Choose ONE of the following options. Make sure that in your final draft, you copy and paste the prompt into the assignment and give your essay a title. You also need a proper heading, on the right hand corner of the page, and page numbers. Your essay should be 3-4 pages in length, double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman.
1. Select ONE of the following quotes from The Picture of Dorian Gray as well as Wilde’s preface to the novel and
write an essay in which you either defend or oppose the view presented. Be sure to use examples from the
novella to defend your stance.
• “ The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for.
People are afraid of themselves, nowadays. Courage has gone out of our race. The terror of society,
which is the basis of morals, the terror of God, which is the secret of religion – these are the two things
that govern us.”
—Lord Henry Wotton
• “Youth is the one thing worth having.”—Lord Henry Wotton
• “Each of us has Heaven and Hell in him, Basil.”—Dorian Gray
• “People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves.”—Lord Henry Wotton
• “All art is quite useless.”—Oscar Wilde
• “It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.”—Oscar Wilde
or
2. Is The Picture of Dorian Gray relevant today? In a thesis-driven essay develop a position either for or against
Dorian Gray’s relevance and support your position with examples from the text as well as examples of current
social issues.