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Chapter 2

Text of Book

Chapter 2, page 1

Chapter 2, page 2

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Questions

1) What is the main idea of this chapter?

2) Which sentence best describes Wotton's initial impression of Dorian?

3) Basil Hallward asks Lord Wotton to leave so that he can work without distraction, but Dorian objects. Hallward then asks Wotton to say, ". . . to oblige Dorian, and to oblige me.

What does "oblige" mean?

4) Wotton presents Dorian with an unsettling paradox to consider: "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.

What does "resist" mean?

5) While Wotton and Dorian are talking, Basil Hallward is absorbed in his work and unaware of the transformation Dorian is experiencing: "Hallward painted away with that marvellous bold touch of his, that had the true refinement and perfect delicacy that come only from strength. He was unconscious of the silence.

What does "refinement" mean?

6) What is the thing that Lord Wotton describes to Dorian as "the one thing worth having"?

7) What is Dorian's reaction to the finished portrait of himself?

8) Near the end of the chapter, both Basil Hallward and Dorian Gray act out emotionally. Lord Wotton finds their behavior absurd and makes this comment: "I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal. It was the most premature definition ever given. Man is many things, but he is not rational.

What does "rational" mean?

9) Were there any events that weren't clear to you?