Monday, November 1, 2010
"The Guest"
The character I liked the most in Albert Camus’ short story “The Guest” was Daru. He exhibited the traits we have been discussing in these past few weeks about what real love is. Daru had been living alone for a while, away from all contact with other human beings. Then two people enter his center of solace, one of them he knows and the other a prisoner who had killed someone. We have been talking about being objectivity in everyday occurrences and Daru obviously exhibited this. He did not automatically pass judgment on the prisoner. He questioned why he had killed, but when he didn’t get an answer, that didn’t stop him from still being civil to the man. At times, Daru would show his nervousness about the situation, but he still fell through in caring for the man. He provided food to eat and a bed to sleep on. He could have left him to starve and sleep on the floor, but instead he acted with compassion. He treated the prisoner as an equal, not truly taking into account his misdeeds. When it came time to walk the prisoner to prison, Daru chose to let the prisoner either run free or turn himself in. People have the free will to do as they please, and once someone makes a choice, they are to live with their results and actions of that choice. By giving the prisoner his own choice, Daru was left without the guilt of turning someone in. This is probably the best way Daru showed objectivity. The prisoner was left with deciding his own fate, instead of Daru deciding to turn him in.
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I really liked how you related Daru’s action to Fromm’s idea of objectivity and love. I think it takes a lot of courage to step out of our own comfort zone because staying comfortable may sometimes inhibit our reaction to love and care for a stranger. This particular stranger probably even murdered someone, but that did not stop Daru from treating the man like a human being, an equal.
Do many people these days show that same compassion like how Daru showed the Arab prisoner? Honestly, there are too many news in the media today about murderers, crime, rape, and injustice. Maybe the incidences are true, but I believe it creates a bias in our society to keep our distance from others. Sometimes I look at those people standing on the street asking for money. I often times find myself wondering why they wouldn’t just get a job? However, I may never find the answer, but it’s unfair to judge a person in their current conditions.
Lending out a hand does not meant that we have to risk our lives, and fully put our trust into strangers, but we can not ignore the basic fundamentals of treating a person the way you would like to be treated yourself. If we were the ones who need help, it is so important to have help. That’s what makes life worth living.
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