The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Summer and Smoke - Tennessee Williams

Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams
Genre: Realistic Fiction (PLAY)

Image result for summer and smoke bookBlurb (on back of book): The play is a simple love story of a somewhat puritanical Southern girl and an unpuritanical young doctor. Each is basically attracted to the other but because of their divergent attitudes toward life, each over the course of years is driven away from the other. Not until toward the end does the doctor realize that the girl's high idealism is basically right, and while she is still in love with him, it turns out that neither time nor circumstances will allow the two ultimately to come together.

MY OPINION: ****

I read this play for drama class, as I am reciting one of the monologues for my performance. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. My drama teacher loves this play and I can see why.

The play focuses around two characters, Alma and John. They are complete opposites of each other, as Alma is a conservative, minister's-daughter, good-girl, and John is a playboy-turned-doctor bad-boy. As I've stated numerous times, I love the good-girl bad-boy trope and this one did not fail to engage me.

The play is set in Mississippi in the early 1900s. Alma's mother is mentally ill and Alma is forced to take care of her. As she is the minister's daughter and has many parish duties due to her mother's mental illness, she focuses highly on the spiritual.

John, on the other hand, chooses to spend his time chasing girls and gambling all of his money away at the casino. He focuses on the physical and not the spiritual, unlike Alma.

Both characters have conflicting ideas about nearly everything but also have a strong attraction to each other. John tries to teach Alma about the anatomy of a human, debunking her strong beliefs in the spiritual but soon finds his beliefs changed when he goes away to fight an epidemic and returns a believer in the spiritual. To the audience's disbelief and frustration, a repressed and hysterical Alma, who has some sort of illness, no longer believes in the spiritual side of things and is ready for a physical relationship with John. Sadly, he no longer wants that, as he is set to be married to another.

I did not enjoy the ending. I understand why it had to happen but it made me really sad and unsatisfied. I read this book in one sitting (it's quite short) but I still find myself thinking about it hours after. It was a surprisingly beautiful read and I am interested in reading Williams's other plays. I also am required to watch the film version of this play so I am excited to see how they adapted it for the films.

I would recommend this play to (audience members and readers) who are looking for a short, cute, realistic play about the fight between the spiritual and physical aspects of a relationship. I would highly recommend for someone looking for a slow-burn, tension-filled, quite frankly depressing romance.

Main Character: Alma, John
Sidekick(s): Nellie, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstanding, conflicting personalities, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This play was very real to life.

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