1. The day after Dorian abandons Sibyl, Lord Henry arrives with terrible news. What’s the news?
2. How does Lord Henry convince Dorian not to go to the police?
3. Where does Dorian agree to go with Lord Henry that very night?
4. Dorian reflects that this incident is a turning point in his existence, and he resolves to accept a life of “eternal youth, infinite passion, p_________ subtle and secret, wild joy and wilder sins,” in which his portrait will bear the marks of age and experience.
5. As the novel progresses, the reader sees the degree to which Dorian is undone by the sins that his portrait reflects and the degree to which he suffers for allowing the painting to act as a “visible emblem of c____________”.
6. The next day, Basil comes to offer his condolences to Dorian, but Dorian dismisses the memory of Sibyl. Basil blames _____________ for Dorian’s heartless attitude.
7. How does Dorian react when Basil goes to remove the screen with which Dorian has covered the painting?
8. When Dorian asks why Basil has changed his mind about showing the painting to the public, Basil confesses that he was worried that the painting would reveal his obsession with Dorian. Now, however, Basil believes that the painting, like all art, “________s the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him”
9. Where does Dorian hide his portrait?
10. After locking the room, Dorian returns to his study and finds a yellow book that Lord Henry has sent him. Briefly describe what the book is about.
11. Dorian finds the work to be “a poisonous book”, one that confuses the boundaries between vice and v________. Nevertheless, he finds it fascinating.
12. The yellow book has profound influence on Dorian, arguably leading him to his downfall. This happens because Dorian a_______ the book to dominate and determine his actions so completely. Lord Henry is also a big fan of the book but, to him, it’s no greater or more important than any other work.
13. Years pass. Dorian remains young and beautiful, but he is trailed by rumors. Why do most people dismiss the rumors?
14. How does he feel about the ever-widening gulf between the beauty of his body and the corruption of his soul?
15. What kind of study does Dorian devote himself to?
16. Dorian comes to appreciate the seductive beauty of the darker side of life, feeling “a curious delight in the thought that A______, like Nature, has her monsters, things of bestial shape and with hideous voices.”
17. On the eve of his thirty-eighth birthday, Dorian runs into Basil, who is about to leave for a six-month stay in Paris. Why did Basil feel necessary to stop by?
18. Basil reminds Dorian that there are no such things as “secret vices”: sin, he claims, “writes itself across a man’s ______.”
19. Basil demands to know why so many of Dorian’s friendships have ended disastrously: One boy committed suicide, and others had their careers or reputations ruined. He wonders if he knows Dorian at all and wishes he were able to see Dorian’s s_______. Smiling, Dorian offers to show it to Basil.
20. Basil reveals the portrait, which has become hideous, a “foul parody” of its former beauty. Basil stares at it in shock. Asked how such a thing is possible, Dorian reminds him of the day he met Lord Henry and how he pledged his soul for eternal, unblemished youth. He claims it’s too late to kneel and pray for forgiveness. Glancing at his picture, Dorian feels hatred welling up within him. What does he do in the next moment?
Comments
Post a Comment