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Individual Anarchy in Albert Camus' Short Story,
"The Guest"
by
Uncle Buster
[[ "The Guest" is a small story which can usually be found in a
compilation of Camus' works or in a World Literature
anthology. Here, I have used the translation of "The Guest"
found in the Norton Anthology of World Literature, 5th
Edition. Since this is a critical essay on a particular
story, it assumes that the reader has read the story.
I do not believe that it will be nonsensical if you have
not read "The Guest" yet, but I do encourage you to read
the story so the ideas I put forth can be understood better
in their context. ]]
It is my firm belief that the individual is the key to understanding
human existence; further, anarchy is the key to living human existence.
I call it Individual Anarchism. After all, in the view of society, is
there anything more chaotic than for one single person simply to be him-
self? And is there any more individual philosophy within the theories
of politics than to say that there is no need for government?
I have thought about anarchism for some time, but I could not see
how it could really work. It always seemed that mankind and the world
would have to have an epiphany or Utopic conversion before people could
be free of government and societal restrictions. Then I read a small
story by Albert Camus called "The Guest". It did not really seem to say
anything novel to the world which it addressed; however, it did say
something novel to me. It opened my eyes and allowed me to understand
that Anarchy is personal; it is not a collective possibility. It rests
upon the idea of a person acting within a sphere where his existence is
not intrusive upon the existence of another human being unless invited
to be so. Should a person find that he has uninvitedly trespassed upon
the serenity of another, Individual Anarchy points that man toward ac-
cepting the responsibility for his own actions while not condemning the
failure of others to own up to the things they may have done wrong.
For example, the very fact that Daru has separated himself from
society by taking the teaching post in the desert demonstrates the idea
of Individualism. He must free himself from the constraints of a smo-
thering civilization by moving to a region which is completely open,
bounded only by the horizon and the sky. Camus wishes to show that only
when a man realizes that he can be distinct and separate from the whole
of humanity is he capable of becoming whole within himself.
The forcing of the prisoner into Daru's care shows the unwanted and
unrequested obligations which governments thrust upon individuals. When
Balducci tells him that he must take the Arab to the prison in Tinguit,
the teacher can hardly believe the officer is telling him the truth.
After he realizes that the people in power expect him to follow their
orders, Daru is almost Cain-like in his objection, "'The orders? I'm
not... I mean, that's not my job'" (1898). Certainly, such a reply does
remind the reader of Cain's reply to God after the murder of Abel: "I am
not my brother's keeper." However, this is not the intent of Camus.
Daru is not the killer; the Arab is the one who has committed murder.
It would be more appropriate to consider Daru as Seth, the new brother
who has too allow Cain to live out his guilt and punishment.
Furthermore, Camus clearly shows the importance of an individual being
invited into another person's life rather than imposing himself or his
beliefs on someone else. This is seen in the request of the Arab to Daru
to accompany him to Tinguit. Daru does not wish to take the prisoner
because he feels it to be dishonorable; however, he reconsiders when the
Arab asks him to come, Camus writes,
The Arab didn't move. He called to Daru:
"Tell me!"
The schoolmaster looked at him.
"Is the gendarme coming back tomorrow?"
"I don't know."
"Are you coming with us?"
"I don't know, why?"
...The Arab opened his eyes under the blinding light and
looked at him...
"Come with us," he said. (1902)
Obviously, the author intends that people should be careful not to ma-
nipulate others or seek to manipulate them. A person should wait until
asked, by word or sign, before getting involved in the fate of another.
Above all, Camus demonstrates how the Individual can demonstrate to
others the general truths of Individual Anarchy. By recognizing that he
does not have the moral power to judge another, Daru trusts that the
Arab will not kill him. This fulfills his job as teacher, for it gives
to the prisoner the opportunity to learn how to treat other human beings.
Moreover, when Daru takes the Arab into the desert and gives him the
choice of running away from his trespass or accepting the responsibility
of his actions, the reader is asked to ponder what might happen when
society quits shoving its judgements on a person's shoulders and allows
him to pick up and carry his own cross.
I realize that in "The Guest" Albert Camus does not specifically say
anything about the Individual Anarchy I would like to clarify in my own
mind. Yet the author opens within me channels and connections of thought
I had been unable to pull together before. This is true even though much
of what I see now has always been present in my spiritual and philosophic
research. However, the last piece of the Puzzle, the one which had
fallen under the table, if not the hardest to fit into place, is always
the most rewarding to find. Maybe that is because Truth is its own
reward.
At any rate, having finished the puzzle and having looked at it for
a while, I must now unscrammable it and put it back together again. So
strange that the Labors of Sissyphus are so much fun. Still, each time
I look at the pieces, crying out to be put together, they seem so dif-
ferent. Indeed, they have fallen in a whole new pattern which I am
seeing for the very first time. What matter that they lead to the same
end?