Albert Camus’s The Guest – Wisdom of Conflicting Cultures

 

Albert Camus was a Nobel Prize winner for his literary prowess. His story The Guest is a complex work of art that deeply explores a wide range of topics in a short time. The story tells a tale of a schoolteacher, Daru, who is commanded to transport an Arab prisoner to the neighboring town’s police station.

One of the most universally applicable themes of this story is that indecision is unwise in situations of conflict. Daru must choose either to side with the French by transporting the prisoner or to sympathize with the Algerian natives by freeing him. Despite Daru’s attempts at neutrality, the Arab prisoner ultimately ends up on the road to prison and Daru ends up stranded without allies due to his indecision. “You handed over our brother. You will pay for this,” is written on his chalkboard at the end, showing that regardless of his wishes he was viewed as having made a decision.

A subplot of the Marvel movie Iron Man 3 depicts a similar case of indecision. For most of the movie, the protagonist Tony Stark (Iron Man) is torn between his obsession with designing Iron Man suits and his relationship with his girlfriend. Eventually, Stark does take decisive action to resolve the dilemma. In popular works, we often see indecision portrayed and then resolved like this, as it demonstrates the same theme while providing an inspiring solution to the problem.

Both as a writer and as a person, I constantly find myself in situations where decisions are required. It’s part of being human. Yet there are still many times when I’ll find myself trapped in indecision, whether it manifests itself in procrastination, overthinking things, or choosing to do nothing. The Guest helps motivate me to take action when I’m stuck by reminding me that not making a choice tends to be the worst choice to make.

 

           

Works Cited

Puchner, M. (2013). The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Volume 2. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Retrieved from https://digital.wwnorton.com/worldlit3v2

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