Date of Award

5-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.F.A.

Degree Program

Film and Theatre

Department

Film and Theatre

Major Professor

David W. Hoover

Second Advisor

James C. Marchant

Third Advisor

Wendy A. Young

Abstract

Throughout No Exit, Sartre’s mirror is key to understanding his characters and philosophy. It is his tool for exploring ideas that are limited by the time in which he lived. Here, the play does what all great works should do: it challenges the status quo and looks beyond what can already be seen. This thesis will use his established mirror metaphor and an expanded mirror metaphor to unearth the true nature of No Exit’s characters.

In setting down the characters’ path, Sartre asks questions that humans have considered for Millenia: Why are we here? Why am I suffering? How can I stop it? Sartre rarely answers these questions in his existential opus. To find them, we shall examine the original existentialist: the Buddha.

Finally, with the nature of his characters and their journey established, I will reflect on the University of New Orleans’ production of No Exit.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.

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