Daru's plight is paralleled with France's difficulties and
Camus' own sensibiities. In the story we see Camus' concern regarding the political
situation in French North Africa. Daru's refusal to bear arms or follow orders from the
military are related to the dilemma for those who refused to take sides in the war in
Algeria. (Camus was strongly attached to Algeria and did not want to see it separated
from France.)
The story is not limited only to this
situation, but to how Camus saw the world. He did not believe that life was useless and
without purpose as some people did at the time. It would seem as if the Arab had
adopted this philosophy: that without purpose, his life had no meaning. Without knowing
what he would do if he escaped, he chose, instead to go on to the jail, for at least he
saw the purpose of this: this was the goal of his trip, what he had been expecting and
preparing for.
Camus would not have respected this kind of
behavior. He believed that life was important to live, regardless of what it demands of
the man.
We learn from the story that making the moral
choice is always the best choice, however, it is not always
rewarded. Sometimes goodness is punished and evil extolled. In the story, Daru makes
the moral choice to defy convention and help the Arab. His goodness is not rewarded:
the "guest" refuses his help, and the Arabs leave a threatening message for Daru on the
chalkboard.
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