The play by Jean-Paul Sartre seems to suggest that we create our own Hell. Do you agree?

Question

I forgot to name the play. It is titled "No Exit."

Answer 1

Absolutely. We are not in control of what life hands us, but we can choose how to respond.
Your question makes me think of a story I once read about 2 terminally ill men sharing a hospital room. One man was next to a window, and everyday he would describe marvelous scenes to his bedridden, sullen roommate. Families having picnics beneath the trees, clowns with balloons, dogs chasing frisbees, lovers strolling hand-in-hand....he described wonderful, joyous sights in an effort to cheer the other patient.
The man whose bed was away from the window relished hearing about the sights below, but he also grew jealous that he never got to see for himself. One night his friend was struggling to breathe and could not reach his call button to summon help. The other man could easily call for a nurse but he let the man slowly die.
When they took his body away, the sullen man asked to be moved into the bed beside the window. He lay awake all night, eagerly waiting for sunrise so he could behold the happy world below. When daylight finally came, he called the nurse to open the curtains. Outside the window all that could be seen was the faded and weather-worn gray wall of the building next door.

If we don't have beauty on the inside we never see it at all, and all our living is hell in varying degrees.

Answer 2

Well, how can we not create our own Hell, at least here on Earth. We have things we can control and things we can't. But the things we have control over are more powerful and plentiful. To truly be in Hell on Earth you would have to have no control over anything. But one can always control their thoughts and reactions to outside stimuli... otherwise, you'd never know you were in Hell (on Earth) so what's the point?

As for the metaphysical or mythical Hell, we can't know what it is until we get there. But if it is punishment for your sins, as suggested by Christianity, it has to be torture to you, therefore Hitler wouldn't be upset with being in a barren, bomb-laden wasteland or alone in a cell... been there, done that. A pyromaniac would love eternal fire. And so on.

Also, to assume that the sulfur and flame of the myths to be the true Hell is to believe what we want, therefore creating it in our minds.

So, the answer is, yes, we create Hell to punish us in the afterlife or to comfort us in this.

Answer 3

John Paul Jones

Answer 4

Not unless you you mean "we" collectively (sorry, I haven't seen the play.) If you mean "we" as in each of us, then absolutely not. My hell is created by other people. Much like Sartre's. At breakfast.

Answer 5

Well, I do a pretty good job of this, but I have had a bit of help on this. So, all in all I have a very short flowchart of blame for my life and my name seems to be all over the blame side of it.

Answer 6

yes/no. we create our own hell by choosing the wrong things in life. the play just adds more to it...

Answer 7

i have seen/ read the play. but techincally, we DO creat our own hell.

i like sartre.

Answer 8

in one way or another yes, we let others create problems that are thrown on us to solve for them, or we do it ourselves in the name of love or friendship

Answer 9

perhaps I beleave hell is delayed Krama

Answer 10

of course we do, we are also our own worse demons