I would like to write a journal article focused on Emir Abd al-Qadir's (Abdelkader's) rapier, which already appears in the 12,000-word manuscript I am almost finished writing as a chapter titled "Barriers to Reparations in Albert Camus' 'The Guest': Race, Earth, Science," by Nancy Ann Watanabe, in "Imperial Indebtedness," a scholarly book edited by a New York professor who has a contract with a University Press. As discussed in my book chapter, Abdelkader's rapier is one of the valuable objects requested by Algeria in a written list of reparations to the French government. To be developed as a totally separate topic of discussion. Emir Abd al-Qadir and his rapier, often referred to as "Abdelkader's Rapier," form the basis of my new hypothesis that Abdelkader and his rapier constitute a primary referent in "The Guest"; indeed, I will argue, sufficient evidence may be gathered to make a case for identifying the unnamed Arab in "The Guest" as a symbol or emblem of Emir Abd al-Qadir. While it is true that Nobel Laureate in Literature Camus wrote "The Guest" as a narrative based on his experience as an Algerian-born Frenchman on the eve of the Algerian War of Independence, it will not be necessary for me to prove he had Emir Abd al-Qadir in mind when he wrote "The Guest." The journal article's theoretical framework will be based on the New Criticism principle of the authorial fallacy, i.e., the literary critic should focus on presenting textual evidence, not on the author's expressed intentions. My premise is "The Guest" as an imaginative literary work of art has a life of its own, separate from the author who created it. Nevertheless, if my research shows that Camus possessed a good deal of knowledge about Emir Abd al-Qadir, then I will incorporate this factual information to further support the article's main argument.

Since I have not found any journal articles or book chapters to support my hypothesis that "The Guest" has a symbolic dimensionality that accommodates an interpretation identifying the unnamed Arab and his knife with Abdelkader and his rapier, I am open to receiving any information available to Research Gate scientists, humanists, and social scientists who share their knowledge and experience on this discussion thread.