Topic > Oscar Wilde's depiction of the Faustian bargain as described in his book, The Picture of Dorian Gray

How far can a person go to stay forever young? Would they make a Faustian bargain? A Faustian bargain is where a person trades their soul to the devil for something they truly believe they can't live without. In Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray Dorian Gray makes a Faustian pact by saying that he would exchange his soul for the portrait so that he could remain forever young. Throughout Chapter VIII he struggles to decide whether or not he will ultimately keep his agreement or end the agreement. Dorian seals the pact due to the temptation to always remain young and the fear of losing his youth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, Dorian Gray seals the deal because of the temptation to always be young. Youth is very powerful in this period. People admire beautiful people and beautiful people get anything and everything they want. Dorian didn't want to lose him. As Dorian struggled with his decision, he thought that "anyone who knew anything about life would give up the chance to remain forever young, however fantastic that chance might be." Dorian is tempted by the prospect of remaining young forever. He says “that no one would give up the chance to stay young forever if they could.” Nowadays people pay a lot of money just to stay young by using botox and taking pills. Being young means people respect you because they want to be. Dorian subsequently seals the pact for fear of losing his youth. Lord Henry told Dorian to hold on to his youth as long as possible because once it is gone, you can never get it back. Once you lose your youth, you will also lose your wealth and sense of being talked about. Dorian doesn't want to lose his youth. He fears that if he loses him no one will want to talk about him and he will become no one. Everyone wants to feel important when a person feels unimportant he feels a sense of hopelessness and hopelessness and Dorian doesn't want to feel this feeling. If he loses his youth, he loses the person he is. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion throughout Chapter VIII Dorian has internal struggles over whether or not he will ultimately keep his agreement or end the agreement. Dorian seals the pact due to the temptation to always remain young and the fear of losing his youth. He wants to always be young so that he can get away with evil acts. He is afraid of losing his youth because otherwise he will be nobody. Dorian can't decide what's worse, living a regular life or staying young forever? Dorian must make the decision of which is more important, his soul or his youth.