Dorian Gray Tagic Hero

Dorian Gray the Tragic Hero

In the story, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray is comparable to tragic hero, Macbeth. Both characters have exceptional characteristics; Dorian having beauty and youth the two perfect elements for an aesthetic life. Moreover, Dorian, like Macbeth would eventually descend due to a tragic flaw and eventually leading to a tragic death. The story The Picture of Dorian Gray is a perfect novel to portray the dangers of selfish and ambitious desires. The plot shows a perfectly fine, handsome, rich young man whose only fear is to age. Furthermore his ambition of having forever youth would then lead him into hedonist and Aesthetic thoughts which would then lead him to his tragic death as said early. Oscar Wilde uses the elements of a tragic hero, hedonism, and aestheticism to portray the juxtaposition of civilized beings acting savagely.

The tragic hero is character that would have exceptional and unique characteristics that would lead him to his triumph and success, but then would commit a fatal flaw that would then lead to several more fatal events and eventually lead him to his fatal death. In the story The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, truly represents the archetypal of a tragic hero and uses it to portray how civilized beings would do anything and turn savage to protect their desires.