Oscar Wilde’s “House Decoration” is an historical non-fiction piece written with the primary purpose of demonstrating what Oscar Wilde thought about art and discrimination between artists. The style of this work is a kind of storytelling from the perspective of Wilde himself—a style that emphatically displays his intense emotions regarding the topic. In this nonfiction, there are two faces Wilde seeks to paint before us: one face is showing what is art and on the other face, the discrimination between artists is intentionally reflected. The theme of this work is that everything should be equal and there should exist no intolerance. Wilde continually implies that handicraftsmen are not receiving the same treatment as other artists; and though it may seem that this text is simply about fair dealings with artists of all kinds, it truly applies to men of every vocation.
As our team investigated this work, we proceeded under the idea that art relates to everything. Thus, as Oscar Wilde elaborates upon the discrimination between artists, he also states that there is discrimination in every context. Wilde says true art is a state of mind—a kind of heart—not only thinking and skills. This means art should be the result of an artist’s sincerity and love of their creation. Wilde also says art requires a healthy atmosphere. Simply, he is saying that artwork is the creation of artists who are in the free and unlimited art world. But even in that small field, there is great discrimination and difference between artists. Some artists were not treated well. Some others were not able to create their work because they were in a limited environment. Worse, handicraftsmen were receiving the lowest possible hospitality. Though they worked in the realm of art, they were treated as dogs in comparison with those considered to be performing high art like painters or sculptors. As a result, most handicraftsmen were in a poor economical location because of people who didn’t know the beauty and value of them and judging their value in society without knowing anything.
Sadly, that’s only a minor taste of the discrimination Wilde explains. Through even further analysis, it is evident that Wilde also informs us that the citizens of the U.K. didn’t treat handicraftsmen very well—it wasn’t just other artists. This was the piece of evidence that truly convinced our team of Wilde’s true theme. There was discrimination in British society and most of the artists during that time period were poor. A decision to describe the mistreatment by a greater multitude was an intentional choice by Wilde to emphasize the widespread nature of his issue, thus leading the audience to truly believe that there should be no hatred attributed to difference between people.
The idea that everyone should be accepted, regardless of class or stage of profession truly captures the essence of this piece. Wilde makes statements about the social issues in the artist’s world, but really explains so much more about human nature. Every one of us should respect the other, and our treatment of our fellow man should not be based upon the money we make or what we do for a living. Wilde seemed to understand this, and saw the inner beauty of man, not his outward circumstances.
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