Brittany Schenk Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay January 4, 2014 What's in a Name? French author Marcel Proust once stated: "Words do not change their meaning so drastically over the course of centuries as, in our minds, names do over the course of a year or two. What this quote means is that while names are simply words, they have a completely different meaning. Names, just like a person's face, can encapsulate their entire identity in a few letters. They evoke feelings of anger, happiness, love, hate. There is a lot of meaning behind one's name. For this reason, it is no surprise that many authors put so much thought into the names of their characters: they give the first impression of the character the same can be said for Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray he makes a pact to remain young and beautiful forever. Instead of his body aging, a painting of him becomes more and more grotesque as the young man's soul becomes corrupted. The novel describes exactly how much the man's vanity begins to deform him and risks he is willing to take since everything, except his appearance, it starts to change around him. Over the course of the piece, Gray makes numerous acquaintances: friends, enemies and even lovers. For many of these characters, their name is also used as a source of characterization, hiding a hidden meaning behind them that is directly related to their personality or mindset. The characters Dorian Gray and Lord Henry, as well as the Vane family, can be analyzed further by their names. Dorian Gray is probably the most key character in the novel, so his name has a lot of meaning. The name Dorian can be linked to ancient Greek culture. The culture from which the name derives links Dorian to Lord Henry. Lord Henry holds Greek society in high esteem, claiming that “the world would gain such a new impulse of joy” by returning to the Hellenic ideal (23). The Greeks were known for their appreciation of the human form and their attention to aestheticism, hence their statues and Olympian-like art. Just like the statue of David or any other sculpture, Gray is described as a “young Adonis, who seems to be made of ivory and rose leaves”--something the Greeks would surely have appreciated (7). As for the surname Gray, it can be used to characterize Dorian's mentality and the progression of his personality as he becomes more and more corrupted by Lord Henry and the influences of the world. Simply put, Dorian occupies a “moral gray area.” " in many respects. He does not consider his actions particularly right or wrong, no matter how bad they may seem to others. For example, when Gray attacks Hallward and "[pits] his knife into the large vein that is behind the ear... "stab again and again" does not see it as an act of dementia. but a necessary task (174). The young man does not fully understand the seriousness of his actions. If he had not killed Basil in cold blood, as he believes, he would surely have been betrayed and scolded by the painter. This justifies his actions in his mind, even when “a decidedly narcissistic attitude emerges, and the incompatibility between morality and unconditional aestheticism becomes all the more evident” (Duggan). Furthermore, many of the things Gray does are done with good intentions, but end up leading to a result negative In an attempt to change his demented ways, Dorian leaves a young woman with whom he claims to be in love, reasoning that he wants to "leave her as flower-like as [he] found her" (231). However, are Gray's righteous attempts really that righteous? Lord Henryhe shrewdly suggests that "the first good deed [Dorian] has done in years, the first little self-sacrifice [he has] ever known, is actually a kind of sin" (232). No matter how justified Dorian claims her actions are, they still lead to Hetty being heartbroken. Because of these fixed ideals, Gray finds himself in a moral middle ground. Just like Dorian, Lord Henry Wotton's name also has quite a meaning behind it. Henry is an English name with Germanic roots, which translates to "household ruler". Just as the translation suggests, Lord Henry could certainly be characterized as a ruler. Not only is he literally a nobleman, but it can also be argued that his demanding presence also begins to command Gray's mind, due to the fact that "there [is] something terribly compelling about the exercise of influence" (42). As if captured by a spell, Gray becomes completely entranced by Lord Henry's unique and unusual ideas. It is because of Lord Henry that Gray begins to follow the long and winding trail of corruption: Lord Henry puts idle ideas into Gray's head; Lord Henry introduces Gray to the city's slums; Lord Henry tries to push Gray beyond his limits. This mental decay creates inner turmoil in Dorian. It is the overpowering influence of Lord Henry that lights the dark fire of ideas of vanity and aestheticism among the young. Wilde describes: “He would try to master it – in fact, he had already half done it. He would have made that wonderful spirit his own” (43). If Gray's mind is the house, then Wotton's influence rules it, building and sculpting it as he sees fit. Unlike Lord Henry, Sibyl Vane is the picture of naivety and simplicity, just as her name suggests. The name Sibilla has Greek origins and means "prophetess". Just like a prophetess, Sibyl's character continues to predict a number of things in the novel. One way Sibyl's character predicts the future is how women react to Dorian's presence. Sibyl becomes obsessed with everything about Gray, despite not even knowing her real man or, sadly, his real personality. He states that “it is as Love itself should be” (69). Like a plague, everything in Dorian begins to consume him, both in body and spirit. Sibyl's obsession with that man even ends up ruining her acting career, one of the few things that truly fascinated Dorian from the beginning. Vane goes on to state that Gray “is to [her] more than all art could ever be” as she blindly throws herself at his feet, only to be utterly destroyed when Gray rejects her (97). However, Sibyl is not the only character who is entirely dominated by Gray; she serves as the first piece, the template in what would turn out to be a long line of fascinated and distraught women, like Hetty. Likewise, another way in which Sibyl serves as a prophetess is that the relationship between her and Dorian serves as the beginning of a pattern for how Dorian's relationships will end. With relationships, the two characters begin as lovers, completely absorbed in each other. This is not a true bond, however, as “Dorian is not attracted to Sibyl's character and personality, but rather to her acting talent and charming performances” (Duggan). When Dorian is first with Vane, he goes on to tell Lord Henry "I love her and I must make her love me" (62). This "honeymoon" period only lasts for a short time, however, as Gray quickly loses interest in Sibyl the moment her magic wears off, tossing her aside like a piece of trash. Following this refusal, Vane immediately takes the situation to heart and ends his life. There is a pattern in Gray's relationship: devotion, disinterest,”.