Moral Dilemma in the Guest, Essay Example

The short story The Guest by Albert Camus narrates the experiences of Daru, a school head teacher in the remote, isolated region of Northern Algeria. Questions of morality, duty and honor are filled throughout the pages of the story as most of the major characters are struggling with making the right decision.  Camus presents multiple moral dilemmas to not only force the audience to understand the complexities of the region and the time period, but also to analyze their own complexities living life and attempting to make the right decision.  Camus explores the ongoing theme of recurring moral dilemmas through each of the characters in The Guest, each of whom must come to terms with their own morality and live with the consequences of their decisions which is not always proven to be easy tasks for any of them.

The moral conflict confronting Daru, the school teacher, concerns his sudden responsibility for the fate the prisoner who is thrust into his care.  Daru is reluctant to take responsibility for the prisoner right away.  Immediately upon being presented with the responsibility of the new prisoner, Daru fires back at the soldier and defies his authority.  However, this defiance does not last because the soldier, Balducci, inflicts a moral attack upon Daru which causes him to question his nationality and loyalty to the locals.  Daru had lived his entire life in Algeria and felt an intimate connection and loyalty to the native Arabs in the area. In his conversation,Balducci replies that “you are from around here, and I know that you will tell the truth” (Camus 3). This single statement impacts Daru’s moral dilemma in multiple ways.  First of all, Daru is placed with the moral dilemma of providing care and assistance to his fellow Algerian who is in need.  At the same time, Balducci is referring to Daru’s inability to tell a lie assuming that the right thing to do is to follow the orders of helping the prisoner.  If this were not enough, Daru was born into French heritage where it is customary for a subordinate to follow the orders of an elder or authority figure.  In the end, this moral dilemma for Daru sparks several events to unravel throughout the plot of the story and becomes a landmark decision for this character.

Although the main character Daru faces problems with morality, Balducci is also presented with similar issues and possibly an even great moral dilemma than Daru.  As is often the case in times of war, Balducci is required as a soldier to place his duty, orders and loyalty for his country ahead of his sense of morality for his fellow man.  Under the name of honor, Balducci’s duty serving the French government troubles his conscience and he is forced to engage in multiple acts of inhumane and immoral behaviors as a soldier in arms.  He confides in Daru stating that his conscience is not always at peace with the cruelty he is ordered to perform.  For instance, Balducci states that he is troubled with the moral dilemma by saying “you don’t get used to put rope around other people’s necks” (Camus 4).  The soldier must place his humanity aside and it clearly shames him to treat his fellow man with such evil, hate and cruelty. The author portrays this sense of inner conflict when he narrates that Balducci restrained the horse to avoid hurting the Arab prisoner. Regardless, the call of duty and honor overshadows his moral judgment, which he reveals when he states that “you can’t let them have their way” (Camus 4). Therefore, he finds himself in a similar situation as Daru, in which he is faced with a moral dilemma of doing what he truly believes is right and adhering to the orders placed before him by his country as a soldier in the French army.  This moral dilemma troubles him so much that he has to resort to expressing his contempt for his own actions to Daru.

The prisoner, the Arab, is perhaps the most wracked by his own personal moral dilemma as he struggles with the reality that he has killed his own cousin.The author presents several moral dilemmas in the relationship between Daru and the Arab prisonor; however, the moral struggles of the prisoner are of greater interest.  There are several occasions where the prisoner is able to escape from Daru or where Daru questions whether he should let the prisoner leave on his own accord.  During one night, the Arab prisoner appears to have escaped and then returns the next day leaving the audience to believe that even the prisoner is struggling with moral dilemmas understanding that his actions and crimes against his cousin require consequences to be paid.  However, he also is aware that Daru is responsible for him, so in escaping, he is essentially placing Daru in severe danger and he would be greatly punished by the French army.  In the end, Daru leaves the decision to stay or flee to the Arab. He takes him to a fork in the road and points out the roads. “Now look…there’s the way to Tinguit. You have a two-hour walk. At Tinguit, you’ll find the administration and the police. They are expecting you. That’s the trail across the plateau. In a day’s walk from here you’ll find pastureland’s and the first nomads. They’ll take you in and shelter you according to their law (8).” The Arab, in the end, chooses the road that will take him to prison.  Although not every person would have chosen prison, the author shows that the Arab prisoner is more at peace with his decision to come to terms with killing a member of his family by turning himself in than by escaping at the expense of Daru’s safety.

Ultimately, The Guest is an accurate portrayal of how easily every person can be conflicted with moral dilemmas as a result of individual actions.  Through illustrating the complexities of decisions and the consequences of each decision, Camus uses Daru, Balducci and the Arab prisoner as tools to illustrate the difficulty of making the right choice.  Daru’s nationality and loyalty, Balducci’s sense of honor and morality, and the Arab prisoner’s sense of guilt and responsibility are clear moral dilemmas described within The Guest.  The author created a plot in which not every character makes the best decision or the decision that most people would have chosen; however, the audience realizes the importance of morality and dealing with moral dilemmas in everyday life as a result of the plot and the struggles of these three characters.  Moral dilemma is a common theme and one in which is accurately illustrated by Camus in this story; it is also one that should be carefully analyzed and applied to everyday actions and personal choices.

Works Cited

Camus, Albert. The Guest. 1957. November 17, 2010 <http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11382680/The-Guest-By-Albert-Camus>