Who Is Daru A Hero

People enjoy tall tales. They enjoy tales of wonder and mystery. They enjoy shock and awe. Most of all, however, they enjoy a hero. Heroes are the men and women in stories that uphold justice and do the things that others are not willing to do. Through trial, they exhibit the characteristics that readers hope for and strive to achieve in themselves. In doing so, however, most heroes will attempt to satisfy these expectations, while also fulfilling the audience’s hunger for intensity, action, and astonishment. It may seem all too obvious then to say that not all heroes resemble this mold. In Albert Camus short story, “The Guest”, the hero is not flashy. Daru, the protagonist of the tale, wears his heroics in the form of morality and respect, never daring to step back upon his beliefs, nor stooping low enough to treat another person as if they were something less. …show more content…
His friend, Balducci, expects Daru to take the prisoner the rest of the way to the prison. This bothers Daru, however, as he is not given any reason to dislike or distrust the Arab, nor does he see it as his job as a schoolteacher to take the Arab to the prison. He feels no solidarity with the harsh way in which Balducci frames the Arab. Camus writes, “Balducci made the gesture of drawing a blade across his throat and the Arab, his attention attracted, watched him with a sort of anxiety. Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates, their blood lust.” (Camus 1514) Despite the peer pressure of his friend and of the rest of his society, Daru refuses to be drawn into the savagery of war. He understands his moral boundaries, and he stands firm in