Power of Youth and Beauty - 1820 Words

Darsielle Hayes 2/2/06 Eng 202B Power of Youth and Beauty Some say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Others say that it(beauty) is only skin deep. A person that is considered to have overwhelming beauty can commit a heinous crime and be forgiven because they have such beauty. In a society that puts beauty on a pedestal, youth and physical attractiveness become valuable possessions. Oscar Wildes novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, prove all of these things to be true. Throughout this novel beauty reigns, it revitalizes the wearied senses. Beauty can be used to escape the brutalities of the world. One persons beauty can mask the ugliness they possess inside from the outside world. Basil Hallward†¦show more content†¦He uses his beauty as a way to escape reality. Dorian lives a double life throughout the rest of the novel. Dorians demise comes when he tries to destroy the painting and ends up killing himself. At the end of the book, the portrait is restored to its original form, and Dorian was described as, withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage (Wilde165). Beauty and youth retain the utmost importance at the end of the novel. Even in todays society, beauty is held up on a pedestal. It is used as a weapon. Some people use it to get away with crimes, others use it to get the things they want out of life the same way Lord Henry expressed it to Dorian. To some what matters the most is a persons outside appearance. During the Victorian Era and today it does not matter if a person is good at heart, but if they are handsome. The effect of beauty on the emotional state of others is a frequently broached topic. Magazines, news programs, and movies often focus on the dichotomy between beauty and ugliness, the relationship between persons of each characteristic (Patterson). I sometimes catch myself getting overwhelmed by something or someones beauty. It happens to everyone, but not everyone plays into it all of them time. Beauty hides some of the worlds nastiest secrets and nobody will k now of them because we are so busy worrying about the outside. Appearance plays a huge role in the real world. When it comes to employment, theShow MoreRelatedSonnet 65 Essay examples1051 Words   |  5 PagesSonnet 65 Sonnet 65 by Shakespeare argues that beauty and youth are illusions as they inevitably fade with the effects of time. The reader is pulled into the age old battle between humanitys desire for immortality and inevitable physical decay. Shakespeare suggests that it is only ideas captured by `black ink (verses) that have any hope of transcending the test of time. The metaphoric loss of a legal battle by `beauty against the `rage of time in the first quatrain is intertwined with imagesRead More‚Äà ºMass Media (Television, the Internet, Advertising) Influence Youth Too Much Nowadays.‚Äà ¹ to What Extent Is This True?794 Words   |  4 Pagesinternet, advertising) influence youth too much nowadays.† To what extent is this true? In the recent years, the prevalence of mass media has been undeniable. All over the world, youths have access to mass media through their smartphones, television sets and computers. In such a media-driven world, it is no surprise that mass media has come to play a substantial role in the attitudes and mindsets of youth. To a large extent, mass media does have the power to influence youth too much nowadays as seenRead MoreEssay about Picture of Dorian Gray: Corruption1677 Words   |  7 Pagesinfluence of Lord Henry Wotton as well as the portrait of Dorian Gray to represent this corruption and its consequences. 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This sonnet is writt en in iambic pentameter, consists of three quatrains and ends with a couplet while following the rhyme scheme:Read MoreThe Media Images Of Beauty1665 Words   |  7 PagesThe modern beauty standard has become an increasingly important issue because people have the freedom to decide, but the media largely influenced these choices on about beauty standard. Our advance of technology helps communicate with each other, but people are not fully aware of the influence of media. That is a major problem. The media broadcast images of beauty to control people consciously. Technological advance helps people to reach the information quickly and cumulatively, but media not alwaysRead MoreShakespeares Sonnet 181392 Words   |  6 Pagesanother. For example, he introduces metaphor within the first line of the sonnet when he asks the rhetorical question, Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Shakespeare uses this as a comparison because a summers day is something with incredible beauty but is st ill not as beautiful as Shakespeares love. The fact that Shakespeare chose to compare his love to a summers day and not a day of another season helps to emphasize the eternity of his love and his poems. During the summer, the days are longerRead MoreDorian Gray And Dr Faustus Literary Analysis1278 Words   |  6 Pagesmorals and soul. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, the main character trades his soul for what he desires most, beauty and eternal youth. He ends up dying after living a tortuous life because of the damage he has to his soul. Similarly, in Dr. Faustus, a play by Christopher Marlowe, a doctor sells his soul to the devil in order to obtain powers. They both die regretting the life that they choose to live. A common theme in the two pieces of writing is that giving into temptation