seen as a bad influence and a very seductive person. Wilde writing this book is seen as a way of convincing the public to become hedonists and therefore critics compare him to Lord Henry.Finally, Wilde says that he would like to be Dorian but in another time. Dorian starts out as a handsome, wealthy gentleman that's innocent. He is quickly seduced by Lord Henry's words and starts to live life for all its pleasures. These acts are obviously not accepted by the public and with his picture taking all the flaws, his image is never damaged. In my opinion, I believe that when Wilde said he wants to be Dorian, it's because he wishes that he could "get rid of a temptation" by yielding to it, as Henry would say. Unlike Dorian, Wilde doesn't have a picture to take his flaws and society will not accept him experimenting. In that, it explains why Wilde says he would be Dorian but in another time, a time that will accept his yielding to temptations. There is also the possibility that when Wilde means age, he really meant his age. Henry says to Dorian, "Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar." Dorian can experiment and take risks while he is young, but by the time that Wilde realized this, his "golden days" had already past."The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is the art's aim." This is the first statement that is written in the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, but Wilde obviously revealed himself in this book. His characteristics and personality is revealed through his three main characters: Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward, and Lord Henry Wotten. His image of himself lies within Basil; others image of him lies within Henry; and his ideal image would be Dorian, a young and handsome man with the freedom to satisfy his temptations....
