So in my senior year of high school we read Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and while everyone was having fun with the story, I was just very confused at the hype with it?
We follow a spoiled brat (Dorian Gray), a monologuing asshat (Lord Henry), and Basil who’s like the only sane character for the most part. Like I understand the underlying message and why Dorian Gray was made to be this way, but I feel like people are hyping a book that just isn’t good because of its message and themes which are being preached to you every time Lord Henry is in the chapter. Like what? People enjoy being preached to about art and the importance of REAL art for page after page? Or they enjoy a time skip where Dorian is further thrown into being a sociopathic asshole that is barely explained? And maybe this is just my own personal bias, because I love negative character development (like Eren Yaegar or Edmond Dantes) but GOD Dorian was a pretentious asshole and had no real reason for it. “Because I am beautiful I will treat everyone like shit because they don’t share my beauty.” Like what??
If you disagree then PLEASE give me an alternative perspective on this story cuz that entire book pissed me off and it pisses me off when people glorify it like a masterpiece when all it is a child throwing a fit the entire book.
by IndependentFail410