There may be a monster hiding behind a beautiful face. Oscar Wilde created a landmark work that remains relevant today, and the events of the Portrait of Dorian Gray in the 19th century are still interesting to read today. This is probably the most famous book by the Irish writer and poet, which is rightfully included in the list of novels that marked the beginning of fiction, acts as a kind of forerunner. The plot can rightfully be considered fantastic. A young man named Dorian Gray receives a painting with his image as a gift, and then, when the guy admires what is painted on the canvas, he expresses the wish that the portrait grow old, and his youth and beauty remain the same. And it's starting to come true. This, in fact, ends the fiction. But the highlight of this novel is not in fiction as such, but in the excellent narration and story about the life of the young Dorian. Wilde perfectly captures the atmosphere of the dark city where the events of the book take place. Everything interesting and fascinating happens here at night. The author, I think, consciously immerses the reader in the darkness of numerous streets, the atmosphere of bohemian events that cause boredom and sadness. All this is transmitted through the life of Gray, who gradually, stage by stage, loses himself as a person. A lot of events adversely affect his life, plunging the young man deeper and deeper into the abyss of this dark city. Oscar Wilde undertakes to explore the human soul using the example of this young man, allows him to spy on private life, so that each reader can realize for himself how complex and unpredictable people can be and their secrets that are hidden deep inside. Every step Dorian Gray takes is a kind of cutoff in a guy's life, a point of no return beyond which he is ready to afford even more. And the more such extraordinary actions the main character of the novel commits, the more he reveals to us the possibilities of evolution or degradation — here everyone decides for themselves where such a person's life leads. Reading the novel, I've noticed many times how uninteresting Gray's life is. He sleeps late, leads a social life, attends various events that might be interesting, but for him they are not. This is a real degradation — a well-fed life with everything ready. A person cannot find interesting things to do, self—actualize, Dorian exists as if outside of time, it seems, without even realizing that such a life is torture for him. And in these times, he realizes that only desperate actions can breathe life into his existence. It seems to me that the author was trying to convey the painful atmosphere of a well-fed society of people who live at the expense of others, do not create anything new themselves, use their existing financial condition, thereby creating chaos and bringing themselves and the surrounding reality into decline. The book clearly demonstrates that such an existence is a path to nowhere, degradation, stagnation, and eventually the death of progress. The other side of this work is loneliness. Having so many opportunities and open doors for oneself in any direction, a person does not want to achieve anything, lives with the flow and simply freezes in this world, unable to find something exciting for himself. This brings sadness and apathy to the reader. And this is undoubtedly Wilde's excellent work. He subtly conveys the notes of this hopelessness in his work, literally motivates not to try to find himself in such a situation of useless existence. Living without a purpose, living on everything ready is degradation. After all, having everything and just like the main character of the novel, you don't know how to feel the taste of victories and the bitterness of defeats. After all, every emotion and aspiration leads to something new and interesting. But when you're Dorian Gray, who has the ability to do a lot, you end up sinking to the bottom, breaking all imaginable boundaries, then you end up inside yourself like a hidden portrait: terrible, disfigured inside, and deadly to everyone around you. "Portrait of Dorian Gray" vividly demonstrates how not to live your life. The book is written in excellent, interesting language. This allows you to immerse yourself in the fictional world of the writer in order to enjoy and feel the terrifying atmosphere of the dark city and the rotten soul of the protagonist. 8 out of 10