PODG #1

"When I like people immensely I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them"(Wilde 6).

This is very true. A person's name is their most valuable possession, as it serves as part of their identity. Some even believe that knowing a person's name gives you a certain power of them. One should never throw around another person's name as they would their own. The only person who has rights to a person's name is the owner of the name. Many consider it rude to mention anything about a person while that person is not present, so I can understand why Basil would not want to reveal Dorian's name. The fact that Basil is an artist makes his attachment to Dorian's identity that much stronger, as artists enjoy a world of secrecy. Basil knows how he would feel if someone were to tell a stranger of him, and thus believes it tactful to not mention Dorian's name without the consent of Dorian himself.