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  • Essay / Props, settings and punishments in Sartre's No Exit

    While in the play No Exit, hell is defined as "other people", it is the setting of hell that will ultimately create the conditions hostile and unstable that the characters find. Sartre places his characters in his existentialist hell so that they learn through their punishments, a strategy by which he intends to expose their inner, self-aware nature until they accept both who and where they are. Ultimately, through the Second Empire salon, the ringing and features like the bronze ornament and the letter opener, Sartre manages to force his characters to collide, judge and mentally torture each other, until until they accept their place in his existentialist hell. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay When the valet tells Garcin that the bell works "capriciously", Sartre uses a playful form of dramatic irony, because the public knows that the bell will not work. It then becomes apparent that the bell and locked door are intended for just that: to trap the characters together and remind them that they have no escape or communication outside of their imprisonment. However, Sartre uses the door near the end of the play to denounce Garcin's cowardly nature. Faced with Inez's judgment, Estelle remarks that she wants to leave, to which Garcin responds; “Go if you can. Personally, I couldn't ask for anything better. Unfortunately, the door is locked. Yet when the door opens near the end of the play, he insists that he "won't leave," even though he asks to be let out. This serves to reveal Garcin's cowardly nature as he is too afraid to leave the company of others and leave his hell. Moreover, “the management” (a sinister and ambiguous term) of hell is so sure of its cowardly character that this group does not refuse to open the door, because it is clear that Garcin will not leave the room. Likewise, sofas are much more than just pieces of equipment designed to fit into the style of Second Empire living rooms. Sartre first uses the sofas to show Estelle's existential flaws. She says: “It’s these sofas. They are so hideous. When Inez offers Estelle her sofa, Estelle adopts a perfectly existentialist point of view, asking herself: “What's the point of worrying now anyway? We have to take what comes to us. She raises the fact that Sartre is trying to show these characters: there is no point in worrying about one's appearance or possible vanities, especially not in hell. Estelle does not immediately stick to this idea and turns towards Garcin's sofa: "The only one who could make a pinch is that of this gentleman", a statement which shows the audience why she is placed in the Sartre's existentialist hell. Also, the sofas force the characters to sit face to face, which clearly bothers Estelle and Garcin, as shown by the remark “You will always see me? by Garcin. Here we see the success of sofas as an existentialist punishment. Garcin wishes to hide from Inez's judgment, and ultimately from the truth that he is a coward, thus acting more cowardly. Inès underlines this reality: “Oh you coward, you weakling, who runs to women to console you! " However, the punishment of being constantly watched proves too much for Garcin, and he succumbs to Inez's pressure and judgment, thus proving why Sartre places him in hell. Due to the confined nature of his hell, Sartre often has his settings overlap and combine to inflict additional punishments on the characters. A good example of this tactic is howthe absence of indicators and mirrors is combined with the sofas. Garcin beautifully illustrates how relentless life can be without blinking: “You can't imagine how restful, refreshing (blinking) it is. Four thousand short rests per hour. This idea is reflected in the sofas in that the characters cannot escape into themselves and their own thoughts and are therefore forced to interact with each other. If there were mirrors, they would symbolize the reflection of the characters' flaws in each other, but, "as there are no mirrors... the characters become the mirror of each other's actions and thoughts . » Estelle, the most vain of the three characters, says: “When I don't see myself, I start to wonder if I really exist. » This statement tells us that Estelle accepts her identity through her appearance. Therefore, we can see how Sartre tries to force Estelle out of her narrow mind and into a more existentialist way of thinking. However, Estelle resists throughout the play and seeks approval. constantly, whether trying to see his reflection in the ornament and in Inez's eyes, or clinging to Garcin to make love to him. She begs, “Look at me, please touch me.” to try to distract herself with Garcin, but she will ultimately find herself without anyone to support her. At the end of the play, Estelle attempts to stab Inez with the letter opener and escape the existentialist punishment of being alone, but that is when she is alone. so much so that she is the victim of Sartre's existentialist punishment. The inclusion of the letter opener leaves both the characters and the audience perplexed. As Garcin points out, “…what’s the point?” It comes into play when Estelle attempts to kill Inez, as she "stabs her repeatedly". Obviously, Estelle is completely unaware that the characters are all dead, as shown by the numerous stab wounds to Inez. Additionally, her determination and belief that she can get rid of Inez is demonstrated by the statement: "Good!...I'll stop her from watching." This is proof that Estelle is locked in her egocentric bubble and does not recognize that she is really in hell. Inez bursts the bubble in her response: “…what do you think you’re doing?” You know very well that I am dead. Estelle can only respond with “death?” We know from the beginning of the play that Estelle has refused to accept her condition, as she demands that the characters call themselves "absent" rather than dead. It's easy to imagine the look of realization that appears on Estelle's face as she fully accepts where and who she is. Using the knife, Sartre manages to offer false hope to Estelle in her narrow-minded state, before he disappears; through the shock, she accepts herself forever in an existentialist hell. Finally, like the letter, there is another prop that apparently has no reason to be in hell. The bronze ornament is described as “horrible”, “a bronze atrocity” and does not fit into a Second Empire decor. So there has been a lot of debate about why Sartre includes it. Introducing the ornament with the quote "I suppose there will be times when I look at it with my eyes." » Sartre implies a troubling relationship between ornament and Garcin. The repetition of “look at the eyes” is used cleverly to show the uniqueness of the effect. that this ornament has on Garcin, just like the particularity of the ornament in Sartre's Inferno. This feeling of oddity is further underlined by: “He walks towards the bronze ornament and caresses it with a thoughtful air. » For the public, seeing this rational man act in a completely irrational manner, under the influence of the inanimate bronze, :, 1995