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Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, makes Basil's life change drastically by having him paint a portrait of Dorian Gray and express too much of himself in it, which, in Wilde's mind, is a troublesome obstacle to circumvent. Wilde believes that the artist should not portray any of himself in his work, so when Basil does this, it is he who creates his own downfall, not Dorian.

Wilde introduces Basil to Dorian when Basil begins to notice Dorian staring at him at a party. Basil "suddenly became conscious that someone was looking at [him]. [He] turned halfway around and saw Dorian Gray for the first time" (Wilde 24). Basil immediately notices him, however Basil is afraid to talk to him. His reason for this is that he does "not want any external influence in [his] life" (Wilde 24). This is almost a paradox in that it is eventually his own internal influence that destroys him. Wilde does this many times throughout the book. He loved using paradoxes and that is why Lord......

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Approximate Word Count: 867
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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