No Exit

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Recommended: What was jean paul sartre's point in writing no exit

A piece of literature often contains an author’s thoughts on the world surrounding him/her. The author usually explains how a certain aspect of life affected them in one or another way. The author can also explain a need for a transformation in the world, usually through action or a philosophy. One play that explores an author’s thoughts is Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. In No Exit, three damned souls, Garcin, Inez, and Estelle struggle to reside with each other due to existential crisis. Based on a thorough analysis of existentialism and the play, Jean-Paul Sartre wants his readers to realize that there is no God and that humans must accept their responsibility for their existence. One aspect of existentialism that Sartre portrays in his …show more content…

At the beginning of the story, three characters, Garcin, Inez, and Estelle are thrown into a mysterious room with no windows and a door that will not open. Throughout the play, Garcin was tired and angry at the two girls for bothering him and calling him a coward. Subsequently, he decided to open the exit door. When it opened, Inez told him that he could leave. Surprisingly, Garcin decided to stay. When asked why, he exclaimed, “So it’s you whom I have to convince; you are of my kind. Did you suppose I meant to go? No, I couldn’t leave you here, gloating over my defeat with all those thoughts about me running in your head” (29). Garcin did not leave the room because Inez and Estelle would consider him as a weakling. He wanted to stay in the room and show Inez and Estelle that he is not a coward and that he can stand up to them. Instead of leaving the room and put his own existence first, Garcin decided to stay. Garcin is essentially letting himself and other people put essence before existence. Similarly, Estelle also played a …show more content…

Throughout the play, Garcin displays a considerable need for others’ opinions, essentially turning into a being-in-itself. When Estelle wanted Garcin to love her, Garcin told her that he needed a commitment. He exclaimed, “Now listen! I want you to do me a service. […] A thousand of them are proclaiming I’m a coward; but what do numbers matter? If there’s someone, just one person, to say quite positively I did not run away […] well, that one person’s faith would save me. Will you have that faith in me? Then I shall love you and cherish you for ever” (27). Garcin should have never asked Estelle’s opinion concerning his behavior. If Estelle knew he was a coward, she would have not loved him in the first place. Garcin’s desperate need for opinions made him a being-in-itself, vowing for inanimate objects, an aspect of bad faith. Estelle also displayed a being-in-itself in various ways. Estelle was angry when Garcin refused to grasp notice of her beauty. She decided to wait for his answer. She said, “I’ll sit on your sofa and wait for you to take some notice of me. I promise not to bother you at all” (23). The reason why Estelle wants Garcin’s attention is that she likes him. She wants him to provide her an opinion of herself. Essentially, she begs him to gaze at her as an

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