Here is your essay question for The Picture of Dorian Gray. Please e-mail it to me as a Word Document attachment. I will e-mail you back my comments on the Word Document.Write a five paragraph essay in answer to the following question. Use examples from the book as well as from your life.
If we could see the physical effects of our choices on our soul, would we live differently?
Be sure to e-mail it to me by midnight on Friday along with your reading journal for this book.
I have read your answers to the comprehension questions. They are excellent! I will respond to them on Monday and Tuesday. I am so happy with the quality work you both have done. Well done! I feel like this is working well, do you?
4 comments:
I tried emailing you my essay using your new email address, but it wouldnt send because of an 'invalid adress'... I'll try again later tonight. I'm going out of town for the weekend, so if i don't get it to you tonight, I'll try sending it again on monday.
Daniel Malouf
Mrs. Severson
English/Literature
January 18, 2008
The Soul
For as long as man has existed on earth, he has had a great challenge. Not only the challenge of conquering the earth, or a wild animal, or surviving combat, but the bettering of oneself. In life, we are faced with choices that make us who we are. Our soul contains our innermost secrets. God designed our souls to reside within our bodies therefore are not visible to the human eye. It is impossible to visibly see our souls depicted as in The Portrait of Dorian Gray. I believe God’s plan is for us to “see” the ramifications of our choices reflected in our conscience. The state of a person’s heart may be cold and insensitive, thriving on the destruction of others. Some attempt to be “bad” for a while, but the strain eventually is too much and they can’t bear the pain anymore. Then there’s the normal nice guy, kind of like me, who hates to hurt others’ feelings, in light of what Christ has done for me. If we could see the physical effects of our choices on our soul, we may or may not live differently.
While reading The Picture of Dorian Gray it became apparent to me that Lord Henry was a heartless man. He was the embodiment of one who possessed no compassion for his fellow man. Lord Henry not only adhered to hedonism, he felt no sorrow for those hurt as a result of his lifestyle. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Henry says to Dorian, “There is something to me quite beautiful about her death. I am glad I am living in a century when such wonders happen. They make one believe in the reality of the things we all play with, such as romance, passion, and love (p.106).” As evidenced by this quote, Henry has no sorrow for Dorian or Sibyl. Another example is as Dorian’s conscience begins to awake to his hideous life, Henry stated, “Art has no influence upon action (p.224).” Obviously, if Henry had a portrait like Dorian’s, it would not affect his lifestyle in the least because to him sin was something to be toyed with. Thus, Henry was removed from genuine feelings of remorse, compassion, and true friendship.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, initially the disfigured portrait startled Dorian. Over time he felt less and less remorse for his sins until eventually his heart became hardened. In the end however, Dorian could no longer live with himself. His conscience (what little he had left), was troubling him deeply. The atrocious portrait that loomed out of the canvas seemed to mock him with it’s wicked smile. At this point Dorian says, “A new life! That was what he wanted. That was what he was waiting for. Surely he had begun it already. He had spared one innocent thing, at any rate. He would never again tempt innocence. He would be good (p.227).” Then he said to Henry, “Yet you poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to anyone. It does harm (p.224).” If Dorian had lived longer, he might have changed his life, but as he gazed upon the gruesome portrait, the horror of all it symbolized overcame him. Seeing the physical effects on Dorian’s soul affected him deeply.
As a Christian, seeing the physical effects of my personal choices would not cause me to live differently. My conscience acts as an internal physical portrait. God’s children have a “portrait” in the form of a conscience that is inescapable. The Holy Spirit accomplishes what Dorian’s portrait could not prompt him to do. Dorian simply placed the portrait in a locked room and let it rot there. If his conscience had been taking the brunt of his sin, it would not have been so easily ignored. His peace of mind would have wasted away. Christ died on the cross to take away our sins. We don’t have to carry them in our heart, or on a portrait. In Christ we are free. Our consciences can be pure because Jesus has rendered them white as snow. For these reasons I do not believe that seeing the physical effects on my soul would alter my lifestyle.
In conclusion, one’s spiritual state determines the sensitivity of the conscience. If a heart exists without compassion, it is not going to be easily affected by visual impressions. When a person lives with evil, the likely result will be eventual repentance or death. For the Christian person, our soul acts as our “internal portrait.” The conscience of a Christian person, when activated, is very difficult to suppress. People that heed their conscience will live a life of peace. Therefore it solely depends on the internal state of the heart as to how sin is dealt with.
Kevin Doody
Mrs. Severson
English/Composition
17 January 2008
Terrifying But Necessary
After reading the book Picture Of Dorian Grey, a certain pressing question is raised. The question is this: If we could see the physical effects of our choices on our soul, would we live differently? This statement can be argued a few ways and requires us to further investigate and examine this intriguing question.
Let us imagine that we could NOT see into our souls. How would we live? Most likely, we would live exactly like we are at this very moment. Without seeing the physical effect of our choices on our soul, we have no incentive to make right choices. Without seeing with our own eyes the destruction our bad choices are having on our souls, why should we do right? We rely upon outside influence to tell us what is right and wrong. If our parents had not taught us right from wrong, we would all naturally make wrong choices. The Bible says in Romans, “I know that nothing good lives in me,
that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” If we could not see into our souls, we would be living exactly as we are right now; a depraved and selfish life.
Now let us examine the other side of the question. What if we COULD see into our souls? How would we live differently? If we could only see the devastation our choices are doing to our souls, I believe that we would live changed lives. We would see the immediate consequences of our actions and therefore resolve not to participate in that activity, thought, or action again. In the fiction book Picture of Dorian Grey, the main character had the ability to look into his own soul through a certain painting of himself. When he first realized this, he was completely terrified and did not have the courage to look upon it. He was extremely scared that someone would see the painting and realize what a terrible, cruel person he really was. However, he was more strongly influenced by Lord Henry, who helped him to rationalized his sins.
Therefore he avoided his sin by ignoring it. In the end, Dorian cannot stand to look upon sin that is and has been destroying his life. Instead of attempting to right the wrongs he committed, he destroys the painting. In doing so, he kills himself. If we had the courage to could look into our souls, we would be terrified and resolve to only make choices that will uplift and help our well-being.
In contrast with a life of naivety, the ability to see into our soul seems like an ugly and uncomfortable ordeal. Most of us would rather live a life in which we could ignore our sin nature. However, if we had the courage to do this, it would benefit us. When one accepts Jesus into their hearts, they are confronted with their sin. It is ugly, but it is necessary for us to see what Jesus Christ has saved us from. In Psalms, it says “As far as
the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” To face our weaknesses and address the problem requires great courage.
Since we do not have the power to look into our souls, we must rely upon God to show us the effect of our bad choices. He alone can teach us how to make choices that are according to His will and not conforming to the world’s ideals. God alone can compensate for the inability to see into our souls. Our parents and peers tell us that the things we choose to do will affect us for the rest of our lives and that the choices we make now, good or bad, will influence us for eternity. But without the conviction that God places on our hearts, we usually will not act on these words of wisdom. We need to live a changed life because of Jesus Christ, who gives us the ability to see the effect that
our sin has on our souls.
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