Ginster notes the expressions of enthusiasm from the "human tide" at the outbreak of the First World War, and his feeling is one of absolute alienation. Removed from any stubborn desire for economic advancement and social recognition, he is the prototypical image of the pariah or the outsider. Skeptical of the supposedly eternal values ​​of the true, the good, and the beautiful, Ginster seeks, with his irony, to become a peaceful spoilsport. Ginster's behavior consists of snatching masks and smashing facades. He becomes aware of this after meeting a prostitute and contemplating the ruined harbor scene. With her, he felt "what I hadn't experienced during the entire war: that I must die, that I am alone." This same experience reappears when he walks through the port area of ​​Marseille and sees that it represents the closest thing to home for him.