Existentialism 101

Even after given the choice of freedom, the guest decided to take a higher road and turn himself in to the police. In a desolate area in France, a place where god does not exist, the drought is lingering from the war that occurred eight months previous. In “The Guest” by Albert Camus, the characters are put into a situation where a difficult choice has to be made. The school in the area is occupied by the teacher named Daru who rarely receives visitors, is about to obtain a very interesting guest. The main idea of existentialism is that “since there is no god to define humanity, humans must determine who they are on their own” (Sartre, 1957). The paper “Existentialism 101,” goes into detail about the beliefs and ideals that Sartre made the public more familiar with. The idea that humans make choices according to their morals and standards that is explained in “Existentialism 101” is displayed in the story “The Guest.” The schoolmaster—or teacher—Daru, can be described as both a quietist and existentialist; he both refuses to choose what to do with the fugitive, and chooses to let the man make the decision. Daru felt humiliation because “[the] man’s crime revolted him, but to hand him over was

Daru not wanting to take responsibility, chose to leave the choice to the convict. Not all choices are made to please every single person; the Arabic man’s friends threatened Daru, thinking he turned in the prisoner. In reality all humans are responsible for their actions, good or bad, and must define themselves over time with the choices that they make. To most people, letting an accused killer run away is not a proper way of thinking. What would you do, let him free or be cautious and attend the prisoner all the