The Guest By Albert Camus Essay

When reading the “The Guest” by Albert Camus we find ourselves in the middle of the struggles that a man named Daru. Daru who is a school master lives alone in a schoolhouse. He spends his days teaching children but due to the snow his students “who lived in the villages scattered over the plateau had stopped coming” (Camus 1) One cold morning he see two men making their way to his house and that is when his troubles begin. The choices made by Daru in “The Guest” are a perfect example of what an existentialist would do, and the story as a whole is an attempt by Camus to reflect on the idea of existentialism. Daru is a simple man, he does not want or need much he “lived almost like a monk in his remote schoolhouse, nonetheless satisfied with the little he had and with the rough life” (Camus 2). Most of all “he felt exiled” (Camus 2). He is the type of man that prefers to stay away and not get involved in issues and enjoy his quiet and simple life. Much like Daru, Albert Camus can be described that way. According to The European Graduate School Biography of Albert Camus, after a “relapse of his tuberculosis, and he locked himself in seclusion to write”. Also in the biography by The European Graduate School we can learn that after writing “The Rebel” Camus became kind of …show more content…
The man was “Balducci the old gendarme he had known for a long time” (Camus 2). The other man was an Arab, who was a criminal that had killed his cousin over a family dispute. Balducci then tells Daru that he is leaving and that Daru will be responsible for delivering the Arab prisoner to the jail. Daru as a peaceful man does not like that, "every bit of this disgusts me, and first of all your fellow here. But I won't hand him over. Fight, yes, if I have to. But not that." (Camus 5). Still however Balducci leaves leaving Daru with the Arab prisoner in his