The Picture of Dorian Gray
Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
2. Discuss the role of homoeroticism in the novel.
3. “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book,” Wilde says in the Preface. “Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” Does the novel confirm this argument?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Discuss the relationship between Basil and Dorian.
2. Analyze the Gothic elements in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
3. Discuss the role of Sibyl Vane in the novel.
4. Discuss the parallels between Dorian’s story and the Faust legend. Does Dorian make a pact with the devil?
5. Why does Dorian decide to destroy the painting at the end of the novel?
6. Compare and contrast the characters of Basil and Lord Henry. What is their relationship to one another? To Dorian?
*Spoiler*
by Aecio, April 14, 2013
In the end of the book, when Dorian stabs his cursed picture: Does it mean his soul is pure again, for his dead body now endures his age and sins while the picture that represented his soul is young again, or it's just about his curse being broken?
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