Throughout reading this story, I never knew what was going to happen. I kept thinking that the Arab would either kill Daru or run away. I think Camus wrote the story intending to keep the reader a little on edge. When Camus describes the Arab, we think of a horrific man who murdered someone else very senselessly; immediately we think that this prisoner is going to be a violent man. However, as the story progresses we see that this man is anything but violent, and even likable. When Daru thinks that the Arab is escaping, he is filled with joy; but, the Arab comes back showing his true character. "He didn't know what it was until the Araba again stood framed in the doorway, closed the door carefully, and come back to bed without a sound," (2580). The fact that this man was about to be killed or held in prison for his crime and didn't even try to run away says a lot about the person he is. This was the turning point for me where I shifted my opinion of the Arab. I went from thinking he was a horrendous person to a somewhat gentle man. At the end of the story when we see the Arab take the path to prison, that is when we truly know that he is an honest and good man, despite having committed a murder.
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