“There were in him passions that would find their terrible outlet, dreams that would cast the shadow of true evil” (Wilde, 115). The author reveals that pleasure is the driving force behind many of the characters in Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, but this pursuit of pleasure becomes fatal once in the hands of Dorian Gray. Throughout the novel, Dorian Gray changes his opinion on pleasure depending on what he needs to escape reality. He is responsible for every death and misdeed; Dorian must further seek a more drastic form of liberation. His path declines from his innocent beginnings with Sybil Vane, to the pleasure he finds in corrupt relationships, and finally his need to escape the reality of the murder of a former friend. Dorian's view on pleasure changes as his soul deteriorates and often what initially gives him pleasure is later destroyed and he must find another form of pleasure. He uses obsession and forced ignorance to try to avoid the reality of his sins, but ultimately his only escape from his own damnation is death. Dorian Gray's quest for pleasure through sensation and detachment intensifies as the novel progresses and is the cause of the death and destruction of many people as Dorian seeks to escape from himself and his actions. Sibyl Vane was the first causality in Dorian's pursuit of pleasure and while the situation began innocently enough, it turned deadly the moment Dorian's obsession failed to provide him with the pleasure that Dorian had need. While in Lord Henry's library, Dorian reveals that he is in love with Sibyl Vane after only three weeks of dating. “You filled me with a crazy desire to know everything about life… I had a passion for sensations” (Wilde, 48 years old). Dorian has just been awakened to his k...... middle of paper ...... into a pleasure that leads to the deaths of five people and his indulgence in a pleasure that leads to the loss of his sanity and of his soul. Dorian tries so hard to ignore the guilt inside him that he fails to see the repetitive process he is experiencing. He seeks pleasure, destroys or alienates that which gives him pleasure, becomes guilt-ridden and lesser because of his own exploits, and must then find another form of liberation to escape his sins. Pleasure plays a vital role in this novel and has more power over Dorian than his own beauty because pleasure was the basis of each of Dorian's sins. It is not the influence of Lord Henry or a narcissistic personality that kills Dorian, but the pursuit of pleasure, regardless of the consequences, that truly causes the degradation of Dorian's soul. Work cited Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1985. Print.