1. Compare and contrast the characters of Inez and Estelle, showing how they represent various aspects of Sartrean existentialism. 2. Discuss the role of love in No Exit. How is it significant to the central theme of the play? 3. Show how Sartre uses the “triangle” to create dramatic tension […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsCritical Essays Sartre’s Dramatic Formula
Sartre’s early plays reflect a formula which he described in a 1940 essay entitled “Forgers of Myth”; in this essay, he analyzes the French drama of the Occupation and of the post-war period. He advocates a particular type of drama, one which is short and violent and which is centered […]
Read more Critical Essays Sartre’s Dramatic FormulaCritical Essays Sartre’s Political Ideas
Sartre was a leftist thinker throughout his entire life, and after World War II, he moved more and more to the left, expressing himself in increasingly difficult publications, and often in a language accessible only to a select few. He rejected the idea of class and attempted to strip away […]
Read more Critical Essays Sartre’s Political IdeasCritical Essays Sartrean Existentialism: Specific Principles
In order to simplify things even further, one should study a point-by-point list of existentialist principles. This is a summary useful for understanding several of Sartre’s works, and it is representative of his major ideas. The Problem Existence is absurd. Life has no meaning. Death is the ultimate absurdity: It […]
Read more Critical Essays Sartrean Existentialism: Specific PrinciplesCritical Essays Sartrean Existentialism: An Overview
In learning about Sartrean existentialism, it is helpful to recall data about the climate in which Sartre grew up. Recall for a moment the sadness of his childhood when no one wanted him for a friend. Recall his heavy dependence on a fantasy life as an escape from a world […]
Read more Critical Essays Sartrean Existentialism: An OverviewCritical Essays Existentialism before Sartre
Sartre was not the first to elaborate a system of existentialism. The question of existence has preoccupied humankind since its beginnings, and as early as the Bible, free will has been a major concern. One reads in Ecclesiasticus (15:14) (in the Apocrypha) that “God made man free in the beginning, […]
Read more Critical Essays Existentialism before SartreJean-Paul Sartre Biography
Personal Background Jean-Paul Sartre was a novelist, playwright, and philosopher. His major contribution to twentieth-century thinking was his system of existentialism, an ensemble of ideas describing humans’ freedom and responsibilities within a framework of human dignity. That is, he evolved a philosophy which concerned itself with existence in all its […]
Read more Jean-Paul Sartre BiographySummary and Analysis Section 7
Summary Garcin wonders if Estelle thinks that he was a coward for being a pacifist during the war. He wonders if he fled (“bolted” toward Mexico) because he was against war or because he was afraid. He decided, after he was caught, that his death would finally settle the matter, […]
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Summary Inez does not wish help from Garcin, but he argues that the three of them are inextricably linked together: If all three of them don’t cooperate, they will all suffer. But Inez lacks sufficient “human feeling” and can no longer give anything. Interestingly, they all see what’s happening on […]
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Summary Estelle is taken aback by Inez’s offer to serve as her “mirror.” She wants Garcin to intervene, but he remains buried in his hands; Inez says that he doesn’t count. Inez helps Estelle with her makeup and says that it looks much better than when she entered: She now […]
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