No Exit Notes/ Study Questions

-Written by Jean Paul Sartre
- known for existentialism: existence precedes essence
- fan of cognitive dissonance

- "People are condemned to be free."

- How easy is it for people to be free?
- Citizens need structure

- Hell is other people

- "I am therefore I am."

No Exit:
- 3 people in afterlife
- names of people are occupations

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Study Questions:

Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day:
I definitely think my hell would be like Dante's Inferno with endless torture. Physical pain would be much worse for me than emotional or mental pain would be. I believe that the mind can be hell, and many would choose that as their worse hell. If you are constantly overthinking and stressing, it's common to have mental breakdowns and that could very well be someone's endless hell. I don't think you can find peace in a hellish place. I do think you can have temporary peace like Garcin tried in this story but it didn't last long and the fact that this hell your in is never-ending would just get to you.

Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?
I think too much of anything could easily be Hell. I can't stand being able to only do one thing, even if its watching TV; I eventually need a change. Humans have short attention spans and too much of anything just becomes boring and begins to drive us insane.

How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?
With the conversation between Garcin and Valet the reader can see his take on this new life and his disgust with the room. And with the additions of Inez and Estelle doesn't help. I think it would horrible to have to spend the rest of your life in a tiny room with other people especially. Your are bound to get annoyed with them eventually and there is no escape. At the beginning, he tries to keep to himself in hope that that would ease the pain, but he eventually breaks down and tries fiercely for an escape. I think just repeating one of your daily activities nonstop would be the worst Hell.