Analysis of the Third Extract from The Picture of Dorian Gray pg 398

The extract is taken from the last chapter of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and it is the final part of the novel. It is set in the penthouse of Dorian Gray's house and the young man is looking at his picture, thinking of destroying it to be free.
The extract is composed of three sequences.
In the first sequence Dorian is looking at his monstrous picture. It represents for him his consciousness and all the evil he did in the past: destroying it he thinks he will be free. But the picture is his soul .
He wants to stabb it with the same knife he used to kill the painter, Basil Hallward: Dorian cleaned it many times and it represents also what he would like to do with his consciousness. Moreover the glistening knife may represent the same Dorian: he appears as a handsome and innocent man, but in reality he is dangerous and guilty. Dorian does not think that it his is consciousness and that it can not be divided from him.
The third person omniscient narrator makes the reader feel as if he were in the room with the character, using the word "Yes" and also a language that appeals to the sense of sight, mainly into describing the knife. He also presents Dorian's thoughts and feelings, like if he were in his consciousness: this element anticipates one of the most important themes of Modernist literature.
The verb "to kill" is repeated many times in this sequence: it underlines that Dorian is obsessed by this idea. The verb "to stab" used in the last sentence of the sequence, when the character stabs the picture, recalls the beginning of the extract, realizing a circle structure.
If the first sequence presents Dorian' s inner side and it is set in a closed room, the second one shows what is happening in the house and in the street after a terribile cry. It begins with the reaction of the servants. The central part of the sequence presents what is happening in the street. Then the narrator comes back to a group of servants who are on the roof because they did not manage to open the door of the room.
The narrator uses here an onomatopeic language: in this way he appeals to the senses of the reader, making feel him in the scene. The first onomatopeias are the words "cry" and "crash": they have a harsh sound, that creates disease in the reader. Another onomatopeias are the words "frightened" and "crept", that have both a harsh sound and that represent the behaviour of the servants. Saying they "crept" from they rooms the narrator compares them to worms: it may be a criticism towards they behaviour and also it may show they do not feel innocent.
The part that deals with the men in the street appeals again to the senses and uses many verbs of movement like " to pass", "to stop", "to walk on", "to bring back". What the two men and the policeman see is symbolical: the whole house is dark and there is only a light, in the room where Dorian is. Light represents innocence, while darkness the evil and the actions Dorian did in the past. Dorian feels better with light: darkness is misterious and dangerous. At the same time it protects the man, because during the night people sleeps so do not know what happens around them.
The last part presents a group of servants who go on the roof and drop down on the balcony of the penthouse. They easily enter in the room because window bolts are old. Saying the house is old, the narrator again uses an object to represent Dorian's condition: what is old is decaying, like Dorian's life. Furthermore the penthouse is one of the settings of gothic novels.
The third sequence unites the first and the second one. The servants enter in the room and they see a wonderful picture of Dorian Gray, but on the floor they see a stabbed man with a monstrous aspect. Examining his rings they recognize Dorian Gray.
Killing his consciusness Dorian killed also himself because they can not exist divided. All he did in during his life was a part of him and he decided to behave in that way. His innocence and beauty were only masks of a corrupted soul, but the appearance lost against the reality and the inner side of the man: an individual can not hide to himself what he really is and he can not escape from his consciousness because it will be with him till death.