Difference between revisions of "Evil-Spring 2012"

Revision as of 11:57, 17 February 2012

Where is the evil in No Exit ?

The evil in "No Exit" comes from the relationships between the people. It is generated by their interactions and found in the torture and pain they inflict on one another.

Each perpetrates evil on the others, torturing them with words, making their lives a living hell.

Evil is in the characters' lack of empathy and Inez's sadism.

Evil comes from the deliberate refusal to give others peace, when doing so has little or no negative impact on themselves. In hell, Garcin desires faith to validate his own life, yet Inez, the only other individual capable of providing this faith, deliberately refuses to give it to him ("you're a coward because I wish it" (44)). Estelle desires shallow love, yet Garcin denies her this. Inez desires power, yet Estelle denies her this. In life, Garcin's wife desires mutual love, but Garcin refuses to satisfy this desire. Estelle's lover desires the life of his child, but Estelle refuses to satisfy this desire. Inez's Florence desires a clean conscience, which Inez deliberately denies her.

People are inherently evil so it's the people being evil and creating their own hell.

There is no morality (or at least a different, and as the characters discover, yet undefined version of morality) in No Exit because all the characters have already died and cannot die again. The foundation of human morality is "I won't kill you if you don't kill me," as most actions and reactions that guide human behavior are hinged on, at least on an abstract and subconscious level, the fear of death. The absurdity of their situation is made apparent when Inez tries to stab Estelle but in failing exposes their immortality and thus the false pretenses upon which their morality (which was well-suited for their previous lives) is based.

"Other people suck; you suck too"

Agreed; back at you

Yeah, everything sucks. Especially when you're in hell

Each person's suckiness is amplified by others's suckiness. T.T

People seem to be predisposed to consider their own well-being over that of others, even if advancing their petty interests is of great harm to others. Inez, Garcin, and Estelle had the power to give each other peace with little or no effect to themselves, but they all refused in order to validate their self worth as they perceived it.

Yeah, everything sucks. Especially when you're in hell. Every person is obviously making this experience worse for the others, but they are also doing it to themselves. By acting as they are, they provoke each other making everything worse for everyone. Each one is being cruel and in turn making everyone miserable including themselves.

"A triangle never works"

Thats a little unfair. It may not work perfectly, there may be some tension, but it can still work, some people do play well with others

agree: a group of four is much better than a group of 3 because people will generally pair off instead of having a dynamic of two against one. In a group setting, rarely do people want to stand alone--for example, in a group of three, the dynamic will generally not be one vs. one vs. one, but rather, two vs. one. The idea that "a triangle never works" is true if trying to create a setting in which there will be a cohesive dynamic. It is not as true in No Exit, where the dynamic trying to be created is one of torture--when Estelle and Garcin pair up against Inez, they are able to torture her more effectively. They are also tortured by their pairing because Estelle relies on Garcin for a release from her torture and vice versa, so if one fails the other, torture ensues.