Essay Comparing Heart Of Darkness And The Picture Of Dorian Grey
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Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey not only share their gothic writing style of two great English writers (Robbins, 125), but also parallel in terms of character and theme. They are both commentaries on society and the flaws of man in different time periods. While The Picture of Dorian Grey deals more with aesthetics and appearances and Heart of Darkness comments more on colonialism, they both introduce the reader to similar ideas and bear some resemblance in their plots. Two of the major themes that appear in both literary works are evil and ignorance, which in both works are also represented or referred to as darkness. This theme is present in the setting, characterization and plot structure of…show more content… We can draw a strong comparison, as previously mentioned, between Dorian and Kurtz. They are both very similar and yet very unique characters. Both of these characters share a piece of art that reflects their very soul; Dorian has a portrait and Kurtz has a painting, both as sinister as they are symbolic. They both represent the “Ideal Man” in their respective societies, they are the best humanity has to offer. Regardless, they both fall prey to their own evil. They become ignorant towards their own actions and their surroundings; they begin to act out of their own interest disregarding any and all consequences. They both appear to be good, resourceful, admired by all; but everything is not as it seems; in truth they are both incarnations of evil and their own corruption. They both follow a path that leads them from their initial innocence to a corruption that ‘has been one of the dark places of the earth’ (Conrad, 5). And yet towards the end, the good within them triumphs as they seek redemption or realize the extent of what they’ve done. They are able to triumph over their own evil and die, not like heroes perhaps, but like men coming back from a darkness that few others would be able to