Albert Camus' Short Story The Guest

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Daru struggles to find his place in the world and ends up settling on a distant plateau in Algeria. He does this because he belongs in Algeria just as much as any other French citizen does. Daru feels as though the situation Balducci puts him in is unfair and he struggles to make a decision. He has no clue whether or not he should deliver the Arab to prison to stay true to his country or allow the Arab to go free to stay true to his own morals.
Daru’s struggle with himself shows how each character in the story struggles to find someone they can trust and a place where they belong. Daru does not support the way that the French have been treating the Algerian people but he also feels as though he has some kind of duty to the nation he despises. When Balducci approaches Daru with this task, he expects him to accept the proposition because he is a fellow French man. Daru has spent his life finding somewhere where he could isolate himself from what is going on in the world around him. Yet here is his nation literally knocking at his front door.
Balducci represents the French nation and their urge for control. Not only does he represent the nation but he also represents the governments standing in Algeria. The French citizens living Algeria feel as though they have more of a right to live in Algeria than the native Algerians do. The French walk around acting as though it is their country because they control the natives so aggressively that they have no choice but to eventually revolt. Daru sees how the French treats the Algerians and knows that one is no better than the other is.
Daru struggles with what he should do with the Arab because he cannot decide what the right decision to make is. In a way, Daru is empathetic to the Arab ...

... middle of paper ...

...cuses on belonging somewhere so whole-heartedly, it literally consumes him the entire night that the Arab is in his house. He knows that being loyal to his nation is the right choice if he wants to belong to them but morally he knows that it is not his right to choose this man’s fate because he does not belong there in the first place.
Balducci also knows it is not his place to ask Daru to make this decision for him but due to his lack of knowledge, he is just following orders because he wants to prove he has the power to belong in the Algerian country. Balducci is also confused on where Daru belongs because he is so reluctant to do this favor for his French comrades. The message on the blackboard could very well be from the French saying that by choosing to make no choice at all, Daru has proven he is not loyal to his nation and that he turned himself in.

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