The Guest

ALBERT CAMUS

About The Guest

Published in 1957

The original title was LHte which translates to The Guest

and The Host

Literary time period: Existentialism

Existentialism is centered upon the analysis of existence and of the

way humans find themselves existing in the world

Its related to finding yourself and figuring out meaning of life

through free will, choice, and personal responsibility

This is shown when Daru gives the Arab prisoner two choices

Historical Context

Since Camus was French, this story reflected events happening in

France

The French established the French Fourth republic in 1946

following the second war and it lasted until 1958

France was still a colonial power, owning a lot of North Africa and
other countries, but Algeria played a big role in the collapse of
the Fourth Republic

Decolonization

The decolonization of Algeria took place from 1954-1962

Algeria wasnt considered a colony like Morocco, but instead was

actually part of the Republic

After WWII, France gave up most of its colonies, but didn't grant
Algeria independence, and the Algerians were not allowed to
have representation

Calling in the Military

In 1955, the conflict was becoming very violent, forcing the

French to put boots on the ground in Algeria

The Commander-in-Chief, General Raoul Salan, implemented

intense military force, which involved stationing troops in the
countryside to conduct rapid and decisive sweeps by military
patrols to kill or capture fleeing insurgents.

This can be related to The Guest and how Balducci took the
prisoner

Algerian Independence

After three long years of the war in Algeria, the Fourth Republic
collapsed on November 1, 1954

Bibliography
Bernardo, Karen. "An Analysis of Albert Camus' "The Guest"" The
Guest
by Albert Camus. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
"Existentialism." AllAboutPhilosophy.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov.
2016.
"Fourth Republic." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
Britannica, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Pike, John. "Fourth Republic 1946-1958." Global Security. Global
Security, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.