No Exit

62 pages • 2 hours read

No Exit

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1944

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Pages 3-18

Reading Check

1. Which word does the Valet use to describe the type of questions that people ask him upon arrival?

2. Which object in the room does Garcin particularly abhor?

3. Which facial feature no longer functions for the Valet?

4. What does Inez realize about “the way it works” in regard to being tormented?

5. Which item do Garcin and Inez realize that their abode lacks?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. According to the Valet, what type of false stories did Garcin listen to, and why were they “cock-and-bull”?

2. What information does Garcin learn about the lighting of the room? Does this ever change?

3. Summarize the stage direction of Garcin after the Valet leaves. Who does the Valet return with?

4. What subject do Estelle, Garcin, and Inez talk about that relates to all of them? Is there a commonality on this subject? What are the differences?

5. What conclusion does Inez draw about their placement? How do Estelle and Garcin react to this information?

Paired Resources

No Exit (1954)

Read about director Jacqueline Audry’s 1954 adaptation of Sartre’s play.
This connects with the themes Subjectivity Versus Objectivity of The Self, Creating Meaning in Absurdity, and The Possibility of Redemption.
The original French title for the play was Huis-Clos, meaning “behind closed doors.” Do you think “No Exit” is a good English language title? Why or why not?

“Napoleon III Style”

See Marcmaison.com’s overview, including visuals, of the French Second Empire style of décor.
This connects with the theme Creating Meaning in Absurdity.
Based on the text as well as the above resource, create a sketch of Sartre’s set in the Second Empire style. Why do you think Sartre chose this specific style of decor for his play?

Pages 19-31

Reading Check

1. Who breaks the agreed-upon silence, and by doing what?

2. What word does Estelle use to describe her feelings in not being able to see herself?

3. What object does Inez compare herself to?

4. What horrendous act did Estelle do while in Switzerland?

5. Which action does Inez change her mind about and let Garcin do?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Which practical item has been taken from Inez’s purse? How do Estelle and Inez find another solution to their need for this item?

2. How does the group’s various sexual orientations shape the dynamic of the relationships? Describe how the interactions vary in this section.

3. What does Garcin suggest that the three of them do? What information does he then reveal about himself?

4. What information does Inez share about herself? How do the other two characters respond?

5. Consider the way that each of the three characters discuss their own actions in relation to other people. How do they respond to forgiveness and judgment?

Paired Resources

No Exit (1964) (to 2:22 minutes)

View the opening sequence of BBC’s 1964 adaptation of Sartre’s play directed by Philip Saville.
This connects with the themes Subjectivity Versus Objectivity of The Self and Creating Meaning in Absurdity.
The adaptation opens with a montage showing how each of the characters died. Why might the director have made this artistic choice?

“Balancing Act”

Read The Boston Phoenix’s article on the American Repertory Theatre’s performance of Sartre’s play performed in 2006, set on a stage that constantly shifts depending on where the actors stand.
This connects with the themes Subjectivity Versus Objectivity of The Self and Creating Meaning in Absurdity.
How might a stage that shifts with the actors’ movements emphasize the theme of Subjectivity Versus Objectivity of the Self?

Pages 32-47

Reading Check

1. What word does Estelle use to refer to Peter?

2. What does Garcin ask from Estelle?

3. Which country did Garcin try to flee to before his death?

4. Which of Garcin’s peers dies on Earth while Garcin is in the afterlife?

5. What does Estelle try to do with the knife?

6. What is the final line of the play?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Summarize Estelle’s monologue regarding Peter and Olga. What does she observe them doing, and how does this fuel her reaction?

2. What does Estelle want of Garcin? How does Garcin respond, and what role does Inez play in the interaction?

3. What action do Estelle and Garcin do in front of Inez? How does she react?

4. How do the characters’ relationships with the living change throughout the course of the play?

5. Why does Garcin try to leave? Summarize the scene as he attempts to depart the room.

Recommended Next Reads

“Existentialism is a Humanism” by Jean-Paul Sartre

Sartre’s 1945 essay is a clarification on the relationship between existential and humanist philosophies (connects with the third Scaffolded Essay Assignment).
Shared themes include Subjectivity Versus Objectivity of The Self, Creating Meaning in Absurdity, and The Possibility of Redemption.
Shared topics include existential and absurdist thought.
“Existentialism is a Humanism” on SuperSummary

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Beckett’s 1952 play explores the ideas of absurdism in a work of post–WWII literature.
Shared themes include Creating Meaning in Absurdity.
Shared topics include existentialism, relation to Theatre of the Absurd, and notable post–WWII plays.
Waiting for Godot on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

Pages 3-18

Reading Check

1. “Silly” (Page 2)

2. A bronze ornament by Barbedienne (Page 3)

3. His eyelids (Page 4)

4. “Torture by separation” (Page 5)

5. A mirror (Page 5)

Short Answer

1. When Garcin is surprised about the room’s architecture, in particular its “Second-Empire style,” the Valet chastises him for listening to the “cock-and-bull stories” from people who had never been to the afterlife before. (Pages 2-3)

2. Garcin learns that the light is always on in the room, and that the time of day is always daylight, ultimately preventing anyone inside the room from resting. (Page 4)

3. Garcin tries to summon the valet numerous times, by pressing the bell, attempting to open the door, and calling out, with no success. After he sits down quietly, Inez enters. (Page 5)

4. Once Estelle, Garcin, and Inez are all together, they begin to discuss the details of their deaths. They realize in this conversation that they all died at different times, of different causes, and in different locations in the world. Similarly, they were all of different socioeconomic statuses, indicating that there is very little commonality among them. (Pages 7-9)

5. Inez realizes that the reason the three of them have been placed together is so that they will torture each other. This portion of the play ends with the group resolving not to speak with each other and instead embarking on a period of self-reflection. (Pages 10-11)

Pages 19-31

Reading Check

1. Inez breaks the silence by starting to sing. (Page 11)

2. “Maddening” (Page 12)

3. “A live coal” (Page 15)

4. She killed her baby. (Page 16)

5. Take his coat off (Page 17)

Short Answer

1. After Inez breaks the silence with her singing, Estelle requests a mirror, and Inez realizes that her own mirror is gone. Inez suggests that Estelle use herself as a “lark mirror” to apply her makeup. (Pages 11-12)

2. Inez is attracted to Estelle, who, although intrigued, is uncomfortable with the interactions. Inez is then frustrated that she “loses” to Garcin, a “Man,” and Garcin breaks his oath of silence to speak and flirt with Estelle, who also initially rejects his advances. (Pages 13-14)

3. Garcin suggests that the group speak plainly about their pasts. He starts the conversation, admitting in addition to being a “deserter” that he was abusive to his wife, as well as a serial cheater and an alcoholic. (Pages 14-15)

4. Garcin passes the baton of the conversation to Inez, who shares that she seduced her cousin’s wife into an affair, and after the cousin died in a tram accident, enjoyed making fun of his death and absence. While Garcin tries to draw similarities between his own poor behavior and hers, Inez insists that she enjoys when other people suffer. (Page 15)

5. Sartre uses the three characters’ narratives to highlight the fact that none of them are able to use objectivity (i.e., other people’s views of them) to overcome their own problems and grow. In particular, Inez is closed off to outward empathy, while Garcin and Estelle are hurt by others’ comments as opposed to using them for growth opportunities. (Pages 15-17)

Pages 32-47

Reading Check

1. He “belonged” to her. (Page 18)

2. For her “trust” (Page 22)

3. Mexico (Page 21)

4. His wife (Page 22)

5. She tries to kill Inez. (Page 26)

6. Garcin says, “Well, well, let’s get on with it…” (Page 27)

Short Answer

1. Estelle becomes frustrated while describing the vision she sees of Peter dancing with Olga. Highlighting specific moments in the vision, she mocks Olga’s words and implores Peter to see the girl’s true nature. (Page 19)

2. Estelle seeks the attention of Garcin as a form of comfort for herself; however, Garcin recoils and suggests she seek comfort in Inez, an idea Estelle refutes since she is a “woman.” (Pages 19-20)

3. Estelle and Garcin start to become physical, causing Inez to remind them that they “are not here alone” and that she will continue to watch them become physical and that “[her] time will come.” (Page 20)

4. As the play progresses, each character loses contact with Earth, as their ties are severed and they can no longer see vignettes indicating the passage of time. This indicates that people are moving on and the memory of them will be forgotten. (Various pages)

5. Garcin notes that the women “disgust” him, and he rings the bell for the Valet. Initially, the bell goes unanswered, but after he makes several attempts, the door opens on its own, beckoning him to a “passage.” However, Garcin ultimately decides to stay in the room, citing that it is because of Inez (an indication of his cowardice). (Pages 23-24)