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Summary
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Guest, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Choices, Morality, and Freedom
Chaos vs. Meaning
Isolation
Summary
Analysis
Daru, a schoolteacher living in French Algeria, observes two men approaching his remote hillside schoolhouse—one riding a horse, the other on foot. Their progress is stilted as they struggle through the rough terrain and snow of an enormous, empty plateau. The horse periodically falters and stumbles. Daru estimates that they will arrive in about 30 minutes given their speed and distance. Feeling the cold, Daru goes inside to retrieve a sweater. To reach his own room, he must first pass through the cold, empty classroom where he teaches. Maps of the rivers of France drawn in chalk on the blackboards have remained unchanged for three days.
Though Daru’s classroom is in a remote region of Algeria, the children he teaches are still learning the geography of France. This is an early hint at how powerful the influence of the colonizing country is, even in this isolated spot. Meanwhile, it’s unclear who the approaching figures are or why Daru’s classroom is cold and seemingly deserted, but there is an immediate sense that Daru could be in a vulnerable position. It’s notable that one of the approaching figures is riding a horse while the other is walking, as this could suggest a power imbalance between the two of them. It’s also likely that the figures are traveling for an important reason, since they’re willing to traverse through difficult weather and terrain. But it isn’t yet clear how all of these details fit together or what will happen when the figures reach Daru’s schoolhouse, and so the story begins on a mysterious and even vaguely unsettling note.
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The classroom is deserted and childless because of the terrible weather. A sudden and unexpected October snowfall following a long drought has prevented the local children from attending school. However, Daru knows they will return and he won’t be alone for long. Because he’s currently by himself, he only heats the room where he lives. This means he can stay warm, but it leaves the rest of the schoolhouse frigid. The school has a very dramatic view over the surrounding landscape. It overlooks the plateau, then a southern mountain range, beyond which lies yet more barren desert.
The absence of students due to snowfall makes the schoolhouse seem uncannily quiet—Daru is completely alone in a place intended to be full of people and energy. He is even further isolated by the fact that he must stay in one room in order to conserve heat, and this single heated room shows that Daru has been here for long enough to make practical adaptations to his solitary situation. The classroom is empty due to circumstances beyond his control: everyday life in this community is at the mercy of nature.
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Having warmed up a little, Daru returns to the window. The two men have disappeared from view, and he guesses that they must be ascending the hill that leads to the schoolhouse. In comparison to the dark, snowy weather of the previous three days, this day has felt more cheerful. Daru feels better and more hopeful as the clouds lift, because when it’s dark and snowy he’s stuck inside trying to keep himself warm. Supplies from a nearby village arrived for him just before the blizzard, and he expects another delivery in two days.
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Daru’s room is filled with large bags of wheat the administration provides to distribute to his pupils. He helps to ration out these supplies because it’s an efficient way to get the wheat to families who have suffered due to the drought. Daru wonders if some of the men and boys from the village will come for rations despite the bad weather. He remembers how hard and horrible the drought was: it burned the plateau to a crisp, killed thousands of sheep, and plunged the region into starvation.
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For a while, there was nothing that could be done to help the starving people. However, with these shipments of wheat now arriving from France, there’s more hope that they might someday get their livelihoods back and rebuild. In contrast to this desolation, Daru feels privileged to have had his simple existence in the schoolhouse remain unchanged. Compared to his starving countrymen, he felt “like a lord” because the local administration provided him with weekly water and food. Although the environment of his homeland is unforgiving, Daru can’t imagine living anywhere else. He thinks he would feel like an exile.
Daru walks out onto the schoolhouse’s terrace and sees Balducci, an old gendarme (police officer) he knows well. He is the one riding the horse, and he’s leading an Arab prisoner by a rope. The Arab’s hands are bound, and he follows the horse slowly. He wears a blue jellaba (a long, robe-like garment) and thick socks under his sandals. Balducci, managing the horse carefully to avoid making the man fall or stumble, waves to Daru. He doesn’t respond to Balducci’s shouted greetings and complaints about how long the journey took. When both newcomers reach him, Daru relents and acknowledges them, inviting them to warm up inside the schoolhouse. He stables Balducci’s horse and returns to find the men sitting in his room. Daru offers to make mint tea and to heat the larger classroom for comfort. Balducci thanks him and says he wishes he could retire. Daru asks him if he will untie the prisoner’s hands, which he does readily.
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As they drink tea, Daru offers the Arab a chair, but both he and Balducci have already made themselves comfortable. The Arab sips the tea hungrily, even though it’s too hot to drink. Balducci then reveals his orders: Daru must take the prisoner to the police in Tinguit. Daru resists, arguing it's not his responsibility and that he isn’t the right person to complete such a task. Balducci insists, however, explaining that it’s very urgent. The gendarmes’ resources are stretched, and the prisoner must be taken to Tinguit by nightfall the next day at all costs. He convinces Daru that the task is temporary, and that his compliance will allow him to return to his relatively comfortable life afterwards unscathed. The journey is 20 kilometers each way.
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As Daru thinks about what he should do, it’s so quiet that the men can hear the horse pawing and snorting through the wall. Daru, distracted, thinks about how the weather will clear soon, and that when it does so the drought will undoubtedly return. He asks Balducci about the Arab’s crime and whether the man speaks French. Balducci says that the local villagers hid him because he killed his cousin violently over a family dispute. Balducci does an impression of killing someone with a billhook, the weapon the Arab used to commit the crime. The Arab, understanding the gesture, sits up and looks concerned. Daru feels a flush of hatred pass over him, as he wonders how anyone could murder a family member in such a horrific way.
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Balducci prepares to leave, offering Daru a revolver for protection, which the schoolmaster declines. Balducci presses him to take it, saying that Daru is a little crazy and that it reminds him pleasantly of his son. Daru refuses point blank, telling Balducci that he’s disgusted by the situation and that he won’t hand the Arab over to the police. The old gendarme sympathizes and admits his own discomfort with restraining the Arab. He tells Daru that he felt ashamed to do it but that he had to follow orders.
Daru still refuses to comply. He tells Balducci angrily that he can inform his superiors he won’t take the Arab anywhere. Despite Balducci’s insistence, Daru stands firm. Balducci then concedes, admitting that he’s not going to denounce Daru for refusing to obey. However, he does ask Daru to sign a paper confirming the handover, which the schoolmaster does. Balducci turns to leave, and when Daru tries to say a polite goodbye he refuses, saying that Daru insulted him. Now alone with the prisoner, Daru secures the revolver in his pocket before retreating into his room.
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As he lies quietly on his bed watching the sky darken, Daru thinks about his assignment to this remote plateau. He initially requested to be posted to a lively town near the foothills for this job. He’s not sure why, but his request was denied, and he was sent to the far north. It’s a beautiful place, but an extraordinarily harsh one. Settlements regularly spring up on the desert plateau, but quickly disappear because the land can’t support life. As he considers this, Daru realizes that it’s only in a barren place like the plateau that men like himself and the Arab can truly exist.
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Literary Devices
There’s no noise from the classroom, and Daru has a thrill of hope that his prisoner has escaped and he won’t have to decide what to do. However, the Arab remains where Daru left him, lying quietly in the room and staring at the ceiling. Daru enters and abruptly invites the Arab into his bedroom, where he asks if the man is hungry. The exchange is tense, and though he quickly agrees to eat, the Arab watches Daru’s every move with fierce attention.
Daru begins to cook a meal. He makes a pan-fried cake from flour and oil, and leaves the Arab alone as he goes out to the shed to fetch other ingredients. As he mixes eggs and condensed milk to make an omelet, he notices the revolver in his pocket and decides to put it away. He quickly goes into the classroom and hides it in his desk drawer. As darkness sets in, he serves the meal and urges the Arab to eat. The prisoner picks up a piece of the cake, but hesitates before biting into it. When they finish eating, he asks Daru if he is the “judge” and questions why he would eat with his prisoner. Daru refuses to expand, telling him that he ate because he was hungry.
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Daru sets up a sleeping cot for the Arab and prepares it with blankets which he takes from a suitcase. Once done, he feels a pang of anxiety because there’s nothing left for him to do. He succumbs to his curiosity and asks the other man why he killed his victim. The Arab refuses to give a clear answer beyond saying that the man he killed ran away from him. After this unsatisfying response, he looks up mournfully at Daru and asks what he thinks the consequences of the murder will be. In response, Daru asks him if he is afraid. Instead of responding, the Arab looks away. Daru then asks him if he’s sorry and begins to feel his annoyance build when he can’t tell if the Arab is refusing to answer or doesn’t understand.
Frustrated, Daru snaps at his guest to lie down. The other man refuses, insisting that Daru explain what is going to happen. He also wants to know if Balducci is coming back, and if Daru will accompany them to the police headquarters. Daru keeps repeating that he doesn’t know what is going to happen. The Arab lies down on the blankets and closes his eyes against the bright uncovered electric bulb. He asks Daru to go with them. When he doesn’t respond, the Arab forces his eyes open against the glare and meets Daru’s gaze. He asks again.
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Later, Daru lies in bed naked, as he usually does. However, he feels unusually vulnerable unclothed because of the Arab’s presence and contemplates getting up and dressing. He decides against it, as he’s sure he could take the other man in a fight. The two men lie still in the dark, and Daru listens to the Arab’s quiet movements and occasional sounds. Daru feels an uncomfortable sense of camaraderie with the man, which he doesn’t want at all. He knows that men who share a room almost always develop some sort of alliance, as if they became friends in the “ancient community of dream and fatigue.” Daru shakes himself. He’s sick of thinking about this and resolves to sleep.
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Sleep doesn’t come, however. Later in the night as Daru lies awake, he sees the Arab stealthily sit up and look around the room as if listening for something. Daru, tense and a little afraid, realizes the revolver is still in the desk drawer and wonders if he should run and grab it. The Arab stands and walks stealthily toward the shed door. Daru feels the same relief he felt the first time he thought his prisoner was escaping, and decides not to intervene. However, to his surprise, the man walks out of the house and pees outside. He then returns, silently getting back into bed. Later still, Daru hears faint footsteps around the schoolhouse but reassures himself it's a dream, continuing to sleep.
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Awakening to a clear sky, Daru wakes his guest and tells him not to be afraid. They share a quiet breakfast of coffee and leftover cake. Daru shows the Arab the faucet where he can wash, and returns inside to tidy his room. After he finishes cleaning, he walks distractedly out to the edge of the terrace and thinks guiltily about the unkind note he sent Balducci away on. He feels empty and angry and still feels that odd sense of vulnerability he experienced in the night. He curses the situation he is in. He hates the crime the Arab committed but knows that turning him over to the police would also be dishonorable. He paces around for a moment, unsure what to do, and returns inside.
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Daru packs a small parcel of provisions and tells the Arab that they must be on their way. He goes back to lock up the schoolhouse. He then doubles back to examine the outside of the building because he thinks he hears a noise. There’s no one there, so the two men leave. Even though he’s on a mission he can’t stand, Daru can’t help but feel rapturous at the bare and spiny beauty of the plateau and mountains around them. The two men walk for an hour before the road begins to descend into a lower area covered in spindly trees and rock outcroppings.
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When he’s sure no one is around, Daru hands the package of provisions to the Arab and tells him that there’s enough for two days in it, plus 2,000 francs. The Arab takes it as if he doesn’t know what to do with it, looking flabbergasted. First, Daru points to the east and tells him that if he goes that way, he’ll come to the police station where they are expecting him. He then turns him and points him south, explaining that if he goes that way, he’ll come to a group of nomads who will shelter him. The Arab must choose one pf these two paths.
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The Arab looks panicked and tries to speak, but Daru tells him to be quiet and walks away. Glancing back, he sees the Arab standing stunned and motionless, and he feels a lump in his throat. He dismisses it, swearing in frustration, but can’t resist turning around shortly after for one final look. The Arab has disappeared from his sight until he climbs back to the top of the hill and the plateau. When he looks back, he sees the Arab trudging steadily east toward the waiting police and authorities.
When he gets back to his classroom, Daru finds that someone has entered the schoolhouse. They have left a scrawled message on the blackboard, assuring him that he will pay for turning the Arab in. Daru contemplates this calmly, turning his back on the board and gazing out toward the horizon and the plateau. Even though he loves this land, he feels completely alone.
