Dorian Gray- the uncanny Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dorian Gray- the uncanny - Essay Example it is only possible for the cynical modern man, in all his busy activity, to learn from directly experiencing the consequences of acting without thought or presuming too much thought into what should instead be an action. This is spelled out in the essay and then acted out in personified form in the novel. In relating these concepts to the world of art, it is important to remember that Wilde’s concept of art was that it should be something experienced thoughtfully as an object of pure beauty rather than an interpretation of the artist’s values – an artistic instinct fed by spiritual inspiration. â€Å"Emotion for the sake of emotion is the aim of art, and emotion for the sake of action is the aim of life, and of that practical organization of life that we call society† (Gilbert). These ideas regarding the artistic ideal are clearly spelled out through the words of Gilbert in â€Å"The Critic as Artist† and are personified in the characters of Lord H enry Wotton (instinct), Basil Hallward (conscience) and Dorian Gray (object) in The Picture of Dorian Gray. In â€Å"The Artist as Critic,† Gilbert quickly illustrates why consciously imbuing art with symbolism and other purposeful value judgments is not the most desirable action to take; that the only true art must come into existence as the result of a perfect meld between instinct and conscience. He tells Ernest that those with the best intentions may end up being proven to have instead the worst effects while those who have intended to do great harm may similarly have enormously positive results. â€Å"[Men] rage against Materialism, as they call it, forgetting that there has been no material improvement that has not spiritualized the world, and that there have been few, if any, spiritual awakenings that have not wasted the world’s faculties in barren hopes, and fruitless aspirations, and empty of trammeling creeds† (Gilbert). In making this statement, Gilbert indicates that materialism, the lifestyle