Sartre No Exit Essay

According to Jean-Paul Sartre, he proposed the principle that existence precedes essence. Human beings are independent individuals and are determined by their own will. Essentially, Sartre claims our actions create our essence. Sartre’s idea is effectively exemplified and clearly shown throughout his play No Exit through existence and responsibility In order for a human being to find their essence, one must exist. Humans were not created with a clear cut purpose like other objects such as a phone. For example, in the play Garcin, Inez, and Estelle come to the conclusion that their existence along with the arrangement of the room was designed for a purpose by claiming, “they’ve put us together deliberately...” (9). Garcin, Inez, and Estelle
Garcin mistreated his wife and was shot by a firing squad for desertion, Inez committed suicide with her lover after having an affair, and Estelle drowned her child and catching pneumonia. Thus, none of them were born with a purpose to do what they did. Ultimately their past actions lead them to an essence, to live in Hell. In addition, according to the Six Basic Themes of Existentialism, “Man is a conscious object, rather than a thing to be predicted or manipulated.” Therefore, the human being is ever so changing and cannot find their purpose until they have lived it. Nobody is programmed with an essence at the time of birth. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs also parallels Sartre’s idea. Maslow’s theory consists of a five-stage model. Human beings must first exist