Class Notes: “The Guest” by Albert Camus
Examining the story from an analytical perspective.
Summary of the story:

“The Guest” combines the appeal of an adventure
story with that of a mystery story. The schoolmaster,
Daru, is ordered to house a murderer overnight and
then to take him to government officials in Tinguit.
He despises the Arab for resorting to murder and for
permitting himself to be caught, yet he considers his
own role to be dishonorable and humiliating.
Recognizing their common humanity he treats the
criminal like a guest and puzzles over how best to
reconcile his respective responsibilities to the Arab,
to France, and to himself. He decides to provide the
Arab with the means and knowledge necessary either
to escape or to deliver himself the proper
authorities. Seeing that the Arab is traveling toward
Tinguit (towards jail and the authorities) the Arab’s
compatriots leave Daru a message that blames him
for the Arabs fate and threatens him with retribution.
Daru is now vulnerable and alone.
Camus’s Everyman
Daru is Camus’s is Everyman, in love with the beauty of
the universe and the pleasure of simply being alive.
 He struggles to remain true to the moral principles by
which he lives, respecting the needs of all people to
determine the course of their own lives. However, the
outside world will not let him remain neutral in an
escalating political struggle.
 Human contact forces people to commit themselves, to
take risks, and to fight for what they believe in. He views
turning in the Arab as contrary to honour and therefore
humiliating because the Arab’s crime is neither a
personal nor a political threat. Moreover, he does not
want to be responsible for delivering the Arab to a
possible death sentence, a punishment that he considers
to be a crime against nature. In the end, he feels alone in
a hostile world.

Daru
Daru lives in an isolated area, where few
people are involved in his life. He is
independent and self-reliant, preferring
isolation to the intrusion of society.
 Daru most values his independence in being
true to his moral principles. His is a selfimposed exile because he does not like
usual human relationships, which he
considers greedy, hateful, and bloody.

Daru cont.
Daru hates murder as unnecessary and
irrevocable. He also is angry that the Arab let
himself get caught, causing Daru to be
burdened with the responsibility of dealing
with him.
 Daru treats the Arab as a guest because he
believes all people are related through their
common humanity. He also does not fear the
Arab, since the man's crime was the result of
a family squabble.

The Main Conflict

The principal conflict, which is internal as
it occurs in his mind, is whether or not to
turn the Arab over to the authorities.
Daru resolves it by giving the Arab the
choice. When the Arab chooses the
authorities instead of freedom, the other
Arabs blame Daru.
Why turning in the Arab is dishonorable
and humiliating.

Daru views turning in the Arab as contrary
to honour and humiliating because the
Arab’s crime is neither a personal or
political threat. Also, the Arab’s fate may be
death, and Daru does not want to be
responsible for a punishment he considers
to be a crime against nature. He is caught
with the paradox of detesting the Arab for
his crime and being the cause of the similar
crime if he turns the Arab into the
authorities.
The function of Balducci.

Balducci is a foil for Daru. Balducci
performs the task he does not like
because it is his job. He, too, is careful not
to hurt the Arab. The freedom of choice
that Balducci gives Daru foreshadows
Daru's offer to the Arab.
Point of View

Camus uses third person limited
omniscient, with the center of
consciousness located in Daru's mind. As
a result, the reader knows only what
Daru thinks, sees, and hears. This creates
suspense and immediacy.
The relationship between political
setting and plot.

Balducci's talk of an imminent Arab uprising
and police mobilization makes the Arab's
crime and his village’s agitation over his
whereabouts sources of fear and
uncertainty. Balducci does not think that the
Arab is politically involved, but he can't be
certain. In addition, the political situation
forces Daru to choose between his
identification with French culture and his
love of the Algerian land and people.
Symbolism of the Landscape

The landscape symbolizes Daru’s
independence; now he will be forced to be on
the French side, and for his own safety, he may
have to move into town. His place in the
universe is no longer what it was, an island
separated from society by his attitude and his
location. A darker reading is that Daru will be
killed to avenge the Arab's death.
Irony
The French treat the Arab like a criminal when
he is no apparent threat to the French
colonists.
 Daru thinks that his neutrality makes his
position safe.
 Despite Daru's rejection of the responsibility
that Balducci places on him, the Arab's
compatriots blame Daru for the Arab's
decision.
 Daru detests the Arab because of the Arab's
crime, yet if the authorities kill the Arab, Daru
will have inadvertently played a role in the
Arab's death.

Theme
One cannot lead a moral life and remain
uncommitted and impartial. If one does not
choose sides, society will make that choice.
 Camus is interested in the plight of a human
being who hates violence and who wishes
to lead a moral life in a world filled with
destructive actions.
