Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Chapters 4-8 Blog Question

Connection to Crime and Punishment- Dorian and Raskolnikov become progressivly more diluted in their madness and self absorption and slowly distant from society

"You are as sick as your secrets"

Do you think Dorian regrets his selfish behavior or enjoys it? Consider: his apology letter to Sybil, after which he is impressed with his selflessness

20 comments:

LaurenB2009 said...

I think Dorian likes his selfish behavior. His ego is slowly growing and egotistical people tend to enjoy their outlook on life. Since no one has called Dorian out on his behavior yet, he has no reason to regret his actions. His reaction to his latter to Sybil proves that he is still selfish. He isn't truly sorry towards Sybil other wise he wouldn't be impresses with his selflessness.

Kim C. 2010 said...

I agree with Lauren. But expanding on that, Dorian seems to be(looking through a freudian lens) in the ID stage he only cares about getting what he wants and he really doesn't care about anyone else. Sure he will try to make others think that he cares but ultimately he's stuck on himself, and he is fine with it

korlandini said...

I don't think that Dorian has realized how selfish he has become. Like the question states, he believes himself selfless. He is disillusioned, certainly, but his disillusionment prevents him from realizing anything. It is a mark that Dorian is becoming a tragic hero.

KaitlanW2009 said...

I think Dorian likes his selfish behavior. He seems very egotistical, and just appears to be someone who likes the sound of his own voice. He doesn't seem to really care what other people think, he likes who he is. He never seems to be very sincere in anything, which makes me feel that he is just blowing off the world. Nothing matters to him but himself, and I think he realizes this but it doesn't bother him. If it did I feel like he would try to change.

BrittneyW said...

I think Dorian, like many have said, is very pleased with his selfish behavior. I know sometimes he feels bad for what he has done, but I think he enjoys being a little narcissistic and egotistical. I think that this behavior is brought on by Lord Henry. I dont think he is truly sorry for Sibyl, he is just worrying about how that will make him look and how as a good person he should feel badly.

Wilberry09 said...

to delve into the mind of the narcissist..to unfold the mysteries of life and find what really makes Dorian tick. Now, it is known that Dorian is extremely obsessed with none other than himself, but I find that Dorian actually enjoys his selfishness. There comes a point in time when one, such as Dorian may present themselves in such a manner that no one can stand to be around them and therefore distance themselves from society as a collective.
In Dorian's perspective, he may believe that others are merely jealous of his behavior and attitude, but this is regards to his ego. In respect to Brittney, i certainly agree that he is focused on how others view him as opposed to how he views himself

AdrienneB2009 said...
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AdrienneB2009 said...

I don't think Dorian enjoys his selfish behavior but with the encouragement from Lord Henry to deny resonsibilty in Sibyl's death, he certainly accepts it. He is embracing his "new-found youth" and is sort of living with no regrets. Why he is not attemtping to change who he has become in the reflection of the painting is due to the fact that, up until Sibyl's suicide, his enjoyment of life has increased as his through the fufillment of his "wish."

Anna P2009 said...

I don't think that Dorian even knows that he is selfish. If he doesn't know he can't regret or enjoy it. Dorian enjoys himself as a person and his beauty and what his beauty does for him. Dorian is clearly in love with himself. He kissed his painting at one point. He enjoys every aspect oh himself. For a couple of pages he was about to turn over a new leaf and not sin anymore but that didn't last long because of that letter. The letter made him feel so accomplished and proud of himself, thus falling more in love with himself. Without him knowing it, he enjoys his selfishness.

Anna P2009 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HaileyM2009 said...

Dorian is probably refusing to realize the full extent of the consequences of his actions or to realize that his actions are selfish. I think Harry has trained Dorian to be apathetic towards the afflictions of others, even it is his own fault. I also think beneath all his pursuit of pleasure Dorian is scared of what he is has done and what he is capable of becoming. After the first time Dorian notices a change in the portrait—“a touch of cruelty in the mouth”—he covers the painting before he goes to bed, hiding from his own actions. However, as he gets more and more out of control he will lose all of his guilt and grow to think that his happiness is the world’s highest priority.

SarahE2010 said...

Considering the fact that Dorian was so pleased with his selflessness means he is a very selfish person. If he weren't selfish, he wouldn't have been suprised by his one act of caring for another person. I definetely don't think Dorian regrets his behavior, I honestly don't think he realizes how he acts.

Anonymous said...

I think Dorian regrets and enjoys it at the same time. At this point he realizes that his selfish behavior is wrong however he enjoys it at the same time because he enjoys the reaction that it causes. Dorian is truly a very immature person and can't learn to grow up until he realizes his wrongs.

His letter to Sybil, to me, was merely a means to make himself feel better, not her family. Therefore, it wasn't selfless at all.

shellim2009 said...

I think that Dorian, at the very beginning of his selfishness, regrets what he did to Sibyl. However, as he becomes more engulfed and consumed in his own selfishness, he is less and less affected by it. Outside influences, personal issues, and his own ideas all corrupt Dorain's view of himself, and therefore he is much less regretful for his selfish behavior.

jordan s said...

I think that Dorian's letter to Sybil is the epitome of his lost conscience. He niether enjoys nor disdains his situation because he does not have anything inside of him telling him what is right or wrong. The only reference he has is the portrait, which changes more and more with each immoral act he commits. Dorian has sold his soul, in exchange for his wish, now he only has "me, myself and I". It is Dorian and his portrait against the world.

Rick Maestas said...

I believe Dorian enjoys his selfish behavior. He has yet to face any consequences directly impacting him. One could make the argument that Sybil's suicide could be a result of Dorian's selfish behavior, however since he no longer had feeling for her, it has not been of very much consequence to him. What is happening to Dorian is he is now seeing himself differently, specifically when he looks at the portrait. Dorian has not been driven mad yet, nor has he been killed by Sybil's brother, therefore Dorian will continue to enjoy his selfish behavior until he has experienced real consequences.

TaylorS2009 said...

Dorian enjoys his selfish behavior. When he wrote the letter and was so impressed with himself for how selfless it is, he is making it a selfish action. He is praising himself for something when he shouldn't even be considering himself; that would be actual selflessness. But I also think that he isn't even aware of the fact that he is being selfish. He just seems to know that he is happy. And his happiness is all that matters at this point.

mollyp2010 said...

I think that Dorian actually likes his selfish behavior. By feeling so selfless after writing the apology letter, he is really just being more selfish. I think that he wrote the letter to make HIMSELF feel better more than anything else. And although it haunts him, I dont think that Dorian regets his behavior because he knows that it will never show on his face.

JakeF said...

While Dorian is still "under Lord Henry's influence" he will not truly regret his Selflessness. However if he breaks free from all of Henry's theories and implications, i feel like he will regret his actions.

Steven W said...

I think that Dorian likes his selfish behavior, which is why he allows Lord Henry to influence him. There is no doubt that Dorian knows Henry is influencing him. He is making the choice to be around Henry. For the moment they meet something about Lord Henry interested Dorian and that interest that Dorian has in Lord Henry is what allows Lord Henry to influence him and how Dorian allows Lord Henry to influence him. The fact that he sells his soul so he can remain forever young is even more proof that he enjoys his selfishness.