Aren't we all Inez?

According to Sartre (and Garcin and me most of the time), Hell is other people. He takes that pretty literally in his play “No Exit.” It begins when three people die and are placed in a cushy little room for all of eternity. This isn’t your typical idea of Hell: the torture isn’t coming from devils or gods but from each other, driving their fellow “roommates” mad. Although the three try at first to protect their image, they soon reveal the awful things they did on Earth. The person who stuck out to me most was Inez. She was selfish, cruel, self-serving, etc… And I saw myself in her. To be a bit broader, I see all of humanity in her. 

I believe Inez is the most realistic portrayal of humanity in the play. She unapologetically exposes what humans tend to repress: the truth that humanity is inherently evil or “bad.” Many artists, philosophers, and even TV show directors have tackled the question of whether humanity is good or bad. And they all come to different conclusions.

The Good Place: “What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is, if they’re trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” 

Community: "This feels so formal. Let's just talk. People are evil." 

(Jeff's opponent in their debate launches himself out of his wheelchair to prove that Jeff will catch him: man is good. Then Jeff drops him when Annie kisses him, proving "man is evil.")

Maybe the reason some are so adamant about proving the innate goodness in humanity is they need some reassurance. Garcin begged Estelle to admit that he was “brave and decent and the rest of it” because if one person told him he was, he would believe it. At the same time, he didn’t have remorse for all the wrongs he’d committed on Earth. We want very desperately to believe that we’re good and we’re making good choices, happily eating up any praise or approval. But we shield ourselves from seeing any harm we’re doing around us. 

What is the solution here? Maybe Sartre tells us with those ugly Hell chairs that we should not get comfortable with where we’re sitting in life. If humans are born evil, we should be working every day to fight against this: not by denying the claim and carrying on with life but by actively choosing “good” decisions.

A visual of the ugly chairs

Personally, believing humanity is inherently evil gives me a little more hope than the other way around. Whenever someone performs a nice act, I can believe that they’re doing that despite whatever naturally “evil” instinct holds so many people captive. And if you’re like me and act solely out of spite, you can feel proud of the fact that any act of good is a fight against the natural order of things. (Go you! Fighting against the man™)