Ashton Knudsen

Mrs. Pierce
AP Literature and Composition
22 May 2016

Innocence Vs. Experience

Even though people can acknowledge the inevitable situations life has to offer, nothing
can or will change a person until they actually experience a situation first hand. Throughout the
novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley and The Picture of Dorian Gray written by
Oscar Wilde, both of the main characters in each novel develop through the concept of
innocence versus experience, and it is evident more than once in each plot. Together, both the
Creature and Dorian Gray begin each novel with a profound sense of innocence which,
throughout the novel, takes on new form by the end of the novel due to experiences they were
faced with and went through. However, we cannot blame these characters, or even people in
reality for becoming emotionally and sometimes even mentally hardened due to various trials
and tribulations we are effortlessly faced with. When we are born, everyone has a secured sense
of innocence; by being sheltered and taken care of, we are made to believe at a young age that
nothing could ever harm us. By being this way and having to learn the downfalls of life on our
own, it is what matures us and allows that hardening to take place. While some people may
feel that it is better to lose innocence in order to gain wisdom in return, other people may take a
liking to leading a naively simple life. Regardless, by going through experiences, an individuals
sense of reality is strengthened, their sense of innocence will diminish.
Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is a novel about how a lonely and isolated
scientist creates a synthetic creation in order to fill the void for the missing support systems in

his life. However, his creation, which becomes known to readers as the Creature, ends up
completely the opposite of how the scientist intended him to be created. Shortly after the
Creature was created, socializing with Victor was not enough socialization for him, as he yearned
to explore the outside walls of the laboratory. When the Creature first began making an
appearance in society, he did not get quite the reaction he was hoping for. He would often walk
the streets and would get constantly and sometimes even violently rejected by the townspeople.
Because of this, the Creature began a desperate attempt to humanize himself in order to fit in
with the people of society. One thing that Shelley subtly incorporated in this novel was the
Creatures singularity. Singularity is defined as possessing a unique, unusual quality; or having
peculiarity. It is clearly evident that this definition can be tied to the Creature as a character. The
Creature demonstrates singularity in more ways than one. We see his singularity in his physical
appearance, as well as his actions towards others. Because of the drastic difference in those two
things that society pays attention to the most, he is singled out of society. The Creatures inability
to relate to humans and understand their feelings also contributes to his singularity and prejudice
from society. Since the Creatures sense of singularity is so dominant, it prevents him from being
able to function normally in society. Although he may lack physical and emotional attractiveness,
the Creature makes an attempt to compensate for his frowned upon traits through language. By
making an effort to communicate with the people within his community, he is opening a window
to his inner thoughts and feelings so that society will try to understand him better; which in his
case, is a very risky thing to do. One of the first things that results in the Creature becoming
corrupt is his inability to be understood by the people in his community. Because they act against
him, without him being able to understand, forces him to become emotionally hardened and to
lack sympathy and understanding for others.

Next door to Victor and his laboratory lives the DeLacey family. The DeLaceys live in a
nice, comfortable home with their children. Although there is minimal noted interaction between
the DeLaceys and the Creature, the DeLaceys played one of the most important roles in
educating the Creature. The influence the family had on the Creature could be best described as
indirect. The Creature would occupy space in a corner of their yard and look in through the open
doors and windows to get a better look at the family. Its almost as if the DeLaceys were
teaching the Creature how to function within society without even knowing they were doing it.
The Creature observed the concept of family and what that truly consisted of; caring for one
another, helping one another, whatever it may be, he observed what it was like to harmonize with
others. Along with this, he also observed loved; which may be the most important one of all.
With every single thing he took note of, he remembered. However, this also contributed to his
corruption because the more he saw the traits he desired so strongly to possess, it made him want
it so bad that he would risk anything to get it. This strong yearning is what pushed him to hurt
people in the process so he could get what he was after.
In the final chapters of the book, evidence of the Creatures corruption becomes
alarmingly clear. When his goal of becoming a functional member of society came to no avail,
the Creature was fed up with everyone and everything, Victor in particular. In an effort to make
Victor feel his disposition with society, the Creature set out to destroy Victors life, one person at
a time. All along, the only thing the Creature wanted was to be understood. However, not even
the person who created him had the slightest understanding of how he truly felt. In order to
accomplish the understanding of isolation that the Creature had felt all along, he began taking
people away from Victor, so that he too, could understand what it was like to be so alone in such
a big world. The Creature takes the life of Victors younger brother and harms anyone that means

something to Victor. In addition to this, the Creature is determined to not end up alone. The
Creature demands that Victor recreate another creature so that way he can get the companion he
had always wanted. When the Creature has these various outbursts, his corruption shows and all
of a sudden, his innocence is lost.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, is an excellent representation of
how manipulation can lead to the destruction of ones innocence; if they are manipulated by the
right person. The Picture of Dorian Gray begins by introducing the main character, Dorian, who
is portrayed to be a very handsome man who values expensive material possessions. When
Dorian is introduced to Lord Henry, who ends up being his biggest influence, Dorians character
changes for the worst. The story follows Dorian through his personal struggles of finding who he
is and what his purpose is. The novel introduces the struggles of youth and beauty, as well as,
incorporates societal deviances for that time period; homosexuality, for example. With all of this
in mind, the main point that draws the most attention is the lasting impression Lord Henry has on
Dorian.
At the beginning of the novel, Dorian, just like the Creature, had a strong sense of
innocence. However, how they displayed this innocence was not similar to one another. Dorian
portrayed his innocence through material items, rather than his feelings and emotions. Because
he valued material possessions so much, he never risked his feelings over a person; he filled his
void of human relationships with his possessions. Not to mention, because of his obsession with
goods, he was the source of his own happiness and did not have to rely on anyone else to give
him that. This would be the last time, however, that readers would see him this way. It only takes
one person who has the wrong intentions with you to completely throw your life off the tracks,
and in the following chapters, it starts to unfold.

It is almost instantly that a change in Dorians character is clear when he meets Lord
Henry. Dorian begins showing more signs of negativity and boastfulness over his wealth and
possessions. Lord Henry has very selfish and hedonistic tendencies and this tends to interfere
with his personal relationships. Lord Henry has an interesting way of dealing with his various
relationships, and mostly all of them are short-lived. When Lord Henry gets tired of the daily
routine of being around the same people, he drops them and moves on to someone new. By the
time Dorian was introduced to Lord Henry, Lord Henry had basically already dropped Basil,
since he had found someone new. Lord Henrys character plays such a significant role in the
development of Dorians character and it may seem subtle to readers at first. However, it is by
the end of the novel when the incident occurred with the mirror, that we can see the biggest
impact of Lord Henrys actions on Dorian. When Dorian reaches the attic at the end of the novel,
he discovers the mirror. Before picking it up and peering into it, he expects to see himself as he
was in the beginning of the novel; having much physical beauty. Although , he is caught by
surprise when he sees an aged, ugly looking man. He is absolutely stunned and cannot believe it
is him; at first, refuses to believe it was actually a reflection of him. Even though he really was
seeing his reflection, he was actually seeing the type of person he had become. Lord Henry
turned him ugly because of his manipulation, and it will remain with him forever.
One of the biggest lessons that can be taken away from The Picture of Dorian Gray is the
power of manipulation and the importance of knowing the type of people you choose to surround
yourself with. The connection between innocence and experience is well demonstrated between
the relationship of Dorian and Lord Henry. The storyline of the novel gives readers a clear
understanding of the transition from innocence to experience and how someone can have such a
significant impact on you, without you being completely aware. When reading this novel and

evaluating the relationship between Dorian and Lord Henry, many readers may be able to grasp a
better understanding of the complexity of their unique bond through their own personal
experiences. One interesting literary technique that Wilde uses to show the transition of
manipulation through their relationship is that Wilde expresses Lord Henrys manipulation in a
way that readers may not even catch it until the end. The way that Lord Henry takes advantage of
Dorian is also the way people in reality can manipulate others; subtly, then suddenly noticeable.
An excerpt from the novel is a conversation between Lord Henry and Dorian, which paints a
vivid image of how Lord Henry truly felt about Dorian and his innocence.
"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. It has been said that the great events of the
world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world
take place also. You, Mr. Gray, you yourself, with your rose-red youth and your rose-white
boyhood, you have had passions that have made you afraid, thoughts that have filled you with
terror, day-dreams and sleeping dreams whose mere memory might stain your cheek with shame
-- "
"Stop!" faltered Dorian Gray, "stop! you bewilder me. I don't know what to say.

Lord Henry

When Lord Henry says this to Dorian, he is insinuating that although Dorian may appear
innocent, that even the most innocent people have their own secret desires that no one else is
knowledgeable about. In actuality, Lord Henry, deep down, understands that Dorian truly is
innocent, yet he uses this conversation as a manipulation method to really tap into Dorians dark

side. Which, by the end of the novel was a successful tactic as Dorians corruption was clearly
prevalent at the end of the novel.

In conclusion, Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray have two completely
different plots, yet offer the same theme of the transition from innocence to experience. Although
the personal flaws and struggles are shown in different ways, the general theme of innocence to
experience can still connect with each individual character. For the Creature, his personal
struggle was to fit in and be accepted by society. When he was first Created, he assumed people
in his community would immediately accept him as a functional member of their community;
this represented his sense of innocence. However, once he put himself in society, he was frowned
upon and was violently abused by society because of everything about him that made him
different and a deviance in society; this acted as his aggressor which led to his corruption. On the
other hand, for Dorian Gray, he felt that his wealth and material possessions could fill the void of
physical human relationships; this represents his sense of innocence. After being around Lord
Henry, Dorian becomes manipulated and intensely self-conceited; this acts as his aggressor that
led to his corruption. Just as the characters in each of these books, we go through life constantly
learning, we never stop. It is how we learn lessons from life experiences that determine how we
will handle lifes hardships. Being human, we are inevitably prone to making mistakes that have
the power to change our lives in a single second. Although both the Creature and Dorian Gray
had differences on how they perceived their innocence, they both ended up the same way;
corrupt.