Jean-Paul Sartre was a 20th century French philosopher and writer who was a leading figure in existentialism. He wrote the play No Exit in 1944, set in a drawing room in hell where three damned souls - Garcin, Inez, and Estelle - are locked together as eternal torturers for one another. The climax occurs when Garcin declares "Hell is other people!" reflecting the existentialist theme that humans define themselves through their interactions with others rather than having a fixed essence.

1. Prepared by: Banwan Ali
Fourth stage of English literature department

2. Biography of Jean-Paul Sartre
 Full name: Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre
Works: He was a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist,
biographer, and literary critic, as well as a leading figure in 20th-century
French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the
philosophy of existentialism.
Born: June 21, 1905, Paris, France.
Died: April 15, 1980, Paris, France.
Influenced by: Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus….etc.

3. Key Facts about No Exit
Full Title: No Exit
Where Written: Paris, France
When Published: 1944
Literary Period: Modernism, Existentialism
Genre: Drama, Existentialist Drama, One-Act Play
Setting: A drawing-room in hell
Climax: Exasperated by his torturous interactions with Estelle and Inez, Garcin declares,
“Hell is—other people!”
Antagonist: Garcin, Inez, and Estelle are all each other’s antagonists.

4. Huis Clos
Literally means “In camera No Way Out, Vicious Circle, Behind Closed
Doors, and Dead End”.
It is a French idiom meaning “all door closed”

5. Plot Of The Play
Three damned souls, Joseph Garcin, Inèz Serrano, and Estelle Rigault, are brought to the
same room in Hell and locked inside by a mysterious valet. They had all expected torture
devices to punish them for eternity, but instead, find a plain room furnished in the style of
the French 'Second Empire'.
Inèz deduces that they are to be one another's torturers.
Garcin cheated on and mistreated his wife, and was executed by firing squad for desertion.
 Inèz is a manipulative sadist who seduced her cousin's wife, Florence, while living with
them and convinced her to leave her husband—the cousin was later hit and killed by a
tram and Florence asphyxiated herself and Inèz by flooding the room with gas while they
slept.
Estelle had an affair and then killed the resulting child, prompting the child's father to
commit suicide.

6. Analyzing Of The Play
Existentialism is primarily a reaction against the traditional philosophical approach to
objective and abstract understandings of human behavior.
Each person is given a choice: will they define who they are on their own or rely on the
other inmates to decide who they are?
Sartre emphasizes the theme of self-deception throughout this section. Even though they
are already dead, both Garcin and Estelle will not admit to themselves why they are in
hell.
Sartre use of the word "play-acting" also recalls the artificial setting of the play itself: no
matter what the characters do, they are still actors and actresses who are "lying" to each
other. There is "no exit" from self-deception.

7. Garcin turns out to have the worst case of "bad faith" of all three characters in this section.
He can't decide on his own that he is not coward, but will only believe it if Estelle says so
herself.
This classic example of bad faith stems from Garcin's complete inability to accept
responsibility for is actions. Rather than acknowledge his freedom to choose his own
personality, Garcin surrenders his free will to other people.

8. Thanks For Listening!