Jean Paul Sartre No Exit Sparknotes

No Exit is a satirical play written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1947. The play is about three characters, all who have died, and arrived in Hell. They expect torture mechanisms and are instead placed into a room empty except for three couches, a small paper knife, a mantle, and a bronze contraption on top of it. A man named Garcin is the first to be in the room, a women named Inez is brought in shortly after, then finally a woman named Estelle. Garcin begins to shed his civilized manner and blossom into the coward and wife abuser he was at his ignominious death. Inez is the first to comprehend the punishment they are the recieve. She also realizes that their characters are so well balanced that there is no possibility any of them will be able to alter the punishment inflicted on the two others. Inez
Throughout the play, the element of time is used in a distinct way. The idea that all three will be stuck together forever is present throughout the play, as well as the idea that time is moving faster among the living than it is for those in Hell. Garcin is a journalist from Rio and the first to arrive in the room. He was shot twelve times by a firing squad for attempting to desert during a war. He is the best of the three prisoners at dealing with damnation. He recognizes that the three of them have been grouped together to make each other miserable and thinks that each of them should remain silent in their respective corners. He continually tries to make peace with himself and the people he hurt during his lifetime throughout the play. He does not question his damnation, easily recalling how awful he had been to his wife. When given a chance to leave, he chooses to stay, hoping to convince Inez that he is not a coward. The element of time is first seen in Gracin’s character. Being the first into the room, he notices that