The Picture Of Dorian Gray 1

"'Dorian Gray is to me simply a motive in art. You might see nothing in him. I see everything in him. He is never more present in my work than when no image of him is there [...] I find him in the curves of certain lines, in the loveliness and subtleties of certain colors. That is all"' (13)

Here, Hallward is trying to convince Lord Henry and himself that Dorian Gray is no more that a piece to his work, but it is very plain to see that Dorian Gray has pretty much taken over Hallward's life. Dorian is present in work that does not even have a picture of him, so clearly Hallward is thinking of him often and Dorian has overcome Hallward's work that every piece of Hallward's work is a piece of Dorian Gray.

"'It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible"' (24)

Here, Lord Henry says the exact opposite of what most people believe. Most people believe that you should not judge be appearances, 'Don't judge a book by it's cover', but, Lord Henry thinks you should. He thinks that someones appearance is everything, when most think that appearances are not nearly as important than what is on the inside, but Lord Henry thinks the real questions come from the appearance.

Languidly (4) - lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow

auctioneer (9) - a person who conducts sales by auction