What is the central conflict of the story?

One of the major themes of The Guest is the problem of partial knowledge. Daru struggles to reach a judgment on the Arab because he knows nothing about him. In the end, he transfers to the prisoner the power of free choice, and this leaves him with a moral burden. The impossibility of attaining complete knowledge is a major frustration for Daru, as well as for the Arab. The Arab wants to know what will happen to him.