Camus’ the Guest: Is There Such Thing as a Lesser Evil

In The Guest by Albert Camus, the necessity of choice is a large theme throughout the story. The main conflict of the story follows Daru struggles to make the “right”, peaceful decision in a time of hostility between France and Algeria. The theme of choice is so large in fact, that it may be one of the reasons why Camus is remembered as a prominent existentialist writer. However, compared to other existentialist works of the time, Camus more often brings up the question of morality of one’s choices which does not exactly align with the principles of existentialism.

Which brings us to the question: Is there such thing as one right, moral choice in this short story? To answer this question, one should look to Camus’ personal philosophical beliefs and the events of his life that affected these beliefs, the presence of existential elements in the story, as well as role of the freedom of choice in The Guest.

It is important to know that Camus was born and raised in Algeria, which is the setting of The Guest.

During his life in Algeria, he experienced French control of the country, which led to the oppression and poverty of the Algerian people (Mack 2433). We can conclude that these experiences account his views on the harsh ways of the world. He grew up to go to college and become involved in politics- specifically through organizations that opposed war and emphasized the free will of the people. He ended up living in France, which some would say influenced the identity of Daru in his short story.

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Daru, as a French Algerian schoolteacher, does not fully belong in either of the locations he is associated with in the story. This conflict is what isolates him from the rest of the people around him, of course until the prisoner comes along. The only thing that pulls him from his state of indifference and his isolation is the decision of what to do with the Arab prisoner.

This innate responsibility that Daru feels for the Arab’s life is just one example of how Camus has many questioning whether he could be considered an existentialist writer, despite Camus’ and other writer’s views on existentialism. Jean-Paul Sartre himself, who is often associated with the existentialism genre, once suggested that Camus be placed with “moralist” authors of the time (Mack 2433). Camus was inclined to agree that he definitely did not align with existential views and he was certainly remembered for affecting people in a way that other existentialist writers could not seem to. As American writer Susan Sontag explains it, “Kafka arouses pity and terror, Joyce admiration, Proust and Gide respect, but no modern writer I can think of, except Camus, has aroused love” (Brody 125). So why do so many associate his writing with the genre?

Existentialism can be broken down into three basic principles. One being that man experiences the world through the choices one makes. There is no predetermined meaning or destiny in the world for anyone, one must create their own through their actions every day. Two is that one’s moral standards are also their choice. Lastly, a “good choice”, or a moral choice, is one that is completely authentic and self-determined. In short, existentialists feel that “existence precedes essence”, which means that one is not born with any nature of themselves (O’Neill 48). One must exist in the world first, and through their actions and choices, they will come into themselves and give themselves a reason of being. They find meaning in the idea that they will have a life of choices and, in turn, free will.

Camus, on the other hand, does not see the world as that generous and turned to another philosophy: absurdism. Camus’ idea of absurdity states that the universe is indifferent to humans altogether. Camus saw the existentialist view of seeking meaning through one’s choices, even though there really is no meaning in it all, as a paradox. In absurdism, there is absolutely no sort of order or meaning in the universe. There is no reason, only chaos, and no one can escape it. However, choices are still extremely important to the idea of absurdism and is the one of the only things that tie existentialism and the absurd together.

While choice is important to existentialism, according to absurdism, choice is all one has. When one knows that the absurd is inevitable, there is no hope for a greater destiny in store or even a tomorrow. One has the freedom to make their own choices, but there is no “right” choice that will prevent them from the inevitable. However, absurdism is not to be seen as pessimistic, as many existentialists may. This idea that the world is against us may seem scary, but it is meant to be realistic in the eyes of Camus. Even if there is no way to find meaning in an absurd world, one can still achieve freedom through their actions, just like in existentialism. One is defined as free once they have confronted the absurd. Their thoughts and decisions are their own and there are always possibilities for change. They do not argue the idea of one’s freedom in the world and accept that they can only experience their own freedom. The absurd live free from all thoughts and restraints that restrict them to a goal or a target and instead, they live their truth (Baykent 207).

While morality is up to one’s own discretion in existentialism and whatever choice they feel is authentic is also morally sound, this notion does not exist in absurdism. Anyone can certainly have their own personal moral code of conduct, but when the world is absurd, no one cannot expect the universe to play by their rules and adhere to their morals. This is especially important when we look at Daru’s moral dilemma and his choice to leave the prisoner to his own devices, or rather his lack of a choice. In the world of absurdism, one’s freedom of choice is all one has in that life. Going by this logic, there are no morally correct choices, but two “wrong” ones.

The first, as stated by Camus himself, is suicide. He is well known for famously quoting in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus, “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy”. He argues that suicide is attractive to many because it is the only escape from the absurd world by one’s own hands, but again, the entirety of humanity has the responsibility of embracing and facing the absurd (Baykent 206). The fact that we all share that journey is what brings us together.

The second wrong choice according to absurdism is the act of not choosing at all. Even though Daru thought he could escape his moral dilemma by not making a decision, in the world of the absurd, that was a decision in itself. In doing so, he gave into chaos and received punishment for his nondecision. That is the one thing that the prisoner understands. He was given two choices: one leading him to freedom and the other to assumed death. While Daru saw the prisoner choosing to die, the prisoner sees his choice as facing the absurd, which is always the right choice.

There are many lessons to be learned about our search for our meaning in this world from both existentialism and absurdism. In a world where most situations can be seen as morally grey, the idea of trying to choose the lesser evil will always be difficult. However, in the end, it will always be better to make your own choices in this world, or your choice will be made for you. If we are to take anything from Camus, it is that even if we’re not entirely confident about the outcome, a choice that one makes will always be better than having one’s humanity taken from them. While it’s not guaranteed that one will gain “essence”, or a reason to live amongst chaos, by following this philosophy and journey to freedom, facing the absurd head on and making a choice with confidence does seem like the moral choice.