Many people envision Hell as a place with demons and torture, but they don’t realize Hell can be found on Earth. People will work to find and exploit others’ fears and secrets. This is just what happens in Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. Estelle, Garcin, and Inez, the protagonists of the play, have all died and gone to Hell. They expect the faceless torturers and punishment for their sins, but they soon discover they’re to be each other’s torturers. Through their actions, Garcin, Estelle, and Inez prove to be prime examples of how people can be Hell personified. Inez arrives hell because she caused her cousin’s death to prevent him from ruining her affair with Florence, the woman they both loved. Leading up to her death, she demonstrated
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He was killed for his views, and he thinks himself a coward because he died attempting to flee from the war. Throughout the play, Garcin comments on what the living are saying when they gossip about him. He worries their opinions of his actions will taint his image and he’ll only be remembered by his cowardness: “They’ll die, but others will come after them to carry on the legend” (39). Garcin believes history viewing him as a coward is worse than being tortured physically, and he concerns himself with his colleagues’ opinions until he is cut off from his old life and the people connected to it. Inez and Estelle quickly discover his weakness and use this to create his image of Hell. Once Estelle has Garcin wrapped around her finger, she decides to tease him, asking, “Oh, you dear silly man, do you think I could love a coward?” (40). Garcin suddenly doubts himself, and believes he deserves Hell solely for being a coward, despite Estelle admitting she was only teasing. Inez, on the other hand, only strikes with hatred, using his fear and weakness to regain the control she desired and taking every opportunity she finds to call him a coward, especially to fuel her own flaw: “Will coward Garcin kiss the lady, or won’t he dare?... Coward! Coward! Coward!” (45). Inez succeeds in attacking him with almost …show more content…
People often continue to pass this suffering along in vain attempts to heal their wounds. Thus the cycle of suffering continues, and it will continue as long as people
He was killed for his views, and he thinks himself a coward because he died attempting to flee from the war. Throughout the play, Garcin comments on what the living are saying when they gossip about him. He worries their opinions of his actions will taint his image and he’ll only be remembered by his cowardness: “They’ll die, but others will come after them to carry on the legend” (39). Garcin believes history viewing him as a coward is worse than being tortured physically, and he concerns himself with his colleagues’ opinions until he is cut off from his old life and the people connected to it. Inez and Estelle quickly discover his weakness and use this to create his image of Hell. Once Estelle has Garcin wrapped around her finger, she decides to tease him, asking, “Oh, you dear silly man, do you think I could love a coward?” (40). Garcin suddenly doubts himself, and believes he deserves Hell solely for being a coward, despite Estelle admitting she was only teasing. Inez, on the other hand, only strikes with hatred, using his fear and weakness to regain the control she desired and taking every opportunity she finds to call him a coward, especially to fuel her own flaw: “Will coward Garcin kiss the lady, or won’t he dare?... Coward! Coward! Coward!” (45). Inez succeeds in attacking him with almost …show more content…
People often continue to pass this suffering along in vain attempts to heal their wounds. Thus the cycle of suffering continues, and it will continue as long as people