Jean-Paul Sartre was born in Paris on
June 20, 1905, and died there April 15,
1980. He studied philosophy in Paris at
the École Normale Supérieure 1924–
1928. After that he taught philosophy for
a while in a number of lycées, in Paris
and Le Havre.
• Above all else Jean-Paul Sartre is
remembered for his existential
philosophies presented in his writing.
Even Sartre himself referred to his
works as existential. Existentialism is
based on the free will of man.
• The development of Sartre's existential
philosophies came during and after
World War II and largely in reaction to
the totalitarianism of Hitler, who forced
people to support his beliefs or perish.
Because the people of Europe were
totally disillusioned after the war, they
claimed that life seemed absurd and
questioned if there really was a God. As
a result, many of them could easily
accept Sartre's existential beliefs, and
he became a popular writer.
• The Second World War began on 3
September 1939 when France declared war
on Germany.
• The German terms were draconian. North
and eastern France were occupied. Then in
the summer of 1944 the allies liberated
France.
• Faced with the humiliation of defeat and
the suffering of war and occupation, Sartre
examined many of his questions about
existence with respect to World War II. For
example, No Exit, which takes place in a
room in hell occupied by three people who
can't stand each other, has often been
compared to living in Paris during the
German occupation.
• In this context, Sartre examined such
issues as freedom, self-deception, and
the nature of time in the play to help
fellow French men and women cope with
the ordeal of defeat both during the war
and after.
The fundamental premise, , that
“existence precedes essence,” is
a rejection of the Platonic idea that
somewhere, in a perfect existence,
there is the ideal human that we
should all aspire to become.
Existentialism claims that we as
human beings have no model,
blueprint, no ideal essence, or perfect
nature for humans. Rather, we must
forge our own values and meaning
from existing in an inherently
meaningless or absurd world.
Giacometti
• Another characteristic of
Existentialism, is the belief that
humans do have free will. In
our existence, we are constantly
faced with choices, choices from
which we can not escape, since
even choosing not to choose or
act is a choice.
I Can
Choose!
• Existence Before Essence- As Sartre said, “man is
nothing else but what he
makes of himself. Such is
the first principle of
existentialism.” We
discover what it means to
be human only by
existing.
Humanism: The view that people are
capable of free choice, self-fulfillment, and
ethical behavior—and the world is a good
place in which we can flourish.
Existentialism: The view that people have
free will and are responsible for their own
behavior—but our existence is lonely in a
universe that seems to care little for what is
best in us.
• Three characters are trapped in hell,
but there are no instruments of torture
or pits of fire. Rather, the setting is a
living room containing only Second
Empire furniture: there are no windows,
no mirrors, and no signs of the outside
world except for a single, locked door.
• The first thing we have to consider is
whether "No Exit" is an appropriate
translation or not. The title in French is
Huis Clos, which literally means "in
camera" or "in private" or "behind
closed doors."
• Drama, Philosophical Literature,
Psychological Thriller
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Joseph Garcin
Estelle Rigault
Inez Serrano
The Valet - Garçon
Olga
Peter
Gomez
Florence
Garcin, Estelle, and Inez arrive in hell.
They are all alone; they ‘re not especially
aware of the presence of other people. (If
they’re watching other people in the
room, they are in any event not really
regarding them as subjects BUT AS
OBJECTS
No one is willing to admit that they’ve
done anything wrong. “Bad faith” rules
the day as the three individuals try to
figure out what’s going on and what they
should do without owning up to their
actions or making any decisions.
Garcin trys to be hero. But he never make
himself hero, just like that. He can never
define himself in that way.But Inez can
do it to him. She decides whether Garcin
is hero or not. She passes judgment,
projects her values on things — including
Garcin. She sees Garcin as he really is.
Estelle recognize herself in the Other’s
judgments of her — even though she
may not know what they are.
The fact of the matter is that Inez cannot
be defined by the Other’s look in this
way. She is a story that is still being told,
and the attempt to judge the story before
it is finished is just premature. There is
nothing yet to define.
Inez thinks objectivity.Objectivity is
being-in-itself. It is uncreated, it is
self-identical, it is everything that is
non-conscious and non-free. It is
simply what it is.
Everyone breaks down and admits their
crimes. They all figure out that they’re in
a cafeteria-style hell, as Inez puts it, and
are fated to be each other’s torturers.
Garcin then chooses hell, essentially for
all three of them, and resigns them all to
an eternity of mental torment.
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Actually, the paper-knife is a reference to
Sartre’s philosophical treatise, Being and
Nothingness. In the philosophical work,
Sartre explains the fundamental
existential tenet, "Existence precedes
essence."
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Isolation
Lies and Deceit
Philosophical Viewpoints: Existentialism
Freedom and Confinement
Suffering
Power
Life, Consciousness, Existence
Courage
• "Hell is – other people!”
All of the arguments, reasoning, debates,
and questions in No Exit have led the
three main characters – and the
audience – toward this indisputable
conclusion: hell is other people. That’s
why there’s no need for hot pokers or
other torture devices. That’s why hell is
simply three people in a room together.
• If hell is other people, then it is
because we have made it so -- it is
because we have allowed other people
to shape our reality. Our selfactualization, in this hell, is completely
dependent upon the approval of
others.
• Hell, therefore, is not other
people -- hell is being other
people. Heaven is being
yourself...