The Victorian era was a time of stark contrast in Britain. Britain had suddenly exploded into an industrious power and engaged in widespread imperialism. Cities began to be overrun due to rampant migration from rural to urban areas. The massive influx of urban population, coupled with a massive increase in factories and industrial centres, resulted in increased crime, horrible living conditions and poverty for Britain's lower class citizens. In contrast to this was the still decadent life of the aristocracy and nobility who were transitioning from rural, manorial inhabitants to life in the same city as the lower class citizens they employed. From these circumstances arise the central themes of the Victorian era and what "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde tries to enclose throughout the book; the evils of materialism and the façade of elitism along with vanity and diminished morality within society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde centers on a handsome, wealthy, young entrepreneur named Dorian Gray who slowly delves down a rabbit hole of materialism and immorality. Dorian meets a painter, Basil Hallward, who becomes obsessed and infatuated with Dorian and eventually goes on to paint several portraits of him in decorative costumes and clothing. However, Basil ultimately continues to paint Dorian in a natural state and creates what he considers his masterpiece: an ethereal depiction of a pure man, true to his beliefs and in touch with the spiritual and religious world around him. Yet, as the plot of the book continues, Dorian begins to be seduced by the excessive life in which the social and business elites engage. It becomes consumed with maintaining the proper appearances of a worldly person through an increasingly materialistic lifestyle in order to maintain his image while simultaneously losing one's morals over time which Wilde states “what profit is there to a man if he gains the world whole and loses' - as the quote says? - 'one's soul'?'. Soon, Dorian becomes addicted to drugs, attends rich parties and balls, and seems to never age or accumulate injuries or illnesses. This is due to Basil's painting of him all those years ago, which has become corrupted and tarnished, all while preserving Dorian's youth and purity. The plot of the book addresses two central themes that existed in Victorian era Britain: materialism and its vanity, coupled with the diminishing morals of society over time due to industrialism and hyper-capitalism. The rise of a materialistic culture was the consequence of a socioeconomic stratification between the new aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the wealthy, juxtaposed with a despondent lower class rooted in poverty. The days of old-time nobility were beginning to fade, and appearances were everything to those who wanted to make it clear that they belonged to a different crust than the lower class as “nobility focused on their social appearance rather than their spirituality . or inner self. Beyond that, they perceived idleness as a virtue – a divine gift from heaven bestowed on the descendants of elite rulers. They hate those who worked for a living." People lived unfulfilled lives in the Victorian era as they chased value through possession, constantly living under a social microscope that, through immense pressure, formed a toxic microcosm of society. Dorian Gray doesn't care about anything other than that.