Morality

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Camus ' The Guest

In Camus ' short story The Guest the main character Daru is a schoolmaster who is charged with delivering an Arab prisoner to the next prison in the East . This essay will seek to explore the psychology behind the protagonist , the writing style of Camus in relating this story to the reader and finally , and most importantly the essay will explore the morality of Daru and the situation which is thrust upon him

Camus creates a landscape of snow

in France . In reflection with this landscape the reader may surmise that the protagonist is living a life that is undisturbed , comfortable and is vacant of any hazard . However below the surface of the snow there are drifts , holes in which the unsusupecting passerby may fall into and never emerge . Such suggestions are hinted at by Camus when he states that a lot of livestock has already died in this season and some men as well . Thus , although the appearance of the school teacher is one of ease and comfort , there are issues that will arise in the story that will take the reader as well as the protagonist by surprise

The morality of the short story , in short , surrounds the prisoner . The Arab prisoner is the focal point of the theme of morality . The Arab 's own morality can best be described as an amoral character as he split his cousin with a sheering instrument used on sheep and killed him over the debt of wheat the cousin owed the Arab . Thus , the morality in this situation is the morality of providing food for one 's family and honoring a debt to one 's family . Camus creates a complex situation in which morality isn 't a clear cut case of right and wrong , but immerses the reader in more intricate developments of human morality . The Arab has become a prisoner and is given to Daru so that Daru can take him to the prison in the East . The next moral issue becomes , should Daru take the prisoner to the prison

Daru is a complex character and he doesn 't see the need for himself to take the prisoner to the prison . For one thing , he was not involved in any political upheaval , he states that the country is not at war and thus there should be no political prisoners as it were , and lastly he does not see why he should have to take the prisoner to prison . Daru 's morality is not subject to petty squabbles of cousins

Daru 's morality is a selfish one as well as a complex one . He does not see why the prisoner is being treated in the fashion he is being treated such as ropes around his hands . In fact , Camus draws the reader 's attention to this point with the character Balducci , "I don 't like it either . You don 't get used to putting a rope on a man even...