Haley Hunt INTL 3111 Mr.

Robert Arnold 7 February 2012 Microtheme 3 The Guest by Albert Camus uses the main character Daru to represent the entire Algerian French and their isolation from the rest of the people in the area. Camus uses the idea of isolation to express the relationship that the Algerian French had with the French and the Arabs. The Algerian French, represented by Daru, are put in a conflict between the Arabs and the French and seem to be isolated within the society. Throughout the short story the isolation Daru feels is continually brought to the attention of the reader. This is the way the region was, cruel to live in, even without men-who didnt help matters either. But Daru had been born here. Everywhere else, he felt exiled. The main character is born in the country, but even in his homeland he still feels like he does not belong due to the conflict between the French and the Arabs. Daru is a school teacher who is isolated to only seeing his students and during this particular time he cannot even see his students due to the snow. Darus school is also the place he lives and is surrounded by open space with no close by neighbors. This continues to represent the split between the three divisions of people. Daru represents the entire Algerian-French people who are forced to choose sides or else be isolated from the rest of the country. The isolation the Daru feels is also represented by the treatment he gives to the Arab. During the story Daru is constantly trying to accommodate the Arab by allowing him to eat first, giving him a bed to sleep on, and in the end giving him the option to escape by giving him food,

money, and the directions on where to find help. This is contrasted with Balduccis treatment which included tying up the prisoner, making him walk behind the horse, and by forcing him to go to the police station. Darus isolation from both the Arabs and the French makes him not necessarily take sides, but go with his convictions that he should not be given the authority to take the Arab to jail. Even after getting back Daru is threaten by the Arabs even though he ended up helping the Arab and allowing him to go free. It is just the final event that continues to show how Daru is isolated from the rest of the people, both the Arabs and the French. Daru is represented as being alone which he even expresses as being difficult at the beginning. Daru can be seen as a representation of the Algerian French population, who at the time of the story were also seen outsiders. They were isolated by the two groups of people who were having a conflict. Darus isolation is represented by him being a school teacher located in the middle of nowhere and by his convictions of staying out of the conflict between the French and the Arabs.