PODG Outline: Prompt 2

Mariana Goncalves

Mr. George

AP Lit

12 March 2014

Nature vs. Nurture

Thesis: Dorian Gray is introduced with his simple and pure nature, but is molded and manipulated into a vain and evil person. A continuation of foul deeds can corrupt a person's character; however, Dorian is transformed into a truly bad person by external influences rather than his own impulses and desires.

I. Dorian, representing a clean slate, becomes a truly bad person due to his lack of understanding of the world around him, making him an empty vessel for those around him to fill.

A. "He has a simple and a beautiful nature. Your aunt was quite right in what she said of him. Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him" (10).

1. Basil is aware of Dorian's untouched soul, and wants to preserve it. He is also aware that if Dorian is influenced by Lord Henry, he will become a product of Lord Henry's hedonistic ideals.

II. Human nature consists of innate feelings, desires and actions which one cannot fully control.

A. "To be good is to be in harmony with one's self, [...] discord is to be forced to be in harmony with others. One's own life – that is the important thing. [...] Modern morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age. I consider that for any man of culture to accept the standard of his age is a form of the grossest immorality" (57).

1. The main idea of hedonism is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. This tactic is a natural human instinct regardless of the hedonistic principle. Lord Henry teaches Dorian that the only thing that matters is his pleasure and happiness with himself.

2. Lord Henry's advice about inner peace and harmony teaches Dorian to be unsympathetic towards the people he interacts with. Dorian's innocent character absorbs this advice like a sponge and suffers greatly from it.  

III. Dorian's continuous evil actions caused him to lose his innocence completely. Although his foul deeds were elicited by someone else, he feels remorse once he realizes there is no return.

A. “Every moment of his lonely childhood came back to him as he looked round. He recalled the stainless purity of his boyish life, and it seemed horrible to him that it was here the fatal portrait was to be hidden away” (89).

1. Dorian is aware that his once known innocence and purity have been completely spoiled and lost.