Free Will In Jean-Paul Sartre's 'No Exit'

People have free will [BS]. Men have no true meaning, true purpose, or true significance [Parallel]. Men will forever remain in their own hell knowing that they exist in a meaningless universe. To survive, men contain a single gift: their free will. Free will, however, creates evil, crime, and violence. With complete free will men welcome the opportunities to succeed, but these decisions often lead to the destruction of many [BCS]. Jean-Paul Sartre uses his existentialist piece “No Exit” to express that the universe will force men to accept the consequences of their actions, no matter how horrible the consequence may seem. Existentialists realize the inevitability of harm coming from free will. Men have constant opportunities to excel in

Each deserves hell’s eternal torture because they each consciously chose to harm others in a variety of ways. In the famous words of Jean-Paul Sartre, “A human being is absolutely free and absolutely responsible. Anguish is the result.” (GILLIS) With free will, men choose what they do to succeed. Men’s greed for power and strength makes them do whatever it takes to rise to the top. However, when facing a decision that could bring harm unto themselves, they find the risk too great. When the door to hell opens, the group becomes uncertain and panics. Estelle threatens to push Inez out of the door because she sees Inez as her main torturer; She cannot gain what she wants as long as Inez’s presence observes them in the room. She would commit another terrible crime to gain a reward: her freedom from that torture. Even though all three had the opportunity to escape their hell together, they panicked and closed the door again. “Which of the three of us will leave? The barrier’s down, why are we waiting… shut the door…” (Sartre 42). Inez expresses their uncertainty when they have the opportunity to leave, but the fear of the unknown forces them to remain [BCS]. These terrible souls refuse to accept their punishment for their behavior on earth even though they have come to realize that, if they make the wrong decision, they will have to face the consequences. They quickly realize that the only people

Garcin discussed that he constantly cheated on his wife while alive. She would even make them breakfast in the morning. Although she never stood up to him, Garcin’s wife deserved much better than her trashy husband [PS]. Her trusting and loving nature made her timid in facing her husband and she died loving him. He will suffer in hell through only the remembrance of his terrible personality. “But they won’t forget me, not they! They’ll die, but others will come after them to carry on the legend. I’ve left my fate in their hands,” (Sartre 39). Garcin’s horrible nature through his actions made him infamous in his company and his town. As Garcin beginned life as a simple baby, his decisions made others hate him. His only essence left on earth will remain as a coward and a