Matthew Woodcock

Mrs. Pierce
April 29, 2016
English 4
Introduction
Sin and redemption is a prominent theme in The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Wuthering
Heights, and The Kite Runner. Once someone is negatively influenced by someone else, the
corruption begins to eat away at their soul and sin follows swiftly leading to even more
corruption. Dorian himself is corrupted by Henry, the horridness of his own soul, and by his acts
of corrupting others. Throughout the book, sin and corruption are a motif that is seen as a loop
that has no end and no redemption. In the other novels, redemption is seen as coming through
either the unselfish actions of the main character or the innocence of the succeeding generation.
It is apparent that all three novels prove the same conclusion which is that sin if left unchecked
will destroy a persons humanity but redemption is found through the connections people share
with each other.
Dorians downfall starts immediately after encountering the poisonously charming Lord
Henry. Dorian is originally presented as an uncorrupted youth, full of innocence and beauty of
both looks and soul. This all changes quickly when Lord Henry convinces Dorian that beauty is
of supreme importance and that it must be enjoyed to the fullest before the inevitable ugliness
brought on by ageing. The change in Dorians behavior is sudden and drastic after listening to
Lord Henry. Dorian becomes exceedingly concerned with his own beauty and the thought of
losing it to the passing of time terrifies him. He gazes upon his completed portrait and at that
moment he becomes self aware of his own youthful beauty. His distress at the thought of

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becoming old and ugly while the portrait remained young and beautiful was so great that he
offered even his own soul for the opportunity to have his circumstances switched with that of the
painting. Dorian had no idea that this transaction would literally happen to him but the sincerity
of his prayer made it so.
The act of offering his own soul in exchange for eternal youth is Dorians first sin.
Dorians first sin is influenced by Lord Henry who is amused at Dorians reactions to his
ramblings. Not content to just leave Dorian alone after this first meeting, Lord Henry arranges
more time to spend with Dorian. Slowly, Dorian and Lord Henry become friends and the cycle of
corruption begins in full. Dorians first sin fills him with conviction of the need to enjoy life in
all ways that he can, regardless of the moral ramifications. Lord Henry cements this idea in
Dorians mind with more of his philosophical ramblings.
Dorians corruption does not immediately lead to another sin. After many weeks of
drinking in Lord Henrys personal beliefs, Dorian learns new perspectives on life, love, and the
pursuit of happiness. By the time Dorian comes across Sybil Vane, Dorians views on love have
already made him the type of person to trivialize a relationship. He falls in love with Sybil as a
result of seeing her perform in a theater but his love is only for her performance and has nothing
to do with her own personality. When she fails to perform well after she has grown to love
Dorian, he becomes sickened by her and astonished that he was ever in love with her. This act of
cruelty destroys Sybil and she commits suicide not long after. This is Dorians second sin, also
brought on by the direct influence of Lord Henry.
Lord Henrys influence climaxes when he gives Dorian the yellow book about a
Frenchman. This psychological study of the Frenchman in the yellow book fascinates Dorian as
he relates to the Frenchmans desire to experience life. The Frenchman lives his life without

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regard for morals and Dorian feels like that is a good model to follow for his own life. Dorian
eventually goes so far as to say that the Frenchman is a mirror of his own life. After Dorians
period of life in which he reads the book passes, the story fast forwards eighteen years ahead. At
this time, Dorian has done many terrible things but his charming, youthful appearance masks the
ugliness of his soul. Only rumors of Dorians evil are spread, with no actual evidence to
incriminate him. Despite the lack of evidence, everywhere he goes, Dorian leaves a trail of
corruption, sin, and ruined lives. Meanwhile, Dorians portrait records his evil deeds as an
imprint on his once beautiful visage. As his appearance never changes, Dorian is only amused
and also morbidly satisfied by the change in the state of his soul.
The horridness of Dorians soul eats at him like a virus, encouraging him to do more evil.
Initially the representation of his soul on the portrait stresses him out and he wants to try and fix
things. He tries to make things right with Sybil when he realizes the cruelty of taking away his
love from her but the corruption has already infiltrated the deepest layers of his soul. He feels
better about himself after thinking about how he will make things right to Sybil but the truth is
that he still only wants to make things right so that he can feel better about it. This makes him a
hypocrite, an aspect not lost on the painting. While Dorian expects the painting to have changed
for the better, it has actually gotten worse.
When Dorian sees the painting only becoming worse, he becomes angry and afraid
because of it so he hides it away in the abandoned schoolroom. After Dorian does more evil
deeds and sees the painting changing over time, he begins to be satisfied at the fact that while the
painting changes, he remains unmarred. In Dorians mind, the fact of the painting holding his
sins for him sets him free to do as he likes. He is not worried about the consequences for his soul
because only the painting shows any changes while Dorian retains the look of his youthful

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innocence throughout his life. The ability to see the repulsiveness of his own soul encourages
him to do anything he wants and to live out his life in a way so as to experience anything and
everything that may be enjoyable, just as the Frenchman from the book. As his evil has
consumed him it has even moved onto others and ruined their lives.
Throughout Dorians life, rumors run wild of his effect on anyone he comes into contact
with, as he brings others down to his level. It is never quite known what kinds of things Dorian
does during his life, however, many people are known to leave the room when he walks in, some
hide their face in shame at his presence, and those that were associated with him at some point
are now social outcasts. Dorian goes to opium dens and sees old friends, people that were once
respectable, now living lives filled with drugs and debauchery. Dorian has power over people
and he knows it. When Dorian faces the biggest threat to his life, he manipulates one of his old
associates into helping him out.
At thirty-eight years old, Dorian is still as young as a twenty year old and his secret has
not been revealed to anyone. It all changes on one night when he is walking home from a party.
Dorian had ignored Basil for years, and Basil was probably the only good influence in Dorians
life but Dorian had chosen to spend his time with Lord Henry and his friends instead. As Dorian
walks home, Basil spots him and goes with him to Dorians house. Basil then tries to get Dorian
to deny the rumors about him but instead Dorian decides to show him the portrait. When Basil
sees the portrait, he learns the truth but he does not want to believe it. Dorians soul is so ugly
and evil that Basil remarks that Dorian must be even worse than the rumors have said. Suddenly,
Dorian is filled with hatred for Basil as Basil was the one who created the portrait and showed
Dorian the depth of how beautiful he really was as a youth.

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With Basil dead, Dorians paranoia forced him to enlist the help of one of his old friends
in disposing of the body. The friend did not want to help but Dorian had an unrevealed leverage
over him. After making the body disappear, the friend committed suicide. Everyone that crossed
paths with Dorian ended up dead or worse. The evil that consumed Dorian spread like wildfire
and just like every fire, it had to burn up eventually.
After killing Basil, Dorian began to feel guilty about his life. The cycle of sin and
corruption had worn through him to the point where the portrait showed a picture so vile that he
could no longer bear to see it. In the end, he tried to destroy it but the evil had destroyed him. It
was not the painting that lay broken and stabbed, it was Dorian, old and ugly. The effects of his
lifestyle on his soul were now finally visible upon his body and no trace of his innocence
remained except for an old painting from long ago, showing a young boy, smiling and full of
youthful beauty.
What started with one small influence in a garden, led to the complete and utter downfall
of a man. This one mans downfall affected many others and created a wave of sin and
corruption that toppled many others. On his own, Dorian never had any hope of redemption. The
first sin that brought him down would be all that was needed to ruin him. The Picture of Dorian
Gray serves as a parable of the dangers of getting involved in sin and the fatal conclusion that
awaits any who get caught in the endless cycle of evil.
The other novels stand out in stark contrast to the story of Dorian Gray. Dorian had no
chance for redemption due to his lack of positive connections with other people. The protagonists
of The Kite Runner and Wuthering Heights, on the other hand, had connections to other people
which gave them a motivation to want to redeem themselves. Dorian was destroyed in the end by
his sin while Amir and Cathy both suffered for it but endured until they could make a change.

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Amir found purpose in the mission of rescuing his nephew Sohrab. Cathy found a reason for
redemption in her desire to live a free life with Hareton. These connections empowered them to
take action and redeem themselves.
In the case of Amir, it was a moment of a life-changing revelation that took his worst
fears and all his guilt over his past and brought it to the surface in a do or die scenario. Amir at
that moment knew he could never live with himself if he ignored Sohrabs need for him after
what had happened to Hassan. He galvanized himself into putting his entire life that he had built
for himself on the line and going to rescue his nephew. His selfless act of sacrifice and
willingness to take whatever punishment was necessary to save Sohrab changed him as a
character. He had been a paralyzed man who struggled to find his voice in conflict to a man with
an unwavering dedication to righting past wrongs. In doing this he redeemed the sins of his past
and even made up for the mistakes of his father Baba and also Rahims secrecy. He could not
undo the pain their mistakes caused but he did make it right in the end and give the gift of a
better life and free future to Sohrab and by extension, he gave peace and justice to Hassans
resting soul.
Amirs actions redeemed him and therefore saved him from self destruction but not
before his sin took a great toll on him. Amir had been long since removed from his childhood
actions and even the land where it all took place but the memories had followed him everywhere.
Like a weight on his soul, he constantly lived with a guilt in his heart that held him back from
true happiness in life. He was clearly happy with his life in America, he had a wife and was a
successful author, but even that was compromised. He still held a huge secret from his own wife
out of the fear of what she would think of him for it. The mental toll keeping such a secret and

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living with such a feeling must have took is incredible. Only when he found the strength to fix it
did he free himself from this inner demon.
In the case of Cathy and Hareton, they found their redemption in love and their
relationship with each other. Cathy had lived a puppet life until she met Hareton. Her whole life
was dictated by Heathcliff and despite what she thought she was doing for herself, it was all
really just a part of Heathcliffs twisted plan for her. When she found Hareton she initially did
not like him. The love she found with him was the opposite of the love that Heathcliff had with
the elder Cathy. Whereas Heathcliffs love had been instant and powerful, Cathys was slow to
develop and initially fragile. Their relationship was built on her pity for Hareton and Haretons
desire to make himself respectable for her which was a mission that he would never have known
otherwise. Hareton redeemed himself by freeing himself from the mediocre life that had been
given to him and by trying to transform himself as a person. Cathy found her redemption by
finally making a mature decision to be with Hareton despite his shortcomings and even to help
him in his goal of self transformation. Doing this redeemed the two of them but more notably it
redeemed their family as a whole. Even Heathcliff could not find it in himself to torture them any
longer after he saw the unselfish love and commitment they had for each other. Seeing this pure
love brought peace to his greatly troubled soul and allowed him to finally move on and accept
his life as it had become.
Before they found redemption, the sins of Cathy and Haretons families had come
dangerously close to destroying them. Heathcliff had nearly become pure evil, Hareton was an
uneducated brute who could hardly speak recognizable english, and Cathy was a girl with a
caged in life, never having any freedom to choose for herself. The toll it had taken had changed a
pair of respectable families into a decaying remnant of a once great estate. When total corruption

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seemed to be almost inevitable, Cathy and Hareton were able to turn it around. At the end of the
novel it appeared that they had begun a new life that would be happy and free of the darkness
brought on by the earlier generation.
The common theme among all these novels is that sin can destroy a person completely if
it is left unchecked, however redemption is possible for all people no matter how great their sins
were. Redemption truly is a possibility that exists inside all people and it can be found through
the unselfish love for other people. These connections in the hearts of people are what make
them strong and capable of doing great things. Dorian, with his lack of connections or true
friends, corrupted himself to the point of death. He could not redeem himself through himself
and when he tried, it was in vain due to his actions not being done for the right reasons. Amir,
through his connection to Hassan and later Sohrab, found a reason to have courage and
discovered his voice to stand up for what he believed in. Cathy and Hareton found a pure love,
through their connection to each other, that was powerful enough to free them from their
oppression and even soften the heart of Heathcliff. Evidently, anyone who has even one person
that they care about in an unselfish manner can find redemption and change their life for the
better.
Annotated Bibliography
Bronte, Emily, Fritz Eichenberg, and Bruce Rogers. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random
House,
1943. Print.
I am using Wuthering Heights as a source to show that redemption can come through a
succeeding generation. The first generation in the novel committed many terrible atrocities
towards each other. The second generation redeemed the first by refusing to let their

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circumstances take away their innocence. I will talk about the ways in which the first generation
sinned and the ways in which the second redeemed the first. Along with the other two novels,
this source will form a large portion of the topic in my paper.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.
The Kite Runner will be one of my primary sources along with the other novels. I will
use it to talk about the effect that sin has on a persons well being. I will mention the difference
between sins of commission and sins of omission. I will also show the power of redemption to
heal the pain and regret of past sins. Amirs struggle to deal with the guilt of his sins and his
eventual salvation through his sacrifices for his nephew.
"Kite Runner Essay: Remorse Leads to Redemption | Online Homework Help |
SchoolWorkHelper." Online Homework Help SchoolWorkHelper. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
The essay on this website will provide useful ideas about the Kite Runner to add to my
section about that novel. It mentions the weight of Amirs guilt from his sins and how much it
affects him over the years. The essay also talks about Amirs eventual selfless sacrifices to help
his nephew. I will use it to explain how Amirs redemption came through his nephew and not
himself. The essay will also help me make the point that Amirs feelings that bothered him his
whole life are what led him to take that leap of faith for a nephew he had never met and why that
matters.
"Possibilities of Redemption Through the Novel - Oxford Handbooks." Possibilities of
Redemption Through the Novel - Oxford Handbooks. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
This source will help me expand upon my own ideas from Wuthering Heights. It talks
about the second generation redeeming the first. It also goes into detail about the sins that led to
the downfall of the first generation. I will use it to show how the two generations impacted each

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other and how the second was able to make up for the evil of the first. It will be helpful in better
explaining Heathcliffs interactions with both generations and how he symbolizes the changes
that happen across both.
"The Picture of Dorian Gray Themes." Study Guides & Essay Editing. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
This website will be a good source to support and expand upon the impact of sin on
Dorian. It also talks about his corruption and failure to be redeemed. I will use the ideas found on
this website to support the ideas I put forth from the novel. It will add depth to my thesis and
support my reasoning. It will help me better show what happens to a person who allows sin to
permeate their entire life.
The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical
Books: New Revised Standard Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1989. Print.
The Bible will be a useful source for providing historical context for the ideas of sin and
redemption. I will use it to explain the origins of sin in humanity and the path to true redemption.
The Bible is also a religious book that has influenced many of the cultures all around the world.
It also has relations to the other large religion of Islam which is prominent in The Kite Runner.
These things will make the Bible a great source to expand on the ideas of sin and redemption
across the three novels.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Genoa: Black Cat Pub., 2007. Print.
The Picture of Dorian Gray will be my final novel to form the structure of the paper. I
will show the power and attraction of sin to lure sinners in deeper and deeper. I will talk about
how Dorian began as an innocent boy with a bright future. As he dabbled in sinful activity, he
was slowly corrupted and even became an agent of corruption against other people. Dorian tried

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to redeem himself but could not because he tried to redeem himself by changing himself instead
of righting the wrongs he committed against other people.