Camus' "The Guest": The Message on the Blackboard.
In the beginning of "The Guest" by Albert Camus, the chalkboard in the schoolhouse has the four rivers of France on it. The rivers are still drawn on the board at the end, but there is writing that accompanies the rivers.
On the blackboard is a drawing of the major rivers of France for a geography lesson that awaits the return of the students after the weather changes for the better. ... Daru has been distributing the grain to his students to sustain them and their families during the hard times caused by the drought.
He comes back to the school and written on the board is "You handed over our brother, you will pay for this." The story end with him in his class room all alone. 2. A school teacher, Daru, is in the middle of a drought so he has no students.
Time and Place. ''The Guest'' is set during the period of conflict in French-colonized Algeria, which ranged between 1954 to 1962. Daru, the schoolmaster, lives in the nearby schoolhouse that serves the poor families in a mountainous region. To the south is the desert.Jan 21, 2022
The main themes of "The Guest" are of choice and accountability. Camus emphasizes, characteristically of existentialist philosophy, that there is always a choice, that the only choice unavailable is not to choose.
Daru gives the prisoner his freedom, not because he believes the man is innocent or deserves a second chance, but because it allows him to pass off...
Daru is a native of the region who lives an isolated and monastic existence. He is compassionate toward the poor villagers, especially during this time of famine, and he treats the prisoner as his “guest,” with compassion and respect.