No Exit Argumentative Essay

“Fearless” and “fearful,” two completely different words that come from one small four-letter word: fear. Being “fearless” means one is brave and courageous. On the other hand, being “fearful” means being frightened and anxious. Where do we draw the line between being fearless and being fearful? In the play, “No Exit” by Jean Paul Sartre, Cradeau is a journalist who defines himself as someone fearless, however, this is not the case. On the contrary, in the book, “Night Flight,” by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, Riviere is the fearless head director of a mail carrier company who doesn’t stop at anything to get what he wants, even if he has to hurt someone in the process. In, “No Exit,” Cradeau puts up an act that he is fearless when in reality

When the door finally opens, he says: “I’m not going,” (Sartre 48). If he was truly brave, Cradeau should have stepped up and went through the door. Since he was truly afraid and fearful about what was to come, he decided to stay in the environment called Hell, a place he was familiar with. Later, he tries to convince Inez, who keeps saying and judging that Cradeau is a coward. Cradeau says, “It’s the only thing I want. I can’t hear them back there any longer, you know. It’s probably because they’re all through with me. Finished. The thing’s a dead letter. Back on earth I’m nothing, not even a coward. Inez, here we are, alone,” (Sartre 49). It only shows that Cradeau is not a fearless person and is only showing his true weaknesses. On the other hand, in, “Night Flight,” Riviere exhibits his lack of empathy for others and shows how fearless he is when imposing crucial commands to his workers. Riviere calls on Robineau to teach a lesson on how to command a pilot. Riviere tells Robineau, “Write. Inspector Robineau imposes the penalty stated here under on Pellerin, Pilot, on the following grounds… You will discover something to fill in the blanks,” (Saint-Exupery 33).

He begins stating that, “I was executed,” (Sartre 42). The reason why he was executed goes like this. Cradeau informs the General that he is not going to war so he has been placed in jail. Cradeau mentions that “...I got away--I wanted to show them--I--I got on the train--they stopped me halfway,” (Sartre 43). So, he gets a shot at running away. “Fear is the outward sign of his inward state,” (O’ Donohoe 79) so Cradeau shows his fear with his actions. However, when Cradeau has a conversation with Inez and Estelle, Cradeau says that he is a person who is not afraid of anything at all. He says, “I edited a newspaper that had a reputation for telling the truth,” (Sartre 19). “That was my motto,” (Sartre 20). Also, people have called him “a fearless journalist,” (Sartre 20). Even though Cradeau made all of these statements, his action of running away from jail proves that he is a fearful person, not fearless. If Cradeau was not afraid, he might have told the General that he will be going to war and joining the army in the first place. Even if he was put in jail, he should have stayed there and not escaped. A fearless person does not escape, but rather takes risks and does things that he or she is afraid of. A person who is fearless would be Riviere. There is a pilot named Fabien who is supposed to arrive on a given time but he does not. So his wife, Simone Fabien, calls Riviere’s office and asks