughout the story, I also noticed that in some parts he did actually try to be good to the women he met or his old friends, but once again, he had no idea what 'good' meant or how to express it. Dorian is someone who, if I had to describe him in one word, it would definitely be 'lost'. Of course he did horrible things; he was cruel to someone he thought he loved; he was cruel to his friends and everyone else, but on the other hand, he didn't know any better.
Being an orphan without parents to tell you why this thing is probably wrong is definitely hard. Dorian listened to someone who he thought had more experience with life and got easily consumed and manipulated without knowing.
The painting itself definitely gave him a glimpse of the person he was supposed to be and what his actions were. He definitely wanted to be kind; he hated the painting and his actions, but Dorian had no idea how to be kind or anything positive that would result in him actually changing his personality.
In some parts, it was really hard to try and believe that Dorian is capable of being kind to people around him. He was very selfish and cruel at times, and it was interesting to see him slowly changing because of the constant reminder of his not-so-pretty painting that he was trying to hide.
This story definitely shows that looks do not actually matter. The painting shows what's actually inside—what you try to hide, just like Dorian did when he placed a cloth over it. Your actions will change not only your surroundings but also you from the inside, which is shown through the painting as an actual object in reality.
I will definitely rate this 3/5 just because it's a shorter version of the original novel, which I will read in the future and review as well.