No Exit- Part One

Part one: by Jean-Paul Sartre

I started reading this book and already started part two so im going to summarize part one for you.A quiet yet mysterious looking Valet leads Garcin, a journalist from Rio, into the room. Garcin is at first very confused as to what is going on. The Valet is evasive but Garcin then admits that he actually had a habit of living with furniture he didn't like. Garcin then exclaims that this is not what he expected hell to be like. The Valet laughs at Garcin for wanting his toothbrush and asking where the bed is: he has not fully accepted his death. Garcin pretends to be at ease but is frightened by the Valet not having any eyelids.

He begins to worry about having to keep his own eyes open during eternal daylight, especially when there are no books around, but the Valet calmly reminds him that he is dead. As he leaves, the Valet points out a bell that should summon him, but he says that it does not always work. Garcin gazes at the bronze statue for a moment, but then repeatedly rings the bell and tries to open the door. She immediately thinks that Garcin is a torturer, but he laughs at her, wondering how she could confuse him for one of the staff.

Garcin realizes that there are no mirrors in the room. Despite her coldness, Garcin tries to make peace with Inez, explaining that they must be courteous to each other in order to make the best out of their situation. She tells him that there is no need to be frightened since they are already dead, but Garcin thinks they have not yet begun to suffer. She thinks that Garcin is someone else but won't say whom. The same holds true for the other two: Inez suffocated in her sleep from a leaky gas stove and Garcin was shot by a firing squad. Estelle asks them not use the word "Dead," but the word "Absent" instead. Garcin begins thinking about his wife, who does not yet know he is dead. He exclaims that she got on his nerves. Estelle thinks that it is all absurd and that they should be with friends and family instead. Garcin agrees, saying that their being together is a fluke.