To the Lighthouse Character Analysis

There are a number of different perspectives that can be used to characterize Mr. Ramsey. Form the perspective of other people, Mr. Ramsey is often seen as a somewhat unpleasant character. Contemplating him, Lily Briscoe thinks he is "He is petty, selfish, vain, egotistical; he is spoilt; he is a tyrant; he wears Mrs. Ramsay to death". She sees that many of his actions are self serving and controlling, but "he knows nothing about trifles; he loves dogs and his children", showing that he does genuinely care for his family and the small things in life.
In his own mind Mr Ramsey is not an all important figure. He is in fact, very insecure about the importance of his work. This is made clear by the way in which he thinks of his intelligence. He thinks of intelligence as a continuum like the alphabet, starting at A and ending at Z. Mr. Ramsey desperately want to approach the end of the alphabet so that he will be more important. He fears that he is not going to though "In that flash of darkness he heard people saying--he was a failure--that R was beyond him". Knowing that Mr. Ramsey is insecure about himself, his actions become much more sympathetic.

Dorian Gray #5

In the final few chapters of this novel, the idea that that Dorian Gray is an inherently bad person who cannot be redeemed is tested. As we first see him, Dorian is extremely disturbed by the idea of his actions catching up with him. This fear is literally represented by the pursuit of James Vane. However, it is soon removed by James' s death. Seemingly in response to this, Dorian begins to try and reform himself. When he commits a 'good' act by ending his involvement with Hetty, he expects to see an improvement in the painting. What he sees instead is "a look of cunning and in the mouth the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite" that indicates that he has not improved at all. He is committing the same sin of pride that has always influenced him. Though he changed his behavior, his essential nature stayed the same.

Dorian Gray #4

Despite the painting that bears the physical burden of Dorian's lifestyle and his choice to live only for himself, Dorian's sins continue to plague him. Despite the lack of concern that Dorian displayed when Basil accused him of so many cruel and terrible acts against his peers, his acts are catching up with him. While trying to get over Basil's murder "he remarked that every face that he drew seemed to have a fantastic likeness to Basil Hallward" indicating that he is unable to get the crime out of his mind. ! Ore physical representations of his sin manifest his black mail of Campbell and the numerous victims he meets in the opium den.

The Lamb and The Tiger

In William Blake's poems The Lamb and The Tiger, the speaker's two different relationships the speaker and his creator are shown through contrasting tone and word choice.
The Lamb is written as if the speaker is addressing someone who does not understand their creator, saying things like "Little Lamb, who made thee?/ Dost thou know made thee?". The speaker shows that he knows the answer to this question and that he is confident in it by acting as a teacher. In The Tiger, however, speaker is the one who needs answers, asking such questions as "What immortal hand or eye,/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry?". In both poems the speaker is addressing someone about the nature of God, but his two contrasting behaviors show.
The difference in the speaker's attitude is demonstrated in the overall tone of each poem. In The Lamb he uses positive language,  describing god as "making all vales rejoice" and "he is meek and mild". In contrast in The Tiger,  the language is much more frightening and intimidating. He describes the creator as possessing "dread grasp" and "dread hand" in the making of the tiger.

Dorian Gray #3

After many years of his unchecked and selfish behavior, the Basil once again finds himself trying to convince Dorian to live his life morally. Both characters have somewhat intensified their positions. From Basil's accounts, Dorian has become extraordinarily cruel and thoughtless in his desire for sensual pleasure and "There was the madness of pride in every word he uttered" making his corruption obvious. Basil, on the other hand, has ceased to simply believe in the inherent goodness that he once believed he saw in people like Lord Henry, his actions now have a much more significant religious influence. He wishes to be able to see Dorian's soul like God, and when given the opportunity, he wished to invoke religion to try and absolve Dorian's sin.

Dorian Gray #2

In this section of the novel, Dorian Gray's relationship with art and beauty play a large role in his character. He tells Basil "A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions", as he explains his feelings about the death of Sibyl Vane. He claims that this allows him to ignore view her death as simply another beautiful thing. However, Dorian shows himself to be very susceptible to the influence of art and beautiful things. He is so consumed by the book that Lord Henry sent him that he imagines himself living the life of the main character.  Throughout his pursuit of so many different types of art and beauty, he projects much of what he finds onto himself. He says, in relation to figures he has read about,  "It seemed to him that in some mysterious way their lives had been his own." Though he says that he will not be influenced by emotions, his suggestible and self absorbed personality is just as easily influenced by art.