Looking for the Arab: Reading the readings of Camus's `The Guest'
1993; Volume: 30; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0039-3789
Autores Tópico(s)Middle East Politics and Society
ResumoAlbert Camus is no longer quite cultural hero in Western world he was both before and, for time, after death, but at least one of stories seems to have achieved kind of canonical permanence, if 35 years of constant anthologizing constitutes canonical permanence. Guest, Camus's story of French-Algerian schoolmaster's unwilling involvement in transportation of accused of killing, perhaps deserves special scrutiny now, 30 years after French-Algerian tragedy played itself out, because Western powers--this time led by United States--have again attempted to impose themselves on large part of Islamic and worlds. If there is one continuous thread in commentaries on Camus's story it is constant, virtually unexamined, assumption prisoner has committed foul and is on outer boundaries of human, whether he is vicious or mad or deeply stupid. This near unanimity seems unjustified by reference to definitive published text, but simply declaring--and attempting to demonstrate--the possibility of prisoner's innocence is not aim of this essay, is not possible, in fact, outside of imaginary judicial proceeding. It is possible, however, to demonstrate there are textual reasons for at least questioning evidence of man's guilt. Far more importantly, typically harsh (or, often, condescending) interpretations of prisoner are best understood by noticing three recurrent and interrelated patterns. The first of these involves perils of being too well informed: several interpreters are apparently reacting to materials can be found in Camus's early ideas and jottings on this story but not in definitive published version. The second pattern involves startling frequency of what Freud called compulsive repetition(1) on part of critics; they often repeat--unconsciously and in variously disguised or transformed fashions--the reactions and judgments of Daru, schoolmaster, and Balducci, gendarme, as if those reactions and judgments were adequate to interpret range of meanings of prisoner. Third, and most important, is pervasive expression of what is almost certainly unconscious racism and ethnocentrism both in two colons in story and in many of interpretations of story. Traces of powerful Western colonial prejudice against, contempt for, and fear of male affect characters in story, its interpreters; and our culture as whole.(2) The only defense we--and Arabs--have against this bias is attempt to make it less unconscious and, one hopes, less natural and acceptable, particularly in academic and reputedly harmless practices of literary interpretation. Over past 30 years many interpreters have focused at least part of their attention on prisoner as he is presented in Justin O'Brien's ubiquitous translation. Most of these essays try to explain why chooses to trudge off to Tinguit (and possible--or even probable--execution) when he is freed by Daru, schoolmaster. While these interpretations differ widely in their inferences about man's unknown (and unknowable) thoughts and motives, they are virtually unanimous in language they use to label him. They call him--almost always in their first references to him--by these terms: that primitive man, who recognizes neither liberty nor justice (Cryl 121, 135), a (Perrine, Camus' |The Guest' 53; Sterling 524): the (McDermott 11; Sterling 529); a stupid (Perrine, Daru 11); an (Simon 289); a murderer and Arab (Perrine, Daru 11); the (Trilling 167); an assassin (Showalter, Note 348; Cryl 132); a rebel terrorist (Showalter, Note 348); and Cain (Sterling 525). His alleged deed is referred to in these ways: his crime (Sterling 527; Grobe 363); |his stupid crime' (Perrine, Camus' |The Guest' 55, repeating Daru's words); a barbarous act (Sterling 528); murder (Sterling 527; Grobe 363); senseless of cousin (Grobe 362); and meurte de fatalite (Sterling 526). …
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