What themes are explored in Jean-Paul Sartre's plays The Flies and No Exit?

In his plays The Flies and No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre explores fundamental existentialist themes, particularly the nature of freedom, individual responsibility, and the complex interrelationship between the self and others.1

• No Exit: This play examines the concept of the "Other" and the agony of human interaction. Sartre posits that "hell is other people," illustrating how individuals often rely on others for self-definition while simultaneously experiencing the raw hostility of human-to-human relationships. The characters' inability to escape one another highlights the psychological torture inherent in being defined by the perceptions of others.23
• The Flies: Written during the German occupation of France, this work further investigates the tension between individual freedom and collective necessity. It reflects Sartre’s ongoing inquiry into how personal action and moral choice function within the constraints of history and social responsibility.1

While these plays often depict the "raw hostility" of human existence, Sartre maintained that they do not exclude the possibility of a morality of salvation, emphasizing that human beings are most authentically human when they are in action.3