The concept of eternal youth is a strange one. It is thought to be desirable, but when it is attained what consequences does it bring? Surely it is a fate rather than a fortune. Dorian Gray is a model of youth and beauty, but he is young and easily controlled. Lord Henry takes advantage of this and uses Dorian as a social experiment. Eventually Dorian takes on Lord Henry's beliefs and begins making detrimental decisions of his own. This is the device through Oscar Wilde expresses his personal views on morality, society, and beauty.
Dorian Gray is young and beautiful--the envy of everyone around him. Lord Henry embodies everything that is wrong with society. Lord Henry takes this already beautiful piece of clay and molds it into a being of his creation--a being filled with corruption and evil. Dorian becomes Henry's project, his personal artistic masterpiece. Oscar Wilde is showing how easily manipulated people are by what society forces them to think. And eventually, just as Dorian begins to adopt Henry's views for himself, society will all to quickly adopt the views of influential people. Near the beginning of the book, Basil sees Dorian as the rare jewel that he is (at the time): a model of youth and beauty that has not yet been corrupted by society's influences. Basil treats him like a God... someone worthy of being worshipped. His paintings of Dorian depict him as a heroic figure. As Dorian progresses into his corruption and evil, led by Lord Henry, he comes to the realization that his actions, previously thought to have no affect on him, are slowly destroying the part of his humanity that actually matters--his soul. His actions are destroying him on the inside, even though he still appears beautiful. Oscar Wilde is showing how fleeting true beauty is--beauty on the inside. Wilde is also showing the consequences that exploitation of youth and beauty can bring.
Oscar Wilde's style of writing is distracting and beautiful at the same time. There are passages of beautiful imagery that greatly enhance the story, but there are also parts that seems to drag on forever, going into overly detailed descriptions and vague and obscure references. But all that aside, Oscar Wilde manages to get his point across loud and clear. Wild isn't just making a point though, he is presenting a warning. He is letting society know that it must change it's ways. He is warning against the exploitation of youth and beauty. People like Lord Henry will always exist--people who corrupt others just for amusement, but society has the power to fight against them. And there are many Dorian Grays in the world--those just waiting (even if they are unaware) to be corrupted. Society need to help these people, because they are weak of spirit and have trouble making judgements of morality. Oscar Wilde successful weaves together a strong message and a beautifully tragic story.
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