Hell Is Other People In The Play No Exit – Free Essay Example

Tragedy is an event causing great suffering and it is considered to be a basic element of modern drama. It is a destructive and distressful in any play it could be an unhappy ending or a downfall of a main character. It is also part of our life and reality. To a certain extent each and every one of us is going to suffer for a certain period of time in life. No Exit is a existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre, 1944 the main character of the play are Garcin, Estelle and Inez. All 3 are placed in hell in a room together; they do not know at the beginning that they are dead. But later on they start realizing what is going on. First that they are dead and they are being torture for what they have doing in the past, in their life on earth. The main characters do not understand how they are being tortured but came to the realization that the absence of torture mean that they are themselves meant to torture each other. Their past put them in the situation they are in; each and every character caused a certain tragedy to other people in their life on earth which lead to their torture in hell yet to their own tragedy. Is being around people torture by itself or is hell considered to be other people? Being trapped with others could be considered a tragedy for each one of them. To Jean Paul Sartre, tragedy is in fact life itself, other people and one’s own.

The three characters in No Exit cause great tragedies to others on earth. Estelle was married to an old rich man but she had an affair with a young man who she got pregnant from and then threw her baby from the balcony. She did not leave the old rich man for her young lover because he was poor and he eventually killed himself. He couldn’t stand the great suffering Estelle caused him. Inez on the other hand, also caused a great tragedy for her cousin’s wife; she ran away with her cousin’s wife and left her cousin all alone. Gracin was a journalist in Rio, that betrayed and mistreated his wife in front of her eyes and opposed to war he tried to run away on a train to Mexico, he refused to fight in the war. He was a coward but couldn’t admit that, he as well caused great suffering to his wife even though she was always good with him and treated him well. She never showed him that he mistreated her of never showed him any pain and that’s what made him go on with what he was doing. The tragedies they have caused for others in their life on earth lead them to be killed and sent to hell, Garcin was shot 12 times in the chest for instance. They were placed all together in the same room in order to torture each other. What bring us to the point that these characters are pretty much considered to be hell to others. Some form of tragedies in No Exit falls into dependency on other people perception of us, the enslavement of others perception of us might cause a big disaster to our life. Estelle for instance, she needed mirrors to see herself while talking so that she can see how people see her and when they were sent to hell she couldn’t because there was no mirrors. She asked Inez to look into her eyes so she can see if she was looking great when she said “but how can I rely upon your taste?” and as if her life and what she is depend on how others see her. Additionally, her need on a man’s attention “But I wish he’d notice me” (Garcin) but Garcin did not give her any, he wanted them to be silent in order not to cause each other any torture. Garcin was afraid to be called a coward and he went begging for Estelle to tell him that he was brave and had his excuses to act the way he did. He was so obsessed what Gomez was talking about him back on earth. Inez knew what’s like to be a coward so she kept on teasing him and calling him a coward which lead to his torture. The third character Inez also was in need to grab Estelle’s attention she wanted her and seeing Estelle that she wasn’t interested in her but with Garcin was destroying her, she went on to say that people aren’t damned for nothing and that they are in hell forever, being trapped in this room for ever is a tragedy for all of them for the rest of their life and there is nothing they can do about it. In short, Garcin said that “none of us can save himself or herself; we’re linked together inextricably”, the absence of torture means they are meant to torture each other’s, the official torture.

Tragedy can be one’s self the person himself, the thoughts of hatred and fear the dark thought one can cause to himself or herself. A person being trapped in his or her own mind is a bigger tragedy, being painfully conscious that you are causing a great suffering, how could you endure this kind of pain. Life itself is a tragedy, being naked, naked right through to your heart and mind in as a matter of fact destruction and distress. As Garcin said how could he endure his own company “how shall I endure my own company?” The reflection of the person as they are in their mind is a tragedy, such as anxiety feeling unease as worrying and fear can have severe consequences on the person’s life and can lead to his downfall or destruction. Disgusted of one’s himself, anything would be better. The fact of self-realization as being trapped in your own mind for something that happened or an act that you have caused to someone can lead to self-destruction and it can be fatal.

Finally, as a conclusion for Jean Paul Sartre life itself is a tragedy. Caused by other people or one’s self, the consequences can be destructive and lead to the downfall of the person, regardless in reality or in modern drama. In this case, Jean-Paul wanted to show the tragedy that you cause for someone will be eventually come towards you in many different forms. Hell is not only other people but we as human beings cause other’s suffering, and we cause ourselves a form of tragedy.