Moment of Truth

The preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray states that, "To reveal art and conceal the artist is the art's aim." However, this novel does everything but conceal Oscar Wilde. His sexuality and beliefs are revealed through his works of literature, leading to his eventual downfall.  For example, Dorian indulges in acts of hedonism and focuses much of his life on trying to achieve self-pleasure. Similarly Wilde also focused on aestheticism, constantly trying to find beauty in real life. In fact, he went to Boston to lecture about aestheticism. Once he met Douglas, the young man he fell in love with, his acts of hedonism only increased. Some might say that the effect Douglas had on Wilde was similar to the effect Lord Henry had on Douglas. Wilde indulged in artistic, materialistic, and sexual habits regularly. Like Dorian going to opium dens to forget, Wilde went to underground dens for prostitution to satisfy his desires. He needed to lead a double life to avoid scrutinization...

In the beginning of The Picture of Dorian Gray, we see Basil Hallward become drawn to Dorian Gray as he is the perfect model for Basil's portraits. He is the most beautiful man Basil has seen and is perfect in every manner. Later on, Dorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane after seeing some of her theater performances. This is a parallel as Dorian doesn't fall in love with Sibyl -- he falls in love with Juliet, Rosalind, and Imogen. This is made apparent as seen in the conversation Lord Henry has with Dorian. When Henry asks "When is she Sibyl Vane?" Dorian responds with "Never." Thus, Dorian hasn't fallen in love with Sibyl herself, but the characters she becomes when she performs on stage. Relating it back to the preface, "to reveal art and conceal the artists is art's aim." Sibyl embodies her roles so well that on stage, none of her actual personality is there. Rather, only her art of acting shines through.  Before meeting Dorian, Sybil kne...

I walked into the 11AP classroom on the first day of school unsure of whether or not I was prepared to write essays every week and vigorously overanalyze pieces of literature, and granted, I was not prepared. My writing skills were severely lacking. And although they are still lacking, I feel that my writing sucks a little less everyday. There are many people (both dead and alive) who shaped my experience as a reader and writer in AP Language. I would like to start off by thanking some of my peers. Deepti for sure had a profound impact on my understanding of English -- she taught me the word "onus." As soon as I read her essay and came across "onus," I was so enlightened that I dedicated an entire blog post to it. I'd also like to extend my gratitude to Akul for always participating in class so that I didn't have to. You taught me how to use so many words without actually saying anything. My sincerest thanks to Aatreya for turning any and everything into a j...