Quarantine

In these first pages of part 2 of the novel, the city of Oran has gone into full quarantine, and the narrator begins to explain the situations of the people still living inside the walls. He talks about how many people have loved ones trapped on the outside since the closing of the gates was so abrupt. As he describes different groups of people, who have different losses, the reader can begin to see what the affects of isolation are on people. People begin to realize that their problems aren't so important because everyone else has the same ones; and they are all "on the same boat"(67). The reader also begins to see the affects of being isolated from those that one spends almost everyday with, people begin to question their love or realize that they can live without the one they are missing. It is interesting to see the psychological affects that this quarantine is having on the people of Oran.The narrator also makes a point that the ones inside the quarantine are not the only one's affected. The residents of Oran that are trapped outside are also grieving, for those they don't even have their own home to stay in. Lastly, in these few pages we get a quick little insight on the narrator in this part of the novel. Though we still don't know who he is we are hinted that he is someone trapped in Oran who has been separated from a lover, "To come to last, and more specifically, to the case of parted lovers, who present the greatest interest and of whom the narrator is, perhaps better qualified to speak"(74). This may not be much but is definitely a first step in getting more insight on the narrator.