The Guest Lesson Plan

At the beginning of the story, Camus describes the classroom, making special note of the four rivers of France, drawn on the blackboard in color. Why does Camus point this out? What do you think the rivers symbolize? Or is Camus making a commentary about France?

The rivers can be discussed as a political symbol or as a philosophic symbol.

As a political symbol, the rivers of France symbolize the relationship between France and its colonial empire. The four rivers are the Loire, the Rhone, the Seine, and the Dargodne. In a colonial relationship, all the power flows out from France, while all the natural resources of the colonies flow back to France.

As a philosophic...