Brittany SchenkSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayJanuary 4, 2014What's in a name? French author Marcel Proust once said: "Words do not change their meaning so radically over the centuries that, in our minds, names disappear within a year or two." What this quote means is that even though names are just words, they have a whole other meaning. Names, just like a person's face, can contain their entire identity in just a few letters. They evoke feelings of rage, happiness, love, hatred. Simply put, there is a lot of meaning behind a name. For this reason, it's no surprise that many authors put so much thought into their characters' names – it sets the first impression of the character. The same can be said of Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray. In the novel, Dorian Gray makes a deal to stay 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 the man's vanity begins to warp him and the risks he is willing to take, but his appearance begins to change around him. Throughout the play, Gray makes many acquaintances: friends, enemies and even lovers. For many of these characters, their name is also used as a source of characterization, holding a hidden meaning behind them that directly correlates to their personality or mentality. The characters Dorian Gray and Lord Henry, as well as the Vane family, can be further analyzed by their names. Dorian Gray is probably the most key character in the novel, so his name carries a lot of significance. The first name Dorian may be linked to ancient Greek culture. The culture from which the name is derived links Dorian to Lord Henry. Lord Henry has great regard for Greek society, stating that "the world would find a new burst of joy" by returning to the Hellenic ideal (23). The Greeks were known for their appreciation of the human form and their focus on aesthetics, hence their Olympic-style statues and art. Much like the statue of David or any other sculpture, Gray is described as a "young Adonis, who appears to be made of ivory and rose leaves", which the Greeks would surely have appreciated (7). Regarding 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 ways. He does not view his actions as particularly good or bad, however negative they may appear to others. For example, when Gray attacks Hallward and "[pushes] the knife into the great vein behind ear ... stabbing again and again", he does not consider this as insane. but as a necessary task (174). The young man does not fully appreciate the seriousness of his actions. If he had not murdered Basil in cold blood, as he believes, he would surely have been betrayed and reprimanded by the painter. This justifies his actions in his mind, even when "a distinctly narcissistic attitude emerges and the incompatibility of morality and the unconditional aestheticism becomes all the more apparent” (Duggan) Furthermore, many of the things Gray does are done with good intentions, but ultimately end up with a negative result. Dorian leaves a young woman with whom he claims to have been in love, believingthat he wants to “leave it as flowery as [he] found it” (231). However, are Gray's righteous attempts really so right? Lord Henry sagaciously suggests that "the first good deed [Dorian] has done in years, the first little self-sacrifice [he has] ever known, is in reality a kind of sin" (232). No matter how justified Dorian claims his actions are, they always result in Hetty being heartbroken. Because of these fixed ideals, Gray finds himself in a moral middle ground. Just like Dorian, the name Lord Henry Wotton also has some meaning behind it. Henry is an English name with Germanic roots, translating to “ruler of the house.” Just as the translation indicates, Lord Henry could certainly be called a ruler. Not only is he a literal nobleman, but it can also be argued that his demanding presence also begins to dominate Gray's mind, due to the fact that "there is something terribly exciting about the exercise of influence » (42). As if under a spell, Gray becomes completely fascinated by Lord Henry's unique and unusual ideas. It is thanks to Lord Henry that Gray begins to follow the long and winding trail of corruption: Lord Henry puts vain ideas into Gray's head; Lord Henry introduces Gray to the city's slums; Lord Henry tries to push Gray to his limits. This mental decadence creates inner turmoil in Dorian. It was the overwhelming influence of Lord Henry that kindled the dark fire of ideas of vanity and aestheticism in the youth. Wilde describes: “He sought to dominate him – he had already half done it. He would make this wonderful spirit his own” (43). If Gray's mind is the house, then Wotton's influence is the ruler, 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 first name Sibyl has Greek origins, meaning “prophetess”. Like a prophetess, the character of Sibyl predicts a certain number of things in the novel. One of the ways Sibyl's character predicts the future is the way the women react to Dorian's presence. Sibyl becomes obsessed with everything about Gray, even though she doesn't even know his real man or, unfortunately, his real personality. She states that “it is like what Love itself should be” (69). Like a plague, everything about Dorian begins to consume her, both physically and spiritually. Sibyl's obsession with this man even goes so far as to ruin her acting career - one of the only things that truly captivated Dorian in the first place. Vane goes on to profess that Gray "is more to [her] than any art could ever be" as she blindly throws herself at his feet, only to be utterly destroyed when Gray rejects her (97). However, Sibyl isn't the only character entirely dominated by Gray; she serves as the first piece, a model in what would prove to be a long line of captivated – 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 in how Dorian's relationships will unfold. As the relationships progress, the two characters begin in love, completely absorbed in each other. This is not a true connection, however, because "Dorian is not attracted to Sibyl's personality, but rather to her acting talent and thrilling 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 a short time, however, as Gray quickly loses interest in Sibyl the minute her magic fades,”.