Chapter 2 Chapter 01 A Completely Modern City

The theme of the story is taken from some rare events that happened in Oran in a certain year in the 1940s.From a normal perspective, these unusual things happened out of place.At first glance, Oran appears to be nothing more than an unremarkable city, little more than a provincial capital on the coast of French Algeria. The city itself is rather ugly, it has to be admitted.It is calm in appearance, but it must take some time to see that it is in every way different from many commercial cities.How can one imagine a city without pigeons, trees, or gardens?How can people imagine that there is no place where you can neither see the wings of birds, nor hear the rustling of leaves? In short, this is a place with no characteristics?In this city, the change of seasons can only be seen by looking at the sky.Only the clean air, the baskets of flowers that peddlers bring in from the suburbs, carry the message of spring, which is sold at the market here.In summer, the scorching sun scorched the overdried houses, covering the walls with a gray dust, and one could not live without the shutters drawn down.But in autumn, it rained heavily, and the whole city was covered with mud.Until winter comes, there is no clear weather.

One of the easiest ways to know a city is to ask how its people live, love, and die.In our small city, whether it is the climate or not, all this activity is carried on with the same feverish indifference.It shows that people are there to get bored, but at the same time try hard to get used to it.The citizens there are very hardworking, but the purpose is just to get rich.They are particularly interested in doing business, and the most important thing, as they say, is doing business.Of course, they also have general life joys and enjoyments, such as: liking women, watching movies and going to the beach to bathe.But they were tactful, scheduling these entertainments on Saturday nights or Sundays, and trying to make more money on other days.After get off work in the afternoon, they meet regularly in cafes, take a walk on the same boulevard or stay on the balcony.Young people like to look for some short and intense stimulation. As for the hobbies of the older people, they are nothing more than running and bocce clubs, attending banquets held by fraternity groups, or going to clubs to gamble wildly and try their luck.

Some people will definitely say that this is not a unique phenomenon in our city, and our contemporaries all live in this way.Yes, in today's society it seems only natural that we see people working from morning to night and then wasting their spare time playing cards, going to cafes and gossiping .But there are cities and places where people think about other aspects of life from time to time.Although generally speaking, their lives are not changed by this, it is better to have this consideration than not to have it.Oran, on the other hand, seems to be a thoroughly modern city, that is to say, where people don't think about anything other than everyday life.So there's no need to paint a picture of exactly how people of ours fall in love.The relationship between men and women is not a short-lived carnival, or a long-term married life.Outside of these two extremes, there are very few intermediate states.It's not unique to them either.In Oran, as elsewhere, for lack of time and thought, people can only be in a state of being in love without knowing it.

The more unique place in this city is the difficulty of death.However, the word "difficulty" is not used well, it is more appropriate to say "uncomfortable".Being sick is always uncomfortable, but there are cities and places where you get help if you get sick, which means letting things run their course to some degree.It is natural for a sick person to need consideration and support from people.But in Oran it is necessary to have a healthy body for the harsh climate, the great business, the dull scenery, the short evenings, the means of recreation, and so on.A sick person feels lonely anywhere, let alone a dying person.Just imagine, when the whole city is busy discussing invoices, bills of lading, discounts, etc. on the phone or in cafes, how should a dying patient shut up behind the crackling walls of the scorching sun? What is the situation?One can imagine, even under the conditions of modern life, in a dry and hot place, how uncomfortable it will be when death comes!

This briefing may give a clear idea of ​​the city.Still, all this should not be exaggerated too much.It is worth mentioning that the city's appearance is as mediocre as its life.But once you get used to it, it's not hard to pass the day.Since life in this city is not difficult to get used to, it can be said that everything is tolerable.Of course, in this way, life in this city is indeed not very interesting.But at least there is no chaos here, and the frankness, friendliness, and industriousness of the city's residents often win the rightful praise from tourists from outside.This city without scenery, trees and souls gives people a sense of tranquility, which will eventually lead people to dreamland.However, it should be said in justice that the beauty of the surrounding scenery of the city is unrivaled, in the middle of a bare plateau, surrounded by sunlit hills, and in front of it is a bay of perfect outline.It's just a pity that the city was built with its back to the bay, so you can't see the sea without walking for a while.

In view of the foregoing, it is not difficult to believe that the inhabitants of the town could not have foreseen that the minor incidents of that spring--as we shall see--were the harbingers of a chain of serious events which followed, and which The chain of events is what this book reports.These things may seem unsurprising to some, and unbelievable to others.But in any case, a reporter cannot take these contradictory views into account.His task is only: when he knows that something has really happened, and this event has related to the life and death of the whole people, so there will be thousands of witnesses from the bottom of their hearts who will confirm that what he said is true Then he said, "This happened."

Moreover, the narrator of the incident—whom the reader will know in due course—had only been given the opportunity to gather a certain amount of testimony by chance, and the circumstances involved him himself. otherwise he has no good reason for doing the work.It is in this situation that he has the opportunity to play the role of historian.It goes without saying that a historian, even an amateur, always has a certain amount of data.Therefore, the narrator of this history also has his own materials: first, his own testimony; Some written materials finally fell into his hands.He can quote when he thinks it necessary and use it as he thinks best.And he's okay...but maybe this opening and grandstanding should end here, let's get down to business.More detail must be given on the first few days of the following incident.