Existential Philosophy in Albert Camus' 'The Guest' Explored

This essay delves into the theme of existentialism in Albert Camus' short story, 'The Guest.' It dissects the core elements of existential philosophy, particularly the meaninglessness of life and the burden of choice, as portrayed through the characters of Balducci, Daru, and Arab. The essay analyzes how each character grapples with decisions that impact others, highlighting Daru's internal dilemma between social expectations and personal beliefs. Daru's ultimate decision to grant Arab the freedom of choice underscores the existential concept of individual responsibility in shaping one's essence. The unresolved questions at the story's end further emphasize the complexities of free will and moral judgment, showcasing Camus' exploration of essential human questions.

Running Head: EXISTENTIALISM IN THE GUEST
Existentialism in The Guest
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Topic – Existentialism in The Guest by Albert Camus
Albert Camus had a significant influence on existentialism and many of his philosophies
are found in the short story ‘The Guest’. The major elements of existentialism need to be
dissected first in order to understand the importance of this exceptional philosophy in the story
(Mastroianni). In the year 1940, Albert Camus was in Paris and became highly associated and
influenced by this philosophy. This particular philosophy analyses the purpose of human
existence and the different ways they act their individual roles on earth. Existentialism is nothing
but a movement that aims to describe that the Universe is itself irrational and thus the human
desire to make rational choices is also irrelevant and purposeless. It is the meaninglessness of
life, the very existence of man on earth that is at the core of this philosophy (TAŞ). No decision
made on earth is right. In the short story of Camus, one of the many aspects is existentialism and
the ideas are presented by the author in a beautiful manner.
The story highlights the various problems individuals face while failing to make the
choice. The three main characters forming the entire story are Balducci, Daru and Arab. Each of
the three people are compelled to make a choice that affects the other person in one way or the
other. It is quite apparent that Daru and Balducci are unable to make the right decisions which
leaves the prisoner Arab in his own fate. Camus has tried to symbolize the modern man through
this. The foremost characteristic of modern man is superficiality. The superficiality in nature
drives to lose proper vision, and decide in the right way. The tendency to make the right choices
depend on how much compelling the task is. Balducci takes Arab at the door of Daru saying “he
had an order to deliver the prisoner” (Camus, Albert). Balducci escaped from his responsibilities
by resting the task on the shoulders of Daru. It is the nature of human being to avoid the
responsibilities, be it social or personal.

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Daru in the other hand, was bound to accept the prisoner. Since he was indebted to the
French government, hews compelled to follow the orders and his social responsibilities. It is
apparent everyone is un willing to accomplish the social duties and if the social obligation was
not to be adhered to, everyone would have turned chaotic. Daru had to take Arab as he was
‘expected at the police headquarters’. Arab has committed a sin like murdering a ‘family
squabble’, an innocent man (Camus, Albert). Daru, out of dilemma with what to do with the
prisoner asks him “why did you kill him?” expecting that the answer will open the way to
freedom or the right choice (Camus, Albert). It is Daru’s internal dilemma or questions of
existentialism that prompts him to look into the matter. He trains the convict like a guest based
on his personal beliefs and judgement over the social expectation. One of the traits of
existentialism is that “individuals make the personal choice of following the social conventions
“. Hence, the actions of Daru reflect the philosophy of existentialism because they are in
accordance to his personal beliefs and choices.
Daru, being a French schoolmaster craves to evade the task of making decision for
someone other. In the sleepy hour of night, he dreams that Arab is escaping. He wakes up
exclaiming “He is running away, he merely thought. Good riddance!” (Camus, Albert). It clearly
proves that Daru prefers the easy way out by letting Arab escape so that he can become free of
the moral decisions. At the end it can be seen that Daru’s final decision is to give Arab the
freedom of choice following his own personal beliefs. However, Arab chooses the path of
imprisonment although the path of freedom was wide open for him (Justin et al). Daru ‘s
decision allowed the prisoner to create his personalized essence. Here lies the core of
existentialism. It is not about allowing someone other to choose and decide a person’s identity.

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It is about taking own decisions in own hands (Narayan). Both of Arab and Daru did what was
right.
The end of the story also leaves certain questions unresolved. After leaving Arab on his
own freedom of choice, Daru receives a message saying “you will pay for this” (Camus, Albert).
It initiates another set of questions regarding Daru was wrong in his decision and moral
judgement or not. The story is full of existential questions that asks whether all men are aware of
the ‘free will’ they are entitled to. Hence, presenting some essential survival questions of every
human being by using some characters in vacuum, Camus clearly illustrates the theme of
existentialism.

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Reference
Camus, Albert. The guest. Creative Education, 1958.
Justin, Marra, et al. "Constructing a Religion and Literature Course: Building a Framework
around Albert Camus’ The Outsider." Saeculum Undergraduate Academic Journal 10.2 (2015).
Mastroianni, Roberto. "SIGNS AND EXISTENCE: THE EXISTENTIAL SEMIOTICS OF
EERO TARASTI BETWEEN EXISTENTIALISM, SEMIOTICS AND PHILOSOPHICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY." TICS (2017): 465.
Narayan, Das Deep. "A critical approach to the problem of freedom in existential philosophy
with special reference to kierkegaard and sartre." (2016).
TAŞ, Mehmet Recep. "REREADING JOSEPH HELLER'S CATCH-22 FROM THE
VIEWPOINT OF EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHY AND CAMUS'ABSURDISM." Journal of
International Social Research 10.49 (2017).