"In later years, when the doctor recalled this day, it seemed to him- he did not know whether this was his original impression or whether it had been altered by subsequent experiences- that even then the crowd hung about the market only by habit, that there was no reason for it to be there, for the empty stalls were shut and not even padlocked and there was nothing to buy or sell in the littered square, which was no longer swept.
     And it seemed to him that even then he saw, like a silent reproach to the passers-by, thin, decently dressed old men and women shrinking against the walls, wordlessly offering for sale things no one bought and no one needed- artificial flowers, evening dresses, uniforms of abolished offices.
     Humbler people traded in more useful things-crusts of stale rationed black bread, damp, dirty chunks of sugar, and ounce packages of coarse tobacco cut in half right through the wrapping.
     And all sorts of non-descript odds and ends were sold all over the market, going up in price as they changed hands. "

The formerly wealthy people were attempting to sell all that was once valuable to people who were concerned only about their day-to-day existence. This was a time when people were selling fmaily heirlooms for firewood. Even when the entire structure of society changes, people will still cling to what they once believed was important. These, poor,confused people are fools. Unable to adapt to their new environment, they will cling to whatever they can until they lose strength and fall by the wayside.