Throughout history, poets have used symbols to deepen understanding of a protagonist, therefore symbols often influenced a character’s actions, intentions, and perceptions of the world. The author of the novel, Oscar Wilde, and the director of the year 1945 film adaption of the book, used various symbols to represent different aspects of the main character Dorian Gray’s life since they were crucial to the protagonist’s relationships with other people and used as an inspiration for his lifestyle. Some of the most prominent symbols in the novel and the film include the yellow book, the statue of the Egyptian cat, and the portrait of Dorian Gray.
Firstly, the yellow book that Lord Henry Wotton gave Dorian as a gift in chapter 10 just after the main character found out that his bride Sibyl Vane was dead. The mysterious literary work was a French novel that portrays the experiences of its protagonist that sought only pleasure, is full of sinful and decadent stories.…
