Al attawi 1
Compare and Contrast
Dalal Mohammed Al attawi
Mrs. Timm
12D
March 28, 2013
Al attawi 2
Dalal Mohammed Al attawi
Mrs. Timm
12D
March 28, 2013
Compare and Contrast Outline
I.
Introduction
A.
B.
The picture of Dorian gray
1.
Literary novel
2.
Graphic novel
After reading the graphic and the literary novel, it was easy to compare and
contrast between the two novels.
II.
Similar
A.
Characters
1.
Dorian Gray
2.
Lord Henry Wotton
3.
Basil Hallward
4.
Sibyl Vane
5.
James Vane
6.
Alan Campbell
B.
Setting
C.
Plot
D.
Resolution
E.
Themes
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III.
IV.
V.
1.
The supremacy of youth and beauty
2.
The superficial nature of society
3.
The negative consequences of influence
Difference
A.
Dialogue
B.
Sequence of events
C.
Scenes
Left out
A.
Preface
B.
Chapter 6,9,11, and 17
C.
Put together 12 and 13
Conclusion
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Dalal Mohammed Al attawi
Mrs. Timm
12D
March 28, 2013
Compare and Contrast
Oscar Wilde published his book, the Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. His book became
so controversial because of its content. One year later, he published the same book with the
addition of a preface and six more chapters. The preface ought to respond to the criticisms he
received. Dorian Gray claims that his book is a piece of art, and there is no such thing called
immoral art. As the years passed by, his book became very famous. Moreover, the Picture of
Dorian Gray is different from all other books that were published at the same time period; its
themes are quite bold. Nowadays, schools all over the world require the students to study this
piece of art. Though, our school is one of them. Recently, we finished reading this novel.
Moreover, we read two versions of this book, the literary and the graphic novel. After reading
the graphic and the literary novel, it was easy to compare and contrast between the two novels.
The graphic novel and the literary novel share more things in common than just the title.
The characters in the two books are the same. Both books have these important characters:
Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton, Basil Hallward, Sibyl Vane, James Vane, and Alan Campbell.
In both books, the events happen in the 1980’s, in London, England. The plot remains the same
in the graphic novel. The story starts by Basil Hallward painting the most handsome man he has
seen in his life, Dorian Gray. The portrait he is painting looks like it is a masterpiece. Thus, Lord
Henry suggests that he sell the painting. However, Basil refuses because he says that it reveals
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himself. Basil did not want Lord Henry to meet Dorian, because he knows that he will corrupt
this young, innocent man. Despite that, Lord Henry had the chance to meet Dorian. Lord Henry
succeeded in influencing Dorian with his negative thoughts. After a while, Dorian becomes
engaged to the woman he loves. Unfortunately, he broke off the wedding because she humiliated
him in front of his friends. As a result, the sensitive woman kills herself. Dorian refuses to admit
that it was his fault. Then, he goes to see the painting; it has changed. He tries to hide it. One
day, Lord Henry gives Dorian the yellow book. The protagonist in the yellow book resembles
Dorian a lot. Lord Henry urges Dorian to enjoy life. Dorian does what Lord Henry said, but he
ends up hurting many women, including Lord Henry’s sister! By time, Dorian’s reputation
becomes bad. Many people believe the rumors said about him, but when they see him they forget
about those rumors, because his face does not imply that he does such horrible things. Basil
comes to Dorian personally to ask him to confirm those rumors. Dorian confirms those rumors.
He shows Basil his soul, his painting, which has ruined his life. He wanted to show what Basil
has done to him, but Basil’s reaction was unexpected. As a result, Dorian became extremely
furious to the point where he had to kill Basil. Dorian asks Alan Campbell for help to hide the
corpse. When Alan refuses, Dorian blackmails him. Dorian’s past comes to haunt him. Sibyl’s
sister is coming after him to avenge his sister’s death. When Dorian knows he is dead, he
becomes relieved. The ending is the same in both books. At the end, Dorian realizes how bad he
has become. He had no hope, he wanted to kill his soul, and so he killed himself. In the graphic
novel, Dorian says “… I have killed the painter, so I shall kill his work!” (graphic novel 115) In
the literary novel: “He looked round and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward… As it
had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work.” (literary novel 196) There are several
themes in the Picture of Dorian Gray. One of the themes is the supremacy of youth and beauty.
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Moreover, Lord Henry basically inspires this idea; he is talking to Dorian, and says: “When your
youth goes, your beauty goes with it… therefore live! Live the wonderful life that is in you. Be
always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing! Don’t squander the gold of your
days!” (graphic novel 12) Another theme is the superficial nature of society; the only thing that
matters in Dorian’s society is the man’s looks. Dorian Gray is handsome and smart. Thus, he
gets away with everything bad he does because of his looks. Moreover, people hear rumors, but
when they see him they do not believe them, because Dorian looks so innocent. The last example
of themes in the Picture of Dorian Gray is negative consequences of influence. Two things had a
negative influence on Dorian; the painting and the yellow book Lord Henry gave him. Lord
Henry says: “there was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence.” (literary
novel 34) Dorian commits many sins because of the painting. In addition, he kills Basil.
Furthermore, he did it because he was so inspired by Lord Henry’s hedonism and the yellow
book.
The graphic novel was made to make it easier for people to read the novel and enjoy it.
The main purpose is to illustrate things visually. Thus, the pictures tell more than the actual text
in the book. This results in a major difference between it and the literary novel. The dialogues in
the literary book are long unlike the graphic novel, for example: “He is the last Lord Kelso’s
grand- son. His mother was a Devereux, Lady Margaret Devereaux. I want you to tell me about
his mother. What was she like? Whom did she marry? You have known nearly everybody in
your time, so you might have known her. I am very much interested in Mr. Gray at present. I
have only just met him.” (literary novel 34 ) In the graphic novel, he only says this: “I believe he
is the last Lord Kelso’s grandson. His mother was a Devereaux, Lady Margret Devereux?”
(graphic novel 18) The same events happen in both books. However, their sequence is different.
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If the reader opens the same page in both books, he or she will probably notice that the event in
the graphic novel comes ahead from the literary novel. Hence, the text in the literary novel is
more than the graphic novel. Some scenes from the literary novel are illustrated differently in the
graphic novel. The first scene is a great example to show the difference between the two books.
Moreover, in the literary novel, it says: “In the centre of the room, clamped to an upright easel,
stood the full-length portrait of a young man of extraordinary- nary personal beauty, and in front
of it, some little distance away, was sitting the artist himself, Basil Hallward, whose sudden
disappearance some years ago caused, at the time, such public excitement and gave rise to so
many strange conjectures.” (literary novel 5) in the graphic novel, it shows Basil standing,
coloring his painting. Lord Henry was sitting on a sofa behind Basil. Though, Dorian is not
shown in the graphic novel.
The Picture of Dorian Gray raised many controversies in the society. Therefore, Oscar
Wilde felt the need of adding a preface to his book to explain its purpose. He wrote: “There is no
such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.”
(literary novel 3) Besides that, he explained the relation between art and beauty. Though, the
only thing that is mentioned from the preface in the graphic novel is this: “all art is quite uselessOscar Wilde” (graphic novel 1) When a person reads the graphic novel first, he or she would find
this quote funny, because it suggests that this books is useless as well. Besides the preface, there
are several chapters, which have been excluded from the graphic novel, those chapters are:
6,9,11, and 17. Many things happen in those chapters. In chapter six, Basil and Harry gather to
discuss about Dorian’s marriage to Sibyl. Both of them believe that this woman will take Dorian
away from them. Then, they discuss this matter with Dorian when he arrives. Basil is on his side.
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Lord Henry shares his cynical point of view as always. There is a big change in Dorian’s
character in chapter nine. Dorian becomes heartless. Moreover, when he hears about Sibyl’s
death, he does not care at all. His friend Basil comes to comfort him, but it seems that Dorian is
not sad. Basil tells Dorian that he would exhibit the painting, but then he changes his mind for
Dorian’s sake. Dorian becomes apprehensive, thus he hides the painting, so that no one sees his
soul. Chapter eleven is quite long. One of the most important things happens in this chapter,
which is when Dorian receives the yellow book from Lord Henry. The yellow book had a great
influence on Dorian’s behavior. Also, it contributed to the change in Dorian’s picture; it made it
look more hideous. In the graphic novel, there is no scene where Dorian Gray faints after he sees
James Vane. However, this valuable piece of information exists in the literary novel, specifically
in chapter 17. The graphic novel is quite condensed. Moreover, it combined two chapters
together, chapter 12 and 13. In theses chapters, the events of how Dorian murders Basil occur.
Although, the literary novel explains more why Dorian dared to kill Basil.
In my opinion, the literary novel is a lot better than the graphic novel. First of all, the
literary book gives us the freedom to imagine how Dorian Gray looks like, while the graphic
novel illustrates him to us. The literary novel is more detailed which makes reading exciting.
Moreover, it makes it easier for readers to understand what is going on in the story. Even though,
some people might disagree because the graphic novel is easier to read since it has shorter
dialogues. After all, each person has his or her own preferences.
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Work Cited
Culbard, Ian, Ian Edginton, and Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray: A
Graphic Novel. London: Self Made Hero, 2008. Print.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania UP, 2006. Hn.psu.edu.
2006. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.