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Savannah Staubs
Ms. Samuels
English 10
5/17/2009
Literary Criticism Paper
It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in
any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing
could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a
habit of muttering to yourself—anything that carried with it the
suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to
wear an improper expression on your face… was itself a punishable
offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak:
facecrime… (Orwell, 62)
The main character of 1984, Winston, had to constantly watch his back and make
sure that he didn’t step out of line with the government, or he would get into serious
trouble. The two novels chosen are No Exit by Jean-Paul Satre and 1984 by George
Orwell. The setting of 1984 is a futuristic society in which one has no control over
their own life or personal freedoms, because the government is constantly watching
him/her. If one disobeys, then that person most often gets tortured brutally and erased
from society. No Exit takes place in hell. The three characters, Ines, Estelle, and
Garcin, are each their own punishment. In 1984 it’s Winston who is trapped, and in

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No Exit it’s all three of the main characters. Both novels have he same theme, yet it’s
conveyed in different ways. In each novel the characters are trapped in some way.
There are many examples of how No Exit displays the theme of being trapped.
“Estelle would constantly look at herself in the mirror and see herself as others see
her.” (Kern, Edith 457) This quote means that she cares about what other people think
about her and how others see her. She was trapped by other people’s perception of
her and could not be her true to herself because she constantly had to appear perfect
to the outside world with good looks and a good reputation.
In No Exit the characters are in hell partially because of their guilt. “When the
doorbell out of hell opens, and the characters are given a chance to escape, it is their
inability to do so that makes them truly and with finality guilty in Sartres eyes.”
(Kern 456) The characters are weighed down by their guilt, too much to escape.
Because Garcin’s vision of himself was blurred by intellectual clichés, his life lacked
honesty and true freedom. He is unable to free himself from empty rationalization.
Ines believes in destiny and fate. “Ines believes that everything in life is
predetermined.” (Kern 457) Even before death, Ines was trapped by her own destiny,
and the niche that society has assigned her.
Another way the main characters of No Exit are trapped is literally. They cannot
escape from hell. “The setting of the novel is hell.” (Murphy, Bruce website)
Condemnation on the play’s melodramatic level is obvious and simple, as Edith Kern
says on page 456. Although they are not in the typical hell, with fire and lost souls,
they are still trapped eternally in a locked room with people they cannot stand. “Hell
is other people.” (Kern 458) On the very last page of the book, when Garcin says,

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“continuons”, it really gives readers the gist of how the characters are utterly and
perpetually trapped. “…seems to epitomize the hopeless, eternal condemnation of the
play’s three characters to a hell which they cannot escape.” (Kern 456)
The characters in No Exit are, in addition to being physically trapped in hell, are
metaphorically trapped inside of themselves. This is because even though they are
physically with one another, they are alone in that they have nobody to relate to,
nobody who understands them for who they are and can help them with their
problems. Thus, they are trapped inside of themselves, left to ponder their own
thoughts.
In No Exit the characters are very tortured. “Man turned into an object by the
eyes of his fellow man, the other, who also serves him as a mirror confirming his
existence; man robbed of his freedom, immobilized, congealed, and even tortured as
he is aware of the consciousness of the other.” (Kern 456) The man turned into an
object is probably Garcin, and he’s turned into this object by Estelle. Ines serves
Estelle as a mirror. Finally, Ines is tortured as she cannot become romantically
involved with Estelle.
Literary criticism shows that 1984 supports the theme of being trapped, in a
variety of ways. “Winston is trapped in his society which is a political nightmare.”
(Seymour-Smith, Martin 1,978) This means that Winston cannot escape the terrible
conditions of his culture and surroundings. He can’t do things that people today take
for granted, like flirting with people, criticizing the government, or even dreaming
about disliking the government. He’s trapped in his society.

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In 1984, Winston is restricted as to what he can say, do, or think. “Winston
cannot speak of his odium of the government or he will be arrested by the thought
police.” (Seymour-Smith 1,979) If he expresses his true feelings then he will be
imprisoned. Also, “He must struggle to free himself from an all-encompassing,
malevolent society.” (Seymour-Smith p. 1,980) Winston’s secret thoughts against the
government are trapped inside of his head, and any sign of these thoughts escaping
can get him killed or brutally tortured.
When Winston is in the ministry of love he’s physically trapped within the
confines of his cell. (Seymour-Smith p. 1,979) This is similar to how in No Exit all of
the characters are trapped in hell. It is nearly impossible to escape either, so the
characters are prisoners.
quot;Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your nervous system. At any moment the
tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom.quot; (Orwell
67) This quote shows both the fear caused, and absolute power, put into effect by Big
Brother. Winston was truly trapped by this fear, and could not escape it. In No Exit
the characters are physically trapped in the setting which is hell. Both display the
theme of being trapped, whether physically, in the case of the ministry of love, or
emotionally, in the case of the cast of No Exit being held back by their guilt. In the
end, though each novel is different, the underlying theme is the same.