How Does Jean Paul Sartre Use Metaphor In No Exit
With the thought of Hell comes the spine-chilling red devil with instruments of torture, shrill screams of pain, and an encompassing, sweltering heat. Jean Paul Sartre proves in his play, No Exit, that Hell is not this petrifying scenario that is so popularized, but that Hell is simply other people. He uses metaphors to prove that the characters lose their sense of selves in hell, and have no other way to look at themselves except through the other people present.
Cradeau is introduced to the room, where the bellboy runs down what is different in hell, including the fact that they no longer have eyelids. Once this reality sets in, Cradeau says, “All right, so you have to live with your eyes open” (9) Cradeau utters this powerful metaphor after …show more content…
Inez says to her, “Be what you want, an angel or a monster. You’ll find that in my eyes you’ll be the way you really want to be” (40). Inez is using this metaphor to compare her eyes with a funhouse mirror of sorts, one that …show more content…
However what is changing what Estelle sees is not curved glass, but Inez’s thoughts and words. Without actual glass or mirrors, the characters are left to see themselves in the eyes of the others. This makes it impossible to exist as an individual, as this reliance of the perspective of the other two is needed. The reflection of themselves is not as it truly is however, and the other people in hell use this to their advantage and torture each other. Cradeau comes to the realization that “this is Hell… You remember: being roasted on the spit, sulphur, and brimstone. What a laugh! As if they needed it! Hell is just -- other people” (52). This sentence sums up one of the largest themes of the play, that hell is not physical torture but the presence of the other characters. The three make numerous attempts to escape, to find a way out or any sort of escape; they fail every time, by influence of the others or the strategically designed room in hell. The bell, whose function is not reliable, represents the sole contact they could have with the outside world. The open door was their opportunity to escape, but individually the characters are not strong or courageous enough to face the consequence of freedom.
Cradeau is introduced to the room, where the bellboy runs down what is different in hell, including the fact that they no longer have eyelids. Once this reality sets in, Cradeau says, “All right, so you have to live with your eyes open” (9) Cradeau utters this powerful metaphor after …show more content…
Inez says to her, “Be what you want, an angel or a monster. You’ll find that in my eyes you’ll be the way you really want to be” (40). Inez is using this metaphor to compare her eyes with a funhouse mirror of sorts, one that …show more content…
However what is changing what Estelle sees is not curved glass, but Inez’s thoughts and words. Without actual glass or mirrors, the characters are left to see themselves in the eyes of the others. This makes it impossible to exist as an individual, as this reliance of the perspective of the other two is needed. The reflection of themselves is not as it truly is however, and the other people in hell use this to their advantage and torture each other. Cradeau comes to the realization that “this is Hell… You remember: being roasted on the spit, sulphur, and brimstone. What a laugh! As if they needed it! Hell is just -- other people” (52). This sentence sums up one of the largest themes of the play, that hell is not physical torture but the presence of the other characters. The three make numerous attempts to escape, to find a way out or any sort of escape; they fail every time, by influence of the others or the strategically designed room in hell. The bell, whose function is not reliable, represents the sole contact they could have with the outside world. The open door was their opportunity to escape, but individually the characters are not strong or courageous enough to face the consequence of freedom.