THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

READING QUESTIONS/NOTES:

"Hell is other people."

Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day:

- My personal Hell is too much of just that: personal.  That being said, I'll keep that in my mind, and post something a little less graphic to this public blog.  I envision my Hell to be a place where I am trapped under water while being forced to sink further and further into an abyss, and once I reach the bottom, I'd float back to the top.  Right before I immerse from the water, I begin to sink once again, screaming but never heard.  One could probably deduce that I hate both drowning and falling.

Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?

- Have you ever experienced Chinese torture where somebody pokes you in the same spot for a long time until the repetition drives you insane?  Yes, Hell can only be Hell with the consistent repetition.  How could we suffer if we are allowed breaks?

How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?

- Sartre creates a sense of place through his description of the Second Empire room with its distinct emptiness and oddly placed furniture.  I've experienced few sleepless nights where you wish to sleep but cannot, and it's concerning to say the least.  Being unable to sleep is one of the most lethal forms of torture, especially for those who have something crowding their minds.  Garcin does not react too well to this Hell, but he reacts accordingly to his situation.  Everyday habits ARE Hell.  I suppose if you made me go to high school five times a week, I could tell you what Hell really is.  High school is just that "prison" where it is law to attend and compete with the friends who trump your enemies, while your enemies trump your happiness by driving you insane.  Not saying that I have enemies, but high school is not too fun, and I can't wait to move on from it.

Compare how Plato and Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem.  Be sure to analyze their literary techniques, especially their use of allegory and extended metaphor.

- Plato and Sartre both describe limitations to our thinking in different ways.  Plato states in "The Allegory of the Cave" that we are all simply bound to some sort of cavern where we are ignorant to reality, while Sartre presents the thought of existentialism, where he proposes questions that have no answer and create a senseless feeling within ourselves that question our existence.  A solution to these circumstances would not be an easy feat.  We'd simply have to accept all truths as real, explore all truths in order to find reality, and accept death when it comes, giving much thought to the mark we leave on Earth before death but not so much on the contemplation of death itself and the negativity that comes with not being remembered.