his conscience back. Wilde infers that it is too late for him to change. Dorian need to just accept the past. Dorian suspects this and begins to doubt the importance of the one good deed he did. "Had it been merely vanity that had made him do his one good deed? Or the desire for a new sensation, as Lord Henry had hinted" (Wilde 163). Dorian begins to recognize the truth in his situation. He cannot be honestly good. His acts of kindness are for his benefit only. His conscience begins to tell him that he can never change. It also gives him the idea that he is going to die due to his horrible personality; his conscience reveals the truth about himself. Dorian decides that he must ruin his conscience in order to put his mind at ease. Wilde writes, "Basil's portrait of him had been like conscience to him. Yes, it had been conscience. He would destroy it" (Wilde 164). With that, Dorian stabs and ruins the portrait. When he destroys the portrait, he destroys himself. He kills his conscience, therefore killing himself. Wilde unravels to the reader that without a conscience a person is without life.Oscar Wilde describes two different themes in his novel. He describes the control influence can have in a person's life and the importance of a person's conscience. Wilde uses both of these themes to describe the power influence has over an individual. People are influenced everyday by others. Sadly, people may hear their conscience, but will not listen to it. They will succumb to peer pressure and ignore their conscience. Throughout his novel, Wilde successfully proves the power of influence over the mind....
