March 27th

         While reading Oscar Wilde's, The Selfish Giant, I thought about the fact that Wilde was an alleged predator to a young boy of 21 years. While he was tried and found guilty of his endeavors, he still continued his relationship into his later years and ultimately only ended the affair when the lovers family demanded it. In this particular story, the giant was infatuated with a young boy who went away after he built a wall and cast the kids of the garden out. 

        All throughout the story, the Giant is sad because the little boy had vanquished, only to be reunited with him later on. The boy is then named as "Jesus" which was a plot twist, especially since I did not know that Wilde was much of a religious person. However, this was not the first time that this form of pedophilia as well as religion came up in Wildes' texts. One could take the Nightingale and the red rose as a metaphor for wanting "worldly things" over those that are good, fair and nice in the kingdom of God. 

        In all of Wilde's stories though, there seems to be no happy ending. Because Wilde had suffered so much persecution and adversity within his own life, I wonder if he identified with his main protagonists and worked his own life stories into the work he became famous for. It took Wilde so many years and so many tries to finally get recognized for his work, so I have to wonder-- why these pieces? Is it because the human brain appreciates the honesty of a "true" and "brutal" story ending? Maybe it is because we see little pieces of ourselves in the humane and unjust lines on the page. Whatever it may be, I think that although twisted and slightly radical, Wilde was onto something when he made these works. Self expression comes in many forms, and I think if Wilde had written a diary instead- it never would have sold. But, making these crazy stories up that seem ridiculous, and hiding himself within a facade, he is able to tell the truth of his life without fear of consequence-- something every artist does in their own way. 

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