Guest, with its existential feel, is a Camus classic. The short story's setting is stark, as the author's words evoke the Algerian desert in the midst of a snowstorm. Sweeping landscapes of desert winter and stark, unpopulated terrain are part of what makes "The Guest" a story about isolation. However, the protagonist, Daru, has chosen to live here as a teacher. His only contact with the outside world seems to be through his bags of grain, which symbolize civilization. Even his Corsican friend Balducci cannot rend Daru from his self-imposed solitude. Daru appreciates his secluded state and relishes the simple life. Therefore, the prisoner whom Balducci delivers to him is treated with kindness and compassion; like Daru, he too is a guest. But Daru does not identify with either the Arab or the French cause and therefore he cares not for the political implications of the prisoner's fate. Instead, he...
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