Introduction

"The Wall" is an eponymous short story from Jean-Paul Sartre's book, published in 1939. Sartre was a prominent French philosopher, activist, and writer whose works explored existentialism and political philosophy. Originally published in French, "The Wall" takes place between 1936 and 1939 during the Spanish Civil War. This military conflict began after a failed coup by Nationalists against the Republican government in July 1936.

Although the main characters are fictitious, the narrator is a member of the International Brigades, a real legion of soldiers sent from foreign countries to support the Republicans in the war. "The Wall" was written as a rumination on the meaning of life and a political protest against the Nationalists.

Plot Summary

The story begins with the narrator, Pablo Ibietta, shoved into a bright white room alongside two other men, Tom Steinbock and Juan Mirbal. After three hours of watching other prisoners' trials, the men are presented in front of a table of four civilian judges.

First, they ask Tom if he serves in the International Brigade, which he has no use in denying because they have already found incriminating paperwork in his jacket pocket. They don't ask Juan anything, but he claims they confuse him with his activist brother.

Finally, they ask Pablo if he knows the location of Ramón Gris, claiming they know that Gris hid in Pablo's house at some time during the conflict. Pablo denies the allegation and insists he does not know Ramón's whereabouts. After the interrogators silently write, Tom asks if they are being questioned or sentenced. A guard tells Tom they are being sentenced and their sentences will be communicated in their prison cells.

The guards escort the three men to the hospital cellar used as a makeshift prison. Tom and Pablo know each other from working together in the war. Although they don't yet know their sentences for certain, Tom explains how, in Morocco, they execute prisoners by running them over with cars to save ammunition.

As daylight comes in through the cellar windows, Tom starts to shiver. He gets up to exercise to stay warm, while Pablo admits that he is not cold but has lost all sensation in his limbs.

That night, a major informs the three men they are sentenced to die by firing squad in the morning, and a Belgian doctor will be joining them in the cellar.

When the doctor arrives, he advises the prisoners that he is at their disposal. Pablo mentions that he recognizes the doctor as a member of the fascist group that imprisoned him. He intends to verbally abuse the doctor but suddenly loses interest and all desire to speak.

The rest of the night, the three men feel the crushing weight of their impending deaths. Pablo loses all physical sensation in his body, while Tom loses control of his bladder, and Juan takes a vicious bite of the doctor's hand. Juan fears his execution and the suffering that will come with it, while Pablo becomes removed from the idea of mortality. Pablo concludes that the doctor is not there to assist them but rather to observe the physical declines in the face of death.

Against Pablo's wishes, Tom talks to him throughout the night. At one point, Tom describes what he imagines it will be like as the firing squad takes aim, and he tries to push himself back against the wall to avoid the spray of bullets. He tells Pablo that he can already feel the pain of the ammunition tearing through his flesh.

After a while, the doctor says that he can deliver messages for...