A Quick Analysis of Dorian Gray The story begins when Basil Hallward, a painter, is working on a portrait of a young man named Dorian Gray. His friend, Lord Henry Wotton, is visiting and tells him that he thinks it is the best work Basil has ever done. He wants to know who the young man in the painting is, as his good looks are apparently very striking, but Basil is reluctant to talk about it. Lord Henry insists on meeting Dorian, and Basil eventually introduces them, after warning Lord Henry not to try to "influence" Dorian, because he is a bad influence. Dorian immediately falls in love with Lord Henry, fascinated by the way he speaks and his unique view of the world, which is rather annoying to me anyway. Lord Henry takes Dorian outside and gives a speech about how he thinks beauty is everything and that Dorian shouldn't waste his youth because it's the "most important" thing in the world. Well, at least it's not superficial or anything like that. When Basil finishes that painting, Dorian has a hissy fit because he realizes that while he ages and becomes ugly, the painting will remain forever young. He wishes the painting would grow old and he would remain beautiful forever. Well done, Dorian. The next day, Lord Henry visits his uncle, Lord Fermor, and finds out more about Dorian's past and his parents. He finds himself completely obsessed with Dorian and the power he feels he has over him. Later, he goes to visit his aunt, Lady Agatha, and Dorian is there. We hear more of his controversial opinions on different topics. Everyone seems shocked by his way of thinking, but I imagine he's so charming that they eat him up right away. Afterwards, Dorian leaves Basil to go out with Lord Henry, which is rather cold. However, a month later, Dorian tells Lord Henry that he has fallen in love with an actress named Sybil Vane. They have a dialogue in which Dorian explains how he met Sybil (inspired by Lord Henry and wanting to know "all about life", went to a "theater" in a bad part of town, saw her in a Shakespearean play, and was so impressed that he has returned to see her every night since) and Lord Henry offers even MORE of his opinions, which mostly consist of (more) arrogant, self-centered generalizations, not to mention the constant objectification of women.