After reading No Exit, I felt really scared. The whole play is absurd and oppressive. There seemed to be a heavy stone falling on my heart. In this article, I want to talk about my own understanding of Hell Is Other People and all the things that come into my mind. Sartre’s idea is not that easy to understand so my opinions may be a little bit shallow but we can discuss together.
The first understanding of this idea is about other people’s judgments. I think it doesn’t mean other people are always bad to you, nor it means other people’s judgments do harm to you. Instead, it means if you cannot judge or control other people’s judgment, you will put yourself at a huge risk. The three main characters care a lot from others’ opinions. They are seeking their own existence from other people. In the play, they mention a lot of times to express their eagerness for a mirror. Without the mirror, they need other people to prove themselves. Garcin needs Inez to prove himself not a coward. Inez needs Estelle to show her controlling desire. Inez needs Garcin to show her own charm towards man. The relationship between these three persons is a triangle relationship. One chases another who doesn’t like him/her which hates the one who like him/her. Not anyone has their real relief. The main source of their pain comes from their demands of others to prove themselves.
This behavior makes me think of some people who get addicted to facebook, instagram and such kinds of social network. They use huge amounts of time to edit their words and pictures, just for a like or a comment from other people. I’ve seen my friend using more than one hour just to edit one selfie which will be uploaded on moments (a Chinese chatting app called wechat). She said she hoped everybody could envy her and thought she lived a successful life. I think is a very horrible attitude. Suppose that success is a fact, you don’t need to and you cannot edit anything to prove it. If it is not a fact, you should judge your own success and never let others be your judge. Otherwise, you will be the slaves of other people. The world is changing so rapidly, you can never follow every trend so that you can not reach your self-satisfactory. All that you get are pains and tiredness. A lot of people live on others’ opinion. Nowadays, in china, a lot of students study finance and economy not because they like but because the society thinks they are good majors to learn. This is not a single person’s grief, but the grief of the whole society.
Hence, in my point of view, our own existence should be controlled by ourselves. Other people’s ideas can be regarded as suggestions. A man is powerful from his inner heart. We should listen to our own voices and believe in ourselves. And I also the society to show respect for different kind of choices. Don’t look down upon someone who is different from us. Everyone can have the freedom to decide what they really want to do instead of following the social trend. In that way, I regard the world can have a more active and happy atmosphere.
Anther understanding of Hell Is Other People is about your own way of treating others. The three main characters are hurting others on purpose so after their deaths, they are thrown into hell. Garcin tortured his wife by his affair. Even he let his wife to listen to those things. Inez killed her cousin to get his wife. Estelle seduced other men even if she was married. She killed the baby she had with the lover which made the lover committed suicide. People should be nice to each other. I think that’s also one point Sartre wants to express to us.
I don’t know how do you understand this idea after reading this play and I really want to discuss with you guys. If you think where I am wrong or you share the same point of view with me, please write it down and we can have a little talk. At last, I want to share a film which I think has a little connection with this topic but I don’t know whether I understand this film and the idea in a correct way. The name of the film is Fight Club. Maybe some of you have already watched it. The main character is seeking himself in my point of view and regardless of others’ opinion.
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