P& P #9 3/31: 14-18

Quote- "Nobody wants him [Bingley] to come; though I shall always say he used my daughter extremely ill... I am sure Jane will die of a broken heart, and then he will be sorry for what he has done" (Austen 213).

Explanation- This quote shows how much of a hypocrite and vexing she can be. She says to her daughters that she does not want Bingley to come back because of what he has done. If he somehow came to their abode she would put on a pretense and act like she had never said those things about Bingley. Then Mrs. Bennet has the nerve to so impudently joke about Jane's life. She flaunts it around like Jane's soul does not even matter and that its sole purpose is just to guilt one man into submission. Mrs. Bennet does not represent a cordial motherly character we have been brought up with. Instead she represents a woman who will do anything and say anything to get what she wants.


Multiple Choice
On pg. 211, There is a conversation between Jane and Elizabeth and it is mentioned that, "One has got all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it. Which character has all the goodness and which one has all the appearance of goodness.
a) Wickham; Mr. Darcy
b) Mr. Collins; Mr. Bingley
c) Mr. Darcy; Wickham
d) Mr. Bennet; Mr. Bingley
e) None of these choices are correct

P& P #8 3/30: 11-13

Quote- "This must be false! This cannot be! This must be the grossest falsehood!" (Austen 193).

Explanation- This quote is Elizabeth's astonishment to Mr. Darcy's letter. She wants to believe that everything in that letter is wrong, because it is too hard for her to face the truth. That is her ability to perceive people's character through their first impressions. If everything in this letter is true then that means that she has been wrong all this time. The thing that Elizabeth took great pride in was her ability to see the true nature of people but now facing the facts that all she was worked so hard for and took great reverence of is all a lie. She is trying not to succumb to this reality because it would bring her nothing but shame. As she was judging a book by its cover, she now coming to the truth that one has to read the entirety of a book before it can be so accurately judged.

Multiple Choice
In Darcy's letter to Elizabeth, he reveals
I. Mr. Wickham is misleading Elizabeth under a false pretence
II. That he is dying and he really wants to marry someone before he dies and chose Elizabeth
III. That he thought Jane was impartial to marrying Bingley and tried to separate them

A. I only
B. I and II
C. I and III
D. II and III
E. I, II, and III

P& P #7 3/27: 6-10

Quote- "There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me" (Austen 166).

Explanation- This quote clearly defines Elizabeth's character very well. She can speak her mind openly while showing great reverence to others around her. When Elizabeth and company had met with Lady Catherine, everyone around Elizabeth felt overwhelmed by the mere atmosphere of the room. Though everyone was in a shocked state, Elizabeth felt equal to her surroundings. She upheld great composure and courage while speaking to the Lady. Unlike the rest of the company who completely lacked the will to overcome any obstacle, which is so present in Elizabeth. With this courage, Elizabeth can make good first impressions without a hint of doubt in her mind. That is her strength.


Multiple Choice
On page 158, what did Lady Catherine mean when she asked Elizabeth, “Are any of your younger sisters out, Miss Bennet?"

a) Are they are out of town
B) Do they have the right to get married?
c) Are they in your Mr. Bennet's will
d) None of the above answers are correct

P& P #5 3/25: 21-1

Quote- "You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me, that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger security for happiness" (Twain 131).


Explanation- This comes when Jane tries to defend, Charlotte's choice of accepting Collin's marriage proposal. Jane believes that Charlotte has just wanted to get married for the sake of getting married. This should be seen as normal, as many girls do the same thing in their town. Elizabeth is commenting that even if it is Charlotte it does not matter who the person she is questioning is, that would defeat the whole purpose of principle. Besides this point Charlotte, should stand up for her happiness. Elizabeth had thought she knew Charlotte's character very well but with this marriage on the horizon it seems that she has greatly misjudged her best friend's character.


Multiple Choice:
On page 131, Mar has seen two instances where people have lacked merit or sense. If one of them is Charlotte’s marriage than what is the other she alludes too?
a) Elizabeth's and Darcy's relationship
b) Ms. Bingley and Darcy’s relationship
c) Jane and Mr. Bingley's relationship
d) None of these answers are correct

P& P #4 3/23: 17-20

Quote- "That would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable when one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil" (Twain 88).

Explanation- This quote is Elizabeth's response to Ms. Lucas's question of finding Mr. Darcy attractive. Elizabeth says that she does not want to be bothered with such a man even though she had unknowingly accepted to dance with Mr. Darcy. She is putting up a pretense about her feelings towards Mr. Darcy. She does not want to believe that she could be more attracted than repelled to such a proud, odious man. Her character is telling her that she cannot fall for this man, while her mind and body yearn for him, even without her realization from it. I believe that she will start to fall more and more in love with Mr. Darcy to the point where her character can accept it.

Multiple Choice-
"that she was selected from among her sisters as worthy of being the mistress of Hunsford Parsonnage...she observed his increasing civilities towards herself, and heard his frequent attempt at a compliment on her wit and vivacity" (85).
According to this passage which of the five Bennet girls does Mr. Collins seem to select to become his wife?
a) Jane
b) Kitty
c) Mary
d) Lizzy
e) Lydia

P& P #3 3.20: 11-16

Quote- "She attracted him more than he liked; and Miss Bingley was uncivil to her, and more teasing to himself. He widely resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration escape" (Austen 58).

Explanation- In this passage Elizabeth has decided to leave Mr. Bingley's estate because she believes she has outwelcomed her stay. Ms. Bingley is happy for her leaving as Elizabeth is taking all of Darcy's attention away from her. Mr. Darcy is paricularly indifferent about her leaving, but it seems like he wants Ms. Bennet to leave. He seems to notice that he is being attracted to Elizabeth more and more. He is to proud to admit this to anyone, because it could be seen as a fault in his character. And Mr. Darcy is to proud to let that happen.

Multiple Choice-
"It has often led him to be liberal and generous; to give his money freely, to display hospitably, to assist his teneranys, and relieve the poor. Family pride, and filial pride, he is very proud of what his father was, have done this" (79).
This passage most relates to which character:
A) Mr. Collins
B) Mr. Darcy
C) Mr.Bingley
D) Mr. Bennet

P& P #1 3/18: Ch 1-6

Quote: "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment" (Austen 28).

Explanation-In their quaint little town the women seem to be only interested in getting married to the wealthiest of men. This quote depicts how quickly a woman can judge a man's character in an instant. This can work both positively and negatively (in some cases). When Mr. Bingley came to town he was rapidly admired by all the women of the town, before the women had even met him. They start to admire his wealth first, than when they are at the ball the women start to fall in love with his beauty. Now all they want to do is dance and chat with Mr. Bingley say they can be noticed; for all they are thinking now is marriage. Through all that his character has been judged and now every available girl in town wants to marry him. This happens all within knowing him but a few days.

Multiple Choice:
"A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinions of ourselves; vanity to what we would have others think of us" (21). Based on this passage and previous knowledge what is true about pride?
I. Pride is the Great Sin that leads to every other sin
II. Vanity is less beneficial than being proud
III. It is better to have both vanity and pride

A. I only
B. II and III
C.I and III
D.I, II, and III

Huck Finn 5: pg 185-209

Definitions:
1) Muggins- a person who lacks good judgment; fool
"Why, you talk like a muggins" (Twain 206).

2) Melodeum- a kind of accordion
"They had borrowed a melodeum" (194).

Quote-
"That made me feel pretty bad. About an hour or two ago, it would a been a little different, but now it made me feel bad and disappointed" (190).

Explanation- This quote happens when Huck is eavesdropping on the Duke and The King about where they hid their money and how they were planning to ditch the girls. There is also a change in Huck's character that he acknowledges. Maybe a while ago he would have gone with the plan and taken the money, but now he knows that it is defintely wrong because these girls opened up their home to Huck and were very nice to him. Huck is starting to form a bond of friendships with the girls, especially Mary-Jane. Now he cannot just sit around doing nothing while these crooks rob his friends. He will not allow it. Huck has always had some understanding of right and wrong but through this experience he is maturing his own ideals and will now act upon them.


Quote-
"though I ain't had no experience, and can't say for certain; but it looks so to me, anyway; and yet here's a case where I'm blest if I don't look to me like the truth is better, and actuly safer, than a lie" (200).

Explanation- This is a great step out of Huck's usual character. Instead of lying as he usually does whenever he is in trouble; having to remember that lie, and coming up with another just in case he messes up. This time Huck decides that he will be Frank and tell the truth to Mary-Jane about the uncle's true objective. Huck says that he has no experience with telling the truth so he afraid of what the results might be, but he still does it. After he had gone through his whole plan he said, "I felt very good" (207). For once, he started to feel very good of his actions. He knows that he made the right moral decision.

Jim

After spending time with Jim I want to know s’more about them nigger slaves. I says to Jim, “what’s it like being some slave Jim. Warn’t it hard, is it bad being one?” Jim took a great ole minute and the he says,
Dey white folks always be tellin Jim that sinse I is a nigger I ain’t got no rights. I gywne to work for them and calls em mastur and mad’m. All the tyme. But now I ain’t see nuffin wrong with it. What do you, honey?
“ It just sees weird o me that niggers like you, Jim get treated like nuffin but garbage all day long. I know I’d get awful tired of serfin Ms. Watson all day. Then when she felt likes selling me off, she would. That just don’t sit well wit me.?
Oh honey, yo’ a b’ thinkin too much. All that learnin at de skool startin to mess, with your head some. Just forgit bust it? I ju’t do as I told to do. I ain’t give bak no lip to dey white people. Cause all dey’ll do is sell me off to sum other white folk. So wat’s de point Huck? I’ll tells you that the’r is none. De ain’t nuffin fo’ us slave niggers. Dat’s why wes got to get be free. I gots me a dream, and I m gywne to be a-getting it.
“That’s an awful pow’rful speech, Jim.”

Huck

Dave Oreste


Two or three days went by me; I reckon it like cause it went all slow like. When we got to the next time we got to town I saw a girl by the, I ‘spose she was the same age as me. All she was doin was lookin at the sea, maybe she a wating for something to happen. I swum to shore and decided to chat with her for a bit, while Jim hide the raft somewheres. I got to the dock and staid there for a spell. She was awful pretty and smelled like sweet peaches, during the ripe season. I told her my name was Max Paine, just some kid pirate who would get adventures and ransomed off women , Tom Sawyer woulda been pride of me.

She giggled all girly-like. She was wearing a nice proper sun dress, like some uiform at a proper school. She was a-wearing a sun hat with flowers on the top of em, and knee-high socks, her shoes were off in the corner. She had sleek brown hair and eyes like the riverbend. She was a holding two books, I bet she was a-learnn a lot then in her fance schoolin. But she still looked pretty.

She says, Her name was Mary Lou. And that’s she loved my “tall tale” stories. I’m gussin she knew I was a-lying. She talked all proper-like. Like some rich preppy british ladies.

“So you are suppose to be some pirate huh. Well don’t mind me, oh warrior of the sea; I am just looking at the sea, trying to imagine what life on the sea would be like. I wish I could come with you Mr. Max. How I envy your life to such an extent.”
I thought it out for a bit and by and by she remind me bout how I feel when I was livin with the widow. She just want the same thing I git right now. So I says: “Come with me and let’s have us some adventures. She giggled, again. I said what’so matter.
“Well I’ll have to think about it first” Then she gave me a smooch and squeezed me tight. Then she giggled, picked up her shoes by my feet. And skipped a-long to the town. Girls are some mighty strange creatures, ain’t they?

Huck Finn 5: pg 129- 157

Definitions:
1) Contrite- caused by or showing sincere remorse.
"come with a contrite heart!" (Twain 143).

2) Sublime- impressing the mind with a sense of power; inspiring awe
"Ah, it's sublime, sublime!" (148).

Quote:
"If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way" (137).

Explanation- Here Huck's moral triangle is now processing what his pap told him to perform the correct action that Huck thinks is right. So Huck knows that the King and the Duke are lying about their identities. But by following his Pap rule, he believes that letting them have their way is the right thing to do because Huck and Jim want to avoid any unnecessary attention. And fighting with a bunch of strangers about their real identities would be too much of a hassle. The best thing to do is to live them alone and go with the flow.

Quote: "Whar'd you come f'm, boy? You prepared to die? Then he rode on. I was scared" (153).

Explanation- This quote shows hoe Huck is just a timid little boy. When he is threatened by an adult who looks scary and dangerous, Huck is frightened away and does not want to be killed. He may have once thought that he wanted to kill people himself and rob them, when he was part of his gang with Tom Sawyer. But after seeing Buck lying dead in front of him, he began to feel scared because he now understand how real death is and how it can affect him.

Huck Finn 4: pg 88-129

Definitions-
1) Wigwam- an American Indian dwelling, usually of rounded or oval shape, formed of poles overlaid with bark, mats, or skins.
"Then he got up slow, and walked to the wigwam, and went in there, without saying anything but that" (Twain 98).

2) Cavort- jump or dance around excitedly
""There was four or five men cavorting around on their horses" (126).

Quotes-I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way" (98).

Explanation- Heck comes to the sudden realization that Jim is someone he should care for. And should not be the butt of all his shenanigans. These two are on the run together that means that they have no one else but if each other. If Huck kept up his Huck his, friendship with Jim could have ended. With his last trick he made Jim leave without saying a word to him. Huck showed sympathy and compassion towards Jim now because he doesn't ever want him to feel like that again because it was mean and stupid. In a way Huck could be maturing more and more.

Quote- "s'pose you done a right and give Jim up; would you felt better than what you do now? No, says I, I'd feel bad- I'd feel just the same way I do now" (104).

Explanation- Huck knows that he was wrong to have lied to the gentlemen that gave him money, but he did not want to reveal Jim. Huck is now thinking to himself if he had made the right decision. He has been taught about his Conscience and is now thinking which decision would have been the moral one. Should he sell out Jim to the men persecuting him, thinking that would make him feel better. Or should he let his friend become free even if Huck does not like his intentions. I believe that Huck made the right decision by lying to the gentlemen. He made a promise to Jim and should keep it, despite the risks. I think Huck will feel that he made the right decision.

Huck Finn 3: 47-66

Definitions-
1) rubbage- rubbish
"We found a brass button in his stomach, and a round ball, and lots of rubbage" (Twain 64).

2) Speculate- to engage in any business transaction involving considerable risk or the chance of large gains
"What did you speculate in, Jim?" (56).

Quote:
"Jim, this is nice... I wouldn't want to be nowhere else but here" (59).

Explanation: Huck is telling Jim that it is nice to be out in the wide open ranges again. To get back to his roots and experience all he was missing while he was with the mistress and under his father's "care". He is glad to be with Jim and go on some adventures and just have fun. He still would not want to go back to the way his life was. He does not seem to like change and to be away from the woods. He just wants to stay and the wilderness and keep everything the same.

Quote: "I didn't look at him at all. Jim throwed some old rags over him, but he needn't done it; I didn't want to see him" (60).

Explanation- This quote reminds the reader that Huck is just a twelve year old child. Even though he smokes and does what he pleases. And he says he is willing to kill anybody. He is just a child who is afraid of death. As he was so afraid of the dead body that he did not want to acknowledge it. As many kids his age do when confronted with a similar situation.

Huck Finn 2: 28-46

Defintions:
1) Skiff- any of various types of boats small enough for sailing or rowing by one person.
"The old man made me go to the skiff and fetch the things he had got" (Twain 35).

2) Palavering- a conference or discussion; chatter
"Don't stand there palavering all day, but out with you and see if there's a fish on the lines for breakfast" (40).

Quote:
"I'll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father and let on to be better'n what he is" (29).

Explanation- Huck's father has a problem with Huck going to school and learning to read and write. He thinks that if it is not good enough for him to learn, why should it be good for Huck. Nobody in their family could read and write, so he thinks Huck should not either. He does not want Huck to be better than he is. He thinks that since he is the father he should be looking down on his son because he is smarter. But since Huck has some new skills it could be the other way around. And so he feels threaten by this, and will hurt Huck to prove that he is still dominate.

"This shook me up considerable, because I didn't want to go back to the widow's any more and be so cramped up and sivilized, as they called it" (35).

Huck is now slowly returning to his old roots. He does not want to go back to the widow and be cramped and told what to do all day long. He wants to be free again. Even if he is with a sad excuse for a father. He can do whatever he wants without a care in the world, even though his dad beat him and dragged him to the woods. Huck is happy to be back to the way he had once lived before.

Huck Finn 1: 9-27

Definitions:
1) Ambuscade- an ambush
"... so we would lay in ambuscade, as he called it, and kill the lot and scopp the things" (Twain 21).

2) Stile- a series of steps by means of which a person may pass over a wall or fence that remains a barrier to sheep or cattle
"I went down the front garden and clumb over the stile, where you go through the high board fence" (25).

Quote:
"There is ways to keep off kinds of bad luck, but this wasn't one of them kind; so I never tried to do anything, but just poked along low-spirited and on the watch-out" (25).

Explanation- In this quote Huck is being very vigilant because he did not get a chance to throw salt over his shoulder and stop some bad luck. This shows that huck is very superstitious, because he is so scared that something bad is going to happen to him now. When Huck saw his dad's footprints in the snow he said, "There was a cross in the left-heel made with big nails, to keep off the devil" (25). Maybe Huck gets his superstitious attitude from his father because his dad is trying to fend off the devil by having a cross on his foot. So, Huck might have learned being superstitious from his father. By preventing bad luck, Huck may believe he will end up better than his dad.

Quote:
"I liked the old ways the best, but I was getting so I liked the new ones, too, a little bit. The widow said I was coming along slow but sure, and doing very satisfactory. She said she warn't ashamed of me" (24).

Explanation: Huck still adores and treasures the old way of life he once had. He liked how he was so free before, but he is getting used to his new way of life. It was hard for him at school because he does not seem to be to intelligent and would sometimes play hookey. The longer he went to school the better it got for him. Huck is slowly making the transition from his free-spirited life to his current life now. And he is starting to enjoy it.

Final Sin Essay

Dave Oreste
AP English 11- Mr. George
February 26, 2009
Final Sin Essay
Road to Redemption
If man only gets one life to live, why should he care about his sin? Sin is only an action that gives life more pleasure. Man should be living life to the fullest and treat each day as an adventure. Why should others care for your sin, what’s done is done? Why should they care, for it was your action not theirs. Since God gave us life, he has already pre-destined all the sins we will commit and all the temptations we may fall into. Why should we even bother repenting if God knows we may do it again? In that question lies the answer: God gave us life to be born into his image. Life is a privilege, not a right. God brought us into this world to live life to the fullest under his laws of morality. In the novels, The Scarlet Letter and The Picture of Dorian Gray plus in the play “The Crucible”, we have learned that if we do not acknowledge our sins, and ignore them without any sort of repentance, we will be shunned away from the kingdom of heaven for eternity.
From “The Crucible” both John Proctor and Abigail Williams have both sinned together in the act of adultery. These two are perfect examples to show the different types of ways to deal with your sin. Abigail Williams does not seem to care about her sin thinking it will not harm her. She does not deal with her sin privately or publicly. In fact she does not deal with her sin at all. She is a sinner who has yet to acknowledge her sin, or even think about redemption. She instead manipulates people to force them on her side. With Abigail you are either with her or against her. If you’re against her then she will make sure you have been removed from the village. It seems that even though she was the worst sinner in “The Crucible”, she would get off the hook scot free. But what she did not realize is that if you do not seek redemption for your sin, you will not see God in the mortal world. She will never hope to see God in the next world.Abigail soon became nothing more than a degrading prostitute who will never see God for all eternity. She chose to not grapple with her sin at all, unlike her adulteress partner.
John Proctor chose to deal with his sins privately. The reasoning behind his choice of bearing his sins privately is because his village “had no ritual for the washing away of sins” (Miller 20). Since there was no way the village as a whole could absolve his sins; so he concluded his salvation would have to come from elsewhere and from other people. Proctor’s choice of bearing his sins privately forced him to keep it from the village, but not from his wife as he still valued the sanctity of his marriage. He confides in Mrs. Proctor about his actions and proves his honesty to her. But the true reason is that he is turning to his wife to forgive him and absolve his sins. Therefore he needs to find another path towards redemption. Proctor’s sin will now continue to cause him great turmoil. Since his wife acts cold towards him, he feels as if he has not been forgiven.
Even though Proctor wants to tell the villagers that Abigail is a liar he wants to protect his own reputation of being an honest man. If he tells the villagers about Abigail’s lies, she would then tell the public about their adulteress acts, because of this Proctor faces an internal conflict. Proctor reveals his sin in front of the council, because he knows that Abigail is minx. And he asks the court, “God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it” (110). Meaning that he has finally realized he has been looking for redemption from flawed humans and if they can’t see Abigail for what she is they can’t judge him.
It is difficult to confess one’s sin but the more you confess the better you can recover from it. By publicly revealing his sin, Proctor realized that God is the ultimate and final judge: “I can. And there is your first marvel, that I can” (144). Proctor realizes that even though his village may not have any rituals to wash his sins, but there lies a ritual with God. He accepts this flaw and forgives himself. Which gives him the fortitude to receive his final redemption.
Abigail sin affected her life in more than she thinks. Even though she was the worst sinner she was getting off scot free, but in the end she became a prostitute. Proctor may have died even though he revealed his sins both privately and publicly, but he got an even greater accomplishment. He dealt with his sin and it was his priority to find some sort of redemption. What is important is that we have got to acknowledge that we have sinned. By doing this your sin can never make you weal, you can only grow stronger because of it.
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, there is also a theme of adultery as well. Hester Prynne was a beautiful seamstress who had seeming “lost’ her husband. Arther Dimmesdale was a young, well respected priest of the people. To them Dimmesdale looked as if he was a representation of God; meaning he should be infallible since he is representing the almighty father. In this novel, they both have sinned in the act of adultery. Both characters have a different ways on how they deal with their sin.
Living in this theocratic town, Hester will be punished for her sin. Since she cannot hide the fact that she gave birth to Pearl outside of marriage, she is branded with the title of adultress. With this she openly bears her sin publicly because she feels she has no need to hide it or her Pearl. She decorated her Scarlet Letter and made it gorgeous and placed it on her bosom. So that whenever anyone saw her that bright red “A” would be the first thing they see. To the villagers, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of ordinary relations with humility, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 51). The town would do nothing but gossip about her because no other sinner has shown their Scarlet Letter with such fruition. That they there not go close to her. But Hester has come out proud and beautiful with her sin, as opposed to being grim and lifeless. She sought out to be a “living sermon against sin” (59). And by bearing her sin publicly she has grown stronger because of it. With her strength Hester declined taking off her Scarlet Letter, instead of a source of sin, the Scarlet Letter had become a source of strength. And with it her A transmute from Adulterer to Able. As she is able realize that God is the final judge.
Dimmesdale decides to bear his sin privately, and he did it for the same reason as John Proctor to protect his reputation. With his sin Dimmesdale enters a cycle of Self- Torture that he cannot stop. As a priest Dimmesdale preaches against sin even though he had already sinned. Then he needs to atone for it publicly but he cannot because he feels like it will ruin the entire Christian faith in his colony. If the best representation of God has fallen into sin what chances would the people have, there would be nothing but mass pandemonium. And it was Dimmesdale duty to avoid this at all cost. He holds the Christian faith as the most important thing. So when he preaches to the villagers it always has a double meaning as he is talking about how wretched he is. By him preaching how wretched he is the people only love him more, which makes him hate himself more because he is acting as a hypocrite. By them loving him more he hates himself to the point that he beats the sin out of himself. He beats himself with a scourge, “in order to purify the body and render it the fitter medium of celestial illumination, but rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance” (132). This is an abrasive way to redeem him, but he sees it as the only way to redeem himself. Because he hates himself, he feels he needs to speak to the people but he will not. Until, he comes back from the forest and realizes that his sin will always be with him. He then focuses on what he has to do and makes one final sermon. He says, “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!” (231). I t came to him that the ultimate judge is God and you can only reach him if you are true with yourself. So you must reveal your sin and deal with your consequences. When you do God will be waiting for you.
In the Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian has a different sin from adultery. Rather than just talking about sin, Dorian’s sin is just a general sin that he committed. And one he tries to hide from and puts on a front about how it does not affect him.
In the beginning of the novel, Dorian is shown as a very handsome, loving, and innocent when Lord Henry firsts meets him. When Basil Hallward, a painter, tries to capture Dorian’s true essence on his canvas; Harry begins to speak with Dorian. “The moment I met you I saw that you were quite unconscious of what you really are, of what you really might be” (Wilde 25). When Harry talks to him he tells Dorian that he is just flaunting his beauty and wasting it by doing these charitable works. And that Dorian should use his beauty to his advantage. Harry is trying to put into Dorian’s mind, a brand new Hedonism that Harry wants him to follow. Harry talks about, “Youth! Youth! There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth” (25). Harry piques Dorian curiosity and begins to manipulate him with his words. Even though Harry says youth and beauty are important; he uses nothing but the elegance of his words to trick Dorian into believing this new Hedonism.
Harry wants to see what will become of Dorian when he undertakes this new life Harry has for him. What sins will he commit and what lives will he ruin with his beauty. Harry may not believe this Hedonism himself, but he will use Dorian as an experiment to see what the consequences will be of his actions.
When Basil finishes the portrait the portrait, Dorian could feel nothing but sadness because now the picture will remain forever beautiful, while Dorian loses his beauty to an enemy who cannot be charmed-time. At this moment is where he makes his wish that, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be always what I am now!” (29). This wish makes it so that the painting will take Dorian’s hardships and consequences while he always remains free from sin. When Dorian meets Sybil Vane he thought he had fallen in love, but what he loved was Sybil’s acting. He loved the all the different women Sybil could portray; it had given him pleasure. When Sybil acted poorly, she did it because she was in love with Dorian. She could not believe that she was actually her character. Dorian felt heartbroken because he was in love with Sybil’s acting now that it is gone he cannot get any pleasure; therefore has no more use for her. Dorian says, “You have killed my love” (91). He had acted as if he were the victim. He disowned Sybil and left her. Later she committed suicide.
When Dorian looks at his portrait he notices that it has become hideous and that his picture his taking the brunt of all his sins. He no longer has to worry about the consequences of his actions. And can now be the spectator and actor of his own life. Years later, Dorian is known for destroying the reputation of his friends. He acts like poison spreading from one relationship to another. Only Basil cannot believe Dorian because he worshipped him. When he meets with Basil he wants to show him the painting and how much it has changed. Basil feels horrified when he sees it and then Dorian draws a knife and kills Dorian. When he does he begins to refer to the painter as it and is seemingly dehumanizing Basil. He calls his friend Alan to get rid of the body for him. And while he is telling Alan the story he then acts again like he is the victim. Dorian forces him to do it because he knew some dark secret about Alan that could potentially ruin him. Just like Dorian’s former friends. Alan gets rid of the body of the body just like Dorian wants. Later it is revealed that Alan also committed suicide maybe as an attempt to escape Dorian’s sinful ways.
Dorian now feels like he cannot take this lifestyle anymore. He wants a fresh start to his life; one without sin. So he goes up to the attic to where the painting is located. He draws a knife and is ready to destroy his sin once and for all without any sort of repentance. When he tries to stab his portrait, he ends stabbing himself. Where he dies without an attempt to absolve his sins.
What should one take from this, that it does not matter whether you bear your sins publicly or privately. What matters is that you that you bear you sin at all. You have to grapple with it. In “The Crucible”, The Scarlet Letter, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. It is shown that all the characters have performed some type of sin. We see that Abigail, Proctor, Dimmesdale, and Hester have all done the same sin-adultery. Even though they have all done the same sin all but one seemed to grapple with their sin. Proctor realized that God was the final and ultimate judge. Hester bared her sin publicly, and Dimmesdale bared his sins privately. Abigail did not grapple. Only Abigail ignored her sin. And it seems that her time on earth was the worse out of all of them as she was seen as a prostitute and is seemingly sent to hell. Like Dorian Gray did not bear his seen. He just watched as his portrait took all the consequences of his sin. He did not want to grapple with his seen, as he thought he was the victim of every sin that he committed. When he realized what he was turning into he wanted to abolish his painting and with it the sin, but what he has failed to realize is that he did not repent. He just wanted it out of existence and with this wish; he was abolished from existence. Dorian cannot have his sins gone if he did not repent. It will only destroy you. That is why you have to realize you have sin and start your penance; or else you will be haunted by your sin.