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Isolation and Its Philosophy in The Guest

The Guest by Albert Camus uses communication to portray the isolation that humans

experience at hearing, the idea of absurdity, moral distress. In the entire story, there is the

acceptance of responsibility affiliated with humans while attempting to realize the purpose of

life. Camus embraces a unique aspect of philosophy that encapsulates absurdity. The tradition of

Western over the years has always believed that man is capable of imparting sensibility into the

world. However, Camus denies such an articulation. He believes that everything should have an

ultimate meaning which they dont; there are no values considered universal except the ones

making up freedom and life (Hochberg 90). Camus believes that every person should dedicate

their life to preserving these tenants and escaping death as much as possible which he attests to

be the end for humans. Through his writings, we see the need for retaining a sense of worth

while acknowledging the truth that value is just an empty terminology. This short story gives a

presentation of the various elements of his philosophy as well as the characters morals.

The environment setting of the story produces an isolation feeling and solitude. Daru

teaches in a school house situated on top of the plateau in the cold mountains. The distance

seems far from anything affiliated with Darus preference. In fact, the story mentions that he was

living in the distantly remote region like a monk, but he was satisfied with the rugged life and the

little he had which made him feel like a lord. This form of isolation pertinent to the school house

helps to create an illustration regarding how everyone can be isolated from anyone. Nevertheless,
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the isolation deviates from the saying that no man is an island as according to Camus

philosophy everyone in isolation has the ability to feel satisfied with how they exist.

Daru is the protagonist of the story, and he is a mystery who shows no shortage in the

interception regarding what he stands for:

. Some critics view him as an existential hero who demonstrated the living
ways of being with others that stand in contrast to the blood fury that has
commenced overtaking the country. others view him as an agent of French
oppression who extends the ideologies of colonialism, ethnocentrism, and
racism.and still other people view him as another thing in between.
(Muhlestein 223).
The varied views provide a manifestation regarding the absurdness in Daru. Throughout

the story, he is portrayed as a constant conflict which illustrates how one can struggle with free

will. Daru refuses to comply with Balducci upon being requested to deliver the prisoner as he

sees that it is not his responsibility. Balducci makes him know that it is a time of war and

therefore he has to take more responsibilities to support his condition. This in many ways shows

the willingness of a man to attain freedom, but other obstacles seem to overpower him. In the

story, the France is at war, but in life, human being seems to be at war too with his desperation.

Daru is deemed to advocate for mans freedom through his interaction with the Arab he is

supposed to deliver to the police headquarters to be persecuted for murder. When Balducci

arrives with the Arab and are about to have tea, Daru shows concern for the captive state of the

Arab and even asks Balducci to untie him. When he inquires about the crime the Arab has

committed, Balducci tells him that he was involved in family disagreements with his cousin and

ended up murdering him. Balducci states that his kin was hiding the Arab and so it took them

almost a month to discover his hiding place. This shows that the murdering was justified

according to Arab customs thereby leading to the hiding. Nevertheless, it is possible to infer that

the arrest followed the Laws of France. Camus denotes that Balducci gestured the cutting down
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of the Arabs throat which made him (Arab) look in anxiety. In support, Daru felt a heightened

anger against the man and all the men who had a similar behavior including their hates and blood

lust. If you read this part quickly without a second thought, it would be easy to conclude that

Daru was highly vexed. However, a closer reading would divert the thoughts to show that his

talk was focused on Balducci. Daru could be acquainted with the motives that agitated the Arabs

actions leading to the view of seeing the innocence in him and that his arrest was just as a result

of misunderstanding. Furthermore, his failure to speak French rendered him powerless regarding

his case. There is a parable seeming evident at this point regarding how man can be willing to

attain freedom, but silence before the cosmea he exists condemns the pursuit of this freedom.

Daru never wants to decry the man, so he gives him numerous opportunity to get away

and even unbinds him hoping that he will run away. The Arab resorts to stay. Daru gives him

warm treatment including letting him have his bed. Daru still sees the humanity in the Arab.

Every time the Arab wakes up at night Daru thinks he is planning a move only for him to use the

bathroom and come back. The empathy he shows for this man makes him not to want the

responsibility of killing him. He believes that letting the Arab make his own choice will put his

conscience to rest (Minor and Brackenridge 79).

Many readers tend to show a derogative view of the Arab. There are various ideologies

affiliated with him such as primitivity, brutal and dimwitted to some extent (Griem 95). From a

critical perspective if the actions of the Arab can be viewed from the perception of his

background then it would be arrived at the conclusion that he is a nobleman. By looking at the

reason why he killed his cousin, it turns out that it was a premeditated murder which involved a

chase. Griem (95) questions what can be obtained by treating such a reply with seriousness.

Could it be that the running away of the cousin from the responsibilities accorded to him lead to
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loss of honor to him and the family? And could it be that the prisoner was upholding the custom

by running after him and killing him?

The Arabs act from such a perception could be viewed as the rightful thing. It is possible

to understand now why he never runs away despite having several loopholes. He never wants to

be like his cousin. To him, these are false accusations, and therefore there is no need to run away

from them. He has his moral which he understands better and is somehow different from the

world he is in at the moment. At one point Daru asks him whether he is remorseful for the action

he did. In response, he wears an astonishing facial expression claiming whether he should feel

remorseful if the killing act was honorable. According to him, there should be no form of regret

regarding what he did as that could be viewed as meaningless, irrational, and perfect incongruous

form of response (Griem 95). The kind of stare he uses to respond to Darus question should lead

to the conclusion that he is stupid or ignorant. Rather, he was just attempting to figure out the

purpose of the question as to him it appeared to be irrelevant. Purposefully enough, he fails to

understand that in the French minds he is an evil character worth to be punished by death. His

mindset of thinking that he was right eventually led to his death as he forgets that he is in the

French land where such acts are categorically viewed as a crime. So, as he goes to the Police

headquarters, he expects to be found innocent and pass through a fair trial. If he ran away and

sorted the shelter of the travelers, then his conscience would judge him for being a coward and to

a greater extent a criminal. Griem concurs with this saying that the hospitability that Daru

portrays is a way of treating the prisoner in the most reputable way. This struck a chord in him

leading to an automated response in the code of honor he asserts despite his lack of acquaintance

with another cultural identity. Such a moral tension causes distress within the characters.
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The Guest forms a magnificent way of acquainting ourselves with the Camus attempt to

use communication to portray the isolation that humans experience at hearing, the idea of

absurdity, moral distress. The environment in which the story is set shows this along with the

relationship between Daru and the Arab man.

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Works Cited

Griem, Eberhard. "Albert Camus's "The Guest": A New Look at the Prisoner." Studies in Short

Fiction 30.1 (1993): 95. Print.

Hochberg, Herbert. "Albert Camus and The Ethic of Absurdity." The University of Chicago

Press 75.2 (1965): 87-102. Print.

Lim, Shirley, and Norman A. Spencer. One World of Literature. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin,

1993. Print.

Minor, Anne, and Barbara Brackenridge. "The Short Stories of Albert Camus." Yale French

Studies 25 (1960): 75-80. Print.

Muhlestein, Daniel K. "A Teacher and His Student: Subversion and Containment in Camus's

"The Guest"" Studies in Short Fiction 36 (1999): 223-34. Print.

Roberts, Peter. "Teaching, Learning and Ethical Dilemmas: Lessons from Albert

Camus." Cambridge Journal of Education 38.4 (2008): 529-42. Print.