To be free: to have a choice between good and evil. It is easier to do evil because it requires no effort, whereas to be morally good requires constant effort on the individual. However, it is not only the individual’s responsibility but all of humanity to strive for a better self (getting back to the Garden). Humans have been given freedom since the dawn of day- sin came with this. However, in order to have freedom, evil must exist (to have the choice) but really, humans should not be free. If humans are not free then evil does not exist. A lie it self is evil that creates man to believe in something that is not true, basically self-deception: “Frequently this is identified with falsehood. We say indifferently of a person that he shows signs of self-deception or that he lies to himself […] The essence of the lie implies in fact that the liar actually is in complete possession of the truth which he is hiding” (ed. Kaufman, 1975).
So why lie in the first place? Well, humans lie because it is easy but for the most part they are trying to project an image about themselves so that other people accept them. This is how Sartre ties in that Hell is other people; because of others people ideas about, humans become too wrapped up in the image rather than the authentic self. l, lies occur because it is more difficult to face the truth than a lie- people hide their true selves, like the characters.
When does one face the authentic self? Well, when all the distractions are removed, like in Hell. In Hell the characters are forced to recognize (share) their past, knowing that they cannot do anything to change it, but nevertheless, chas to face their lies and the image they have presented to other people (which entirely false and is believed by the characters to be a true representation of the self).
Guess again, the authentic self can only be faced when all the evil is gone- this involves people. But in “No Exit” the characetrs are not going away; therefore they are forced to performe their moral duty towards the good by correcting their sin (original sin).
In short: the play was an excellent showing of Sartre’s philosophy which is viewed as dark and full of death, but in actuality he provides a solution for humans- trust. Trust that you will make the right decision and evil will not push the authentic self away from the individual, which by the way equals existence. So, I made the good choice in going to the play, did you, because you true self depended on it!!!!
What can one to do to correct their original sin you might ask? Well, practice practice practice. Until good choices can be made without having thought involved then evil will still exist. What is so bad about evil anyway? Well, it distracts humans away from their authentic sleves- which they cannot face but rather cover with lies, exactly what the three main characters do in “No Exit”.
It looks like you are a true specialist. Did you study about the matter? hehe