He gave 2 reasons:
1. He had always refused any official awards because he felt that a writer should never turn into an "institution" that would always be associated with the organizations that had given the awards. A writer should be free to express his own views without any restrictions or associations to other than himself.
2. He saw The Nobel Committee as a western institution and he did not wish to "choose sides" in the East-West conflict that was going on at the time. He thought that his acceptance of the prize would associate him with more with the West, and he did not want that.
Other than that he gave praises to the Nobel Committee and had no negative feelings toward them or the prize.
French Author Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964.
Jean-Paul Sartre won The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964.
French writer Jean-Paul Sartre .
Two Nobel Laureates have declined the Nobel Prize!
The French writer Jean-Paul Sartre refused the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, the only person ever to have done so. He explained that his personal belief was that writers should not accept awards which could prejudice their artistic freedom. Le Duc Tho also refused the Peace Prize in 1973 4 others were obliged to decline by their governments, including Boris Pasternak (Literature Prize 1958)
Two laureates have refused the prize. Jean-Paul Sartre refused the Literature prize in 1964 Le Duc Tho of North Vietnam refused the Peace Prize in 1973 when Henry Kissinger was also awarded one after bombing Hanoi.
Jean-Paul Sartre, a French writer and philosopher, refused the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964. He declined the award due to his belief that writers should not align themselves with institutions or accept accolades that could compromise their independence.
Jean-Paul Sartre, a renowned French philosopher and writer, declined the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964. He refused the prize on the grounds that he did not believe in accepting official honors or awards.
Jean-Paul Sartre declined the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, citing his opposition to institutional awards. Le Duc Tho declined the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 as he didn't believe the peace accords reached in Vietnam had been fully implemented.
The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959 was awarded to Salvatore Quasimodo, an Italian poet. He was recognized for his lyrical poetry that reflected classical tradition and the tragic experiences of humanity.
Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace
Many Indians won the nobel prize they are Rabindranath Tagore(Nobel Prize for Literature),Chandrashekar Venkata Raman(Nobel Prize in Physics),Hargobind Khorana(The Nobel Prize for Medicine),Mother Teresa(The Nobel Peace Prize),Subramanian Chandrashekar(The Nobel Prize for Physics),Amartya Sen(Nobel Prize for Economics) and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath