A Banned Book by A Banished Man

     The Picture of Dorian Gray was the last novel that Oscar Wilde wrote before being called on trial and banished for the United Kingdom. It was used as evidence against him being amoral and a poor influence on society. The book, therefore, was a very controversial piece for it's time period.

     The story itself focuses on the painting of a famously talented artist who paints a portrait of a young, handsome man who longs to trade places with the portrait. Dorian, the painting's subject, realizes that the painting will never age and will retain its beauty throughout the eternity, while Dorian ages and withers with every passing second. Somehow, Dorian switches his fate with the painting and gains the ability to resist mortality and stops aging altogether. He then proceeds to live life to its full and engages in morally questionable behavior.
     This book, being shunned as immoral and avoided by many of the time period as such, begs a question of society and literature: are there novels that we should not be allowed to read? Surely society had seen some books as evil, but this was a novel. It seems strange to us today, as we are so open to varying morals within our media, whether we like it or not, but for people back in its time the use of this novel as negative evidence against Oscar might have made sense.
     However, even today some artists face such scrutiny from the public eye. Marilyn Manson, a rock musician from the 90's, was blamed by many conservative news anchors for influencing the two teenagers who committed atrocities at Columbine. It was later found that the two were not fans of Manson, and scrutiny on his account decreased.
     The Picture of Dorian Gray and other controversial pieces of literature, be they movies or music, that push the boundaries of our moral conventions might not be for everyone, but would banning them be the right thing to do? Certainly age restrictions and cautionary labels are good, but this book goes to show that too much censorship will stifle the world of literature, and that art will always push against boundaries, for better or for worse.

Picture Source:
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