'The Life of Dorian Gray'

  ‘There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about,' at least according to Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the novel picked by Gonzaga as the 2010-2011 University book, as required reading for all incoming freshmen and transfer students.  

Now before all you freshmen start complaining about having to do summer reading, I would like to point out that my class, the class of 2011, had to read "The Omnivores Dilemma" by Michael Pollen, a hefty 500-page book on the evils of corn. 

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a light beach read compared to that beast. I would also like to warn anyone who thinks they can be tricky and Netflix "Dorian Gray," the movie based off the novel, but the movie has a completely different ending than the book. But nice try.  

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is of a man's descent into debauchery and sin after he sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty. The story, originally published in a London magazine in 1890, was met with overall criticism due to its homosexual undertones and uncouth story line. Disappointed by the negative press, Wilde re-worked the story, creating more characters and a deeper storyline, and published the novel the following year.

The book starts out with Dorian Gray, a handsome and rich young man, posing for a portrait painted by friend and artist Basil Hallward. There, he meets Lord Henry Wotton, a charming but depraved man who is instantly drawn to the handsome and naïve Dorian Gray. It is Henry who plants the first seed of vanity into Dorian's head after commenting on how terrible and ironic life is: Dorian will grow old and ugly and repulsive with the passing of time and yet this beautiful portrait will hold his beauty and youth forever. Angered by this idea, Dorian proclaims: "If only it were the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the portrait to grow old...I would give my soul for that!" 

And to Dorian's surprise and horror, his wish is granted. As Henry slyly seduces Dorian into a life of depravity and deceit, the once-beautiful picture of Dorian Gray begins to mutate into a vile and sinister portrait, mirroring the corruption of his soul. Meanwhile, Dorian himself stays handsome and unblemished.  

The University's theme for the incoming freshmen is "Beauty," which goes appropriately with Wilde's novel. Beauty is not only a central theme in the story, but an obsession of every character. Whether it is beauty of the human figure, of language or of art, beauty is put on a pedestal and glorified as the most pure and important part of life. But as the characters come to learn, beauty often comes at a terrible price. At the novel's conclusion, Dorian must ask himself whether beauty was worth the corruption and cruelness that engulfed his life.  

Perhaps this book was picked not only to satisfy the University's theme but also to serve as a warning to the incoming freshman class. The book shows the consequences of doing opium, picking up hookers, murdering friends and selling your soul to the devil … perhaps not the usual freshman antics, but "The Picture of Dorian Gray" also warns us that everything comes with a price and that price may not always be worth it.