Talk:The Guest (short story)

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Article's General Tone and Content

Most of this article isn't about the short story in question and really doesn't relate to it. It's a general (bad, superficial) recap of Camus's whole career and philosophy and writings. Occasionally the author tries to bring The Guest back in, but it's always a pretty tenuous connection. I just don't think there should be content for the sake of content. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.248.142.13 (talk) 18:34, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

One thing about this story is its method of exploring the relationships between colonists and the colonised. The easy way to write an anti-colonial story is to make the colons baddies and the colonised the goodies. Here Camus takes the opposite tack.

Contrary to the Article, Balucci is not an unpleasant man, nor is he cruel to the Arab. He rides slowly so as not to hurt him, and once the journey is over, he does not hesitate to untie his hands. He is never rude to him. Nor does he become angry with Daru; he points out their danger and the need to hold together and he is miffed or disappointed with Daru’s attitude.

On the other hand the Arab is a most unpleasant character. He has murdered his cousin in a stupid, bloody minor feud, “Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates their blood lust.” He asks the Arab if he is sorry, but the fellow does not understand the concept. Daru “...cursed at one and the same time his own people who had sent him this Arab and the Arab too who had dared to kill and not managed to get away.” There are many opportunities for the Arab to escape, but he does not take them. When Daru shows him the route to escape over the desert, he holds the food and money to his chest, as though he doesn’t know what to do with them, and a sort of panic is visible on his face. He stands with his hands by his sides.

The Arab is not an autonomous decision maker. He is devoid of imagination, intelligence and moral understanding. He is incapable even of saving himself. He makes no moral decision to go to jail, he just does it because he cannot envisage or execute the alternative.

The real core of the story is that the good people, the colonists are in the wrong; no-one has a right to rule others, and the price to be paid for doing so is moral compromise. The revolting Arab is none of their business. A lesson for today? Kevin Murrell — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.203.196.106 (talk) 18:06, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

There's also an ironic contrast with The Stranger. In the novel, Meursault kills the Arab, an act that's essentially triggered by randomness and by Meursault's refusal to make any firm decisions in his life. Then he himself ends up getting killed (executed) but for reasons that don't have much to do with the shooting itself. In The Guest, Daru decides to act in a morally responsible way, and refuses to use a weapon (he indicates to Balducci that he doesn't want the gun and both men feel bad about having their captive bound with rope) and finally leaves the choice to the Arab himself, but it turns out he has gained nothing. The natives misread his intentions and leave Daru the message that he will be killed in revenge. 83.251.170.27 (talk) 00:20, 6 May 2016 (UTC)

Footsteps

"That night, Daru cannot sleep; he dreams that there are footsteps outside. "

It is never explicitly said that the footsteps are a dream of Daru's--he just thinks they are. The story's ending and other incidents preceding it strongly suggest that while Daru assumes them to be a dream, they are the very real footsteps of the Arab's relatives, waiting to see whether Daru will send their brother to the police or not. 71.246.153.113 04:25, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

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