Skip to main content

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere

Yesterday, we went to Blocks Greenhouse in Romulus, and as any curious plant-buyer would, I was able to just take a moment away from my busy life to appreciate the beautiful plants and flowers around me. My parents went there to stock up on vegetables for our garden this summer, while I came to see if there were any cool flowers that we could buy and plant. As I was meandering through the aisles, I noticed something interesting about most of the flowers that I saw. 

Apart from the marigolds (which were fabulously tinted in shades of yellow and orange), most of the flowers fell into four distinct colors: white, pink, purple, and red. At first, I thought that it was merely a coincidence. Maybe these are just the natural colors of the flowers themselves. However, after putting some thought into it, I wondered if these flowers were selectively bred for their color? Are these the colors that people want to see?

It makes sense if this is the real explanation as to why. White represents innocence, a state that no person wants to exit. When we first meet Dorian Gray, he is described as having "rose-white boyhood" and "cool, white, flowerlike hands," showing that he starts off as an innocent and beautiful boy. In the Bible, white represents light and purity, which could show why so many flowers are bred to be white.

The color red was also prominently displayed in the garden. The roses and rieger begonias displayed the most vibrant and lively shades of red, just as Dorian and Sybil's lips and cheeks had in the novel. Red is the color of vigor and passion, and the vibrancy exuded from it fixates the viewer upon the object. People are as attracted to red and Lord Henry is attracted to Dorian.

Finally, I noticed the lilacs, which were grown in shades of pink and purple. Although the lilacs didn't fully bloom yet at the greenhouse (they're more developed at my house), I couldn't help but the remember the Greek myth we learned about the lilac. About how Syringa turned herself into a lilac bush in order to evade Pan, and the implications of Dorian burying his face into the lilac, as he tried to become innocent once again. 

I simply find it amazing that The Picture of Dorian Gray perpetuates the symbolism of colors and flowers from the real world. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 22, 2022 at 10:24 AM

    Wow! This post was amazing! I love how you connected the different plants you witnessed to their symbols in the book. Specifically, I really like how you connected the colors of the flowers to their representation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ruthesh ThavamaniMay 22, 2022 at 2:12 PM

    Nice job connecting flowers from your trip to a greenhouse to symbolism in "The Picture of Dorian Gray." I never would have imagined that an old philosophical novel and flowers could be related, but you did it successfully lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Meth YahampathMay 23, 2022 at 11:22 AM

    Interesting that color psychology in flowers also applies to real life. Also if we ever get quizzed on colors for this book I’m definitely using this as review.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Talking Tamil

In class last week, we looked at two different interpretations on what it felt like to be an outsider society. We read Firoozeh Dumas's piece on what it meant to have a foreign name in America, and David Sedaris talked about how it felt to not understand French in a French class (with a scary teacher as well). I also feel that in some ways, I can relate to these two authors. I grew up speaking Tamil, just as the rest of the members of my family had done. I never went to daycare like other children did, so my only exposure to English for the first four years of my life was the television. With this in mind, you can probably tell I never really had an American accent growing up. In fact, when watching old videos of myself, the first thing that stands out is the heavy Indian accent I had. I never really saw it as a bad thing. One thing you should know about me as a child is that I loved talking. I didn't care who I was talking to or what I was talking about, all I knew was that I...
3 comments
Read more

The Cookie Cutter Model: Preying Off America's Weak

One eating environment that I grew up relatively familiar with was Burger King, the infamous "home of the Whopper." Before I continue with the rest of this piece, one thing I would like to praise Burger King for is its relative honesty. The moment you step into the front doorway, you get exactly what you are paying for. There's no sense of false pretentiousness about it. Take one look around, and you can immediately tell that you have stepped right into a microcosm of corporate America. You're greeted by the sight of workers and cashiers, many of whom are being forced to survive on the minimum wage. Take a peek into the kitchen and you can see, firsthand, the standardization of the food that will be served to you. Pop a patty on the grill and pull it out to serve the people. This process is repeated innumerable times every single day. In fact, it's repeated everywhere as well. Every Whopper made here, in Troy, Michigan, is the same as a Whopper made in Kenya or A...
3 comments
Read more

11-13-2021

 Today, I am unsure on what I should write about. Perhaps I shall write about the weather outside. Right now, at 9:56 AM on this lazy Saturday, clouds roll gently over the sky. The clouds on the right are as white as cotton, while a large gray mass pushes them aside. The day reminds you of an average autumn day: the wind gently swaying branches back and forth, leaves littered on the floor, and cars passing on the road ahead. The day seems calm and carefree now, but I know that the day will soon intensify as time goes on. I have lots of homework that needs to be finished, yet I have such little time.  I cannot spend much of my time to enjoy this pleasant autumn day. It reminds me of the day after Gatsby's heated argument with Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby . The day started off with "gray-turning, gold-turning light," with "ghostly birds" singing among the "blue leaves" of the trees. Contrasted with the heat and the constricting feeling of the day bef...
4 comments
Read more