The Picture of Dorian Gray 4: Slurred Lines

     Dorian has repeatedly attempted to remove the nagging sources of pain in his life, but his efforts only increase the magnitude of his guilt and the weight of his conscience. First, Dorian attempts to relinquish some of his hidden sins onto Basil; however, the sudden flood of emotion and frustration converts Dorian into a murderer. Subsequently, Dorian utilizes calculated manipulation and threats to engross Alan Campbell into his mess of deception to clean up the evidence. Destroying the evidence does not destroy the past, and Dorian continually expresses his consummation of guilt on his way to the opium shack: "'To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul'" (135). Dorian acknowledges that his soul is "sick to death" (135), and he hopes that the opium will excite and intrigue his senses. At the opium bar, the text becomes slurred and rhyming, perhaps like someone on the drug: "'Where else should I be?' he answered, listlessly. 'None of the chaps will speak to me now'" (137). Besides the melodic ring of the sentence, the 'sss' sound is repeated frequently. The 'sss' sound is common when someone is drunk and slurring their words. This is representative of Dorian's intoxication by his own malicious actions and deeds, and he is therefore losing the ability to think clearly. The 'sss' sound is also associated with a serpent, which represents evil. Later in the chapter, Sibyls's brother James confronts Dorian and is close to shooting him when Dorian is able to slyly reason his way out of death. In a hypocritical moment, Dorian says, "'Let this be a warning to you not to take vengeance into your own hands'" (141). Just as Dorian tried to take vengeance on Basil for facilitating his life of corruption and pain, James wants to release the pain of losing his sister onto Dorian. Considering that Dorian yielded to the temptation, this paradoxical warning is most likely foreshadowing his own death.