Thursday, October 14, 2010
No Exit
Towards the end of No Exit, there was one particular scene that really stuck with me. When Garcin explains how he feels he is a coward, he states some of the basic ideas of existentialism. He asks, "Can one judge a life by a single action?" Later, he says, "I made my choice deliberately. A man is what he wills himself to be." Sartre speaks through Garcin explaining how man is defined by his actions and those actions are all personal choices he makes while keeping in mind the responsibilities his actions bear. From my understanding, Garcin is saying that what you think of yourself doesn't matter in defining yourself, your actions are the only important thing.
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Inez also makes many comments that concern existentialism including, “One always dies too soon—or too late.” One of the main ideas behind existentialism is that a person is defined by their choices. Therefore, the only way a person could die too late is if they stopped making choices or even started to make wrong decisions before they passed.
I jokingly mentioned "The Dark Knight" in class on Friday in reference to the quotation Olivia posted above. However, I feel that it might actually be a fitting comparison. In the movie, Harvey Dent says, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Just as, according to Sartre's existentialist philosophy, one either dies while still making responsible choices or after one has ceased to make responsible choices, a vigilante (i.e. Batman) may either die while still admired or long after becoming demonized.
I think that by Garcin saying "I made my choice deliberately. A man is what he wills himself to be." that he believes that your own actions are the only important thing. I think though that, what defines yourself/what you think of yourself, is based off of your own actions. So therefore, what Chrissy was saying about how what you think of yourself doesnt matter isnt true because I think that what you choose to do in life is how you form your opinion of yourself.
I would agree with Garcin about actions defining a person. When he says that "a man is what he wills himself to be," I think that he is stating strongly the connections between a person's actions and his or her true moral status. The two women who share the room with Garcin are also ultimately defined by their actions.
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