Camus The Guest

Question #2

Camus’s “The Guest” main character Daru, an Algerian-born French schoolteacher, is relegated to a remote school— without students due to the snow—in the desolate Algerian’s mountains, during the conflict between Algerian nationalists and French colonialists. In the school are taught the values and culture of the colonizer, and in the absurd attempt to Frenchify the native Algerians it is even taught French geography, as shown in these verses:
“On the blackboard the four rivers of France, drawn with four different colored chalks, had been flowing toward their estuaries for the past three days” (1513).

The isolation of the schoolmaster is interrupted by the arrival of the gendarme Balducci, who brings an Arab prisoner accused of

“I’m going back to El Ameur. And you will deliver this fellow to Tinguit. He is expected at police headquarters.”
Balducci was looking at Daru with a friendly little smile.
“What’s this story?” asked the schoolmaster. “Are you pulling my leg?”
“No, son. Those are the orders.”
“The orders? I’m not . . .” Daru hesitated, not wanting to hurt the old Corsican. “I mean, that’s not my job” (1515).

Evidently, the author does not agree with the oppressive and violent way in which the colonial regime subdues the native Algerians; disagreement also made evident by the refusal of Dare to tie the prisoner with a rope.
“What are you doing?” Daru asked dryly.
Balducci, disconcerted, showed him the

“I don’t like it either. You don’t get used to putting a rope on a man even after years of it, and you’re even ashamed—yes, ashamed. But you can’t let them have their way” (1516).

Hence, Camus seems to suggest that either the settlers and the Algerians are actually prisoners of the colonial regime by being forced to execute orders and behave contrary to their will—underlining the absurdity of colonialism.

Furthermore, Daru, feelings a sense of brotherhood and wanting to remain neutral, gave the prisoner the opportunity to escape or go to jail, but the Arab seems to realize the futility of escaping from the inevitable punishment and thus decide to go willingly to jail—he was responsible for the murder, after all.

“When he reached the little hill, he was bathed in sweat. He climbed it as fast as he could and stopped, out of breath, at the top. The rock-fields to the south stood out sharply against the blue sky, but on the plain to the east a steamy heat was already rising. And in that slight haze, Daru, with heavy heart, made out the Arab walking slowly on the road to prison”