“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked” (Biblical Psalm 1:1). It is ironic that both Oscar Wilde and his fictional character Dorian Gray both fell victim to bad advice. Wilde refused to listen to his closest friends when they insisted that he ignore the accusation made by the Marquess Queensberry. Instead Wilde sided with his close friend and possible lover Lord Alfred Douglas, who ordered him to fight the charge. Due to Douglas's advice and Wilde's pride he ended up in prison, which ultimately led to his untimely death. Douglas advised Wilde to fight something they both knew to be true, if only they would humble themselves. Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray should have given him some insight into what it meant to be corrupted by vanity. There are so many parallels when comparing writer and character. Dorian Gray fell victim to Lord Henry Wotton just as Oscar Wilde was encouraged and enamored by Lord Alfred Douglas. Both the writer and the character believed they were above the law, biblical and social. In the novel: The Picture of Dorian Gray, both good and evil are represented and clearly evil prevailed in the sense that Dorian Gray died without repentance. In reviewing The Picture of Dorian Gray, many critics saw it as a debate between two of its major protagonists. characters, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton. Basil and Lord Henry represent a choice between good and evil. Basil is good, talented and conventional. He has pure faith and values. He believes that “the universe is a moral order in which God punishes evil and rewards good, and that human beings are guided by a moral code in which sympathy and compassion are primary values” (Liebman, 1999). He believes in the goodness of man. Like a brunette...... middle of paper......y unacceptable weaknesses. They say that Wilde was trying to understand his own conflicting feelings on the subject through his novel. The Daily Chronicle of London called The Picture of Dorian Gray poisonous, impure and full of foul odors of moral and spiritual decay. The St. James Gazette thought it was disgusting and nauseating, and suggested that the Treasury or the Vigilance Society wanted to prosecute the perpetrator. Most disturbing was a short notice in the Scots Observer stating that although "Dorian Gray" was a work of literary quality, it dealt with subjects suitable only for Criminal Investigation. Sodomy was a very serious crime and considered evil in England starting in the 1500s, at one point it was punishable by death. So for Wilde to write so openly on the subject was either courageous or very foolish, especially since he led a suspicious lifestyle.