--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like these people swarming on the…" description: "\"I like these people swarming on the sidewalks, wedged into a little space of houses and canals, hemmed in by fogs, cold lands, and the sea streaming li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/albert-camus-47_canals_i-like-these-people-swarming-on-the-side_3229289.jpg" --- # I like these people swarming on the sidewalks, wedged into… ![“I like these people swarming on the sidewalks, wedged into a little space of houses and canals, hemmed in by fogs, cold lands, and the sea streaming like a wet wash. I like them, for they are double. They are here and elsewhere.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/albert-camus-47_canals_i-like-these-people-swarming-on-the-side_3229289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/albert-camus-47_canals_i-like-these-people-swarming-on-the-side_3229289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/albert-camus-47_canals_i-like-these-people-swarming-on-the-side_3229289.jpg) > “I like these people swarming on the sidewalks, wedged into a little space of houses and canals, hemmed in by fogs, cold lands, and the sea streaming like a wet wash. I like them, for they are double. They are here and elsewhere.” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes people as both present and absent, reflecting on the duality of existence within a foggy, maritime setting. **In simple terms:** People exist in multiple places simultaneously. Key Takeaway Embrace the layered nature of reality. Themes existence duality environment Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - urban observation - literary analysis - travel writing Key Concepts phenomenology absurdism Questions to Reflect On - How does fog alter perception of place? - What does “double” suggest about identity? A Different Perspective The poetic description may be too abstract for concrete understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canals/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Elsewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elsewhere/) [Fog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fog/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Like People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-people/) [Little Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-space/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Swarming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-swarming-6102335/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Sidewalk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalk/) [Sidewalks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalks/) [Sidewalks Wedged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalks-wedged-6102336/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Streaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streaming/) [Swarming Sidewalks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swarming-sidewalks-6102334/) ## Related quotes > [Holland is a dream, Monsieur, a dream of gold and smoke-smokier by day, more gilded by night. And night and day that dream is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/holland-is-a-dream-monsieur-a-dream-of-gold-and-smoke-smokier-by-day/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The sidewalks flash silver with mica. Skyline smeared with geese. By way of recognition I lost the sound of your voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/the-sidewalks-flash-silver-with-mica-skyline-smeared-with-geese-by/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [“I wonder through the days like a whore in a world with no sidewalks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/i-wonder-through-the-days-like-a-whore-in-a-world-with-no-sidewalks/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [Any town that doesn't have sidewalks doesn't love its children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/any-town-that-doesn-t-have-sidewalks-doesn-t-love-its-children/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“Sidewalks help the blind see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-kalyan-c-kankanala/sidewalks-help-the-blind-see/) [Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-kalyan-c-kankanala/) > [There can be no reasonable right to live on sidewalks. Society needs order, and hence has a right to a minimally civilized ambience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/there-can-be-no-reasonable-right-to-live-on-sidewalks-society-needs/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I've sucked way too much cement for this year. Bad juju rising off them city sidewalks. I need to babble with a brook or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-ve-sucked-way-too-much-cement-for-this-year-bad-juju-rising-off/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The political ramifications of our festering financial and economic crisis have reached the sidewalks of New York, as well as other large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-webman/the-political-ramifications-of-our-festering-financial-and-economic/) [Jerry A. Webman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-webman/) > [I had a mother who walked to the library with me, and you can't walk to a lot of libraries in San Antonio because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-had-a-mother-who-walked-to-the-library-with-me-and-you-can-t-walk/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“And on the sidewalks, after they've emerged from the stations, after being sandpapered by the jostling and scraping that a city like this does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionne-brand/and-on-the-sidewalks-after-they-ve-emerged-from-the-stations-after/) [Dionne Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionne-brand/) > [“When fall comes to town, lovers, letters, and leaves reunite on the sidewalks, broken, burnt, and brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akash-mandal/when-fall-comes-to-town-lovers-letters-and-leaves-reunite-on-the/) [Akash Mandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akash-mandal/) > [“As children get older, this incidental outdoor activity--say, while waiting to be called to eat--becomes less bumptious, physically and entails more loitering with others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/as-children-get-older-this-incidental-outdoor-activity-say-while/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Its 2013. We should have heated sidewalks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-2013-we-should-have-heated-sidewalks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Growing up in New York City, I'd flirted with the idea of driving, but between the subway and the sidewalks, I'd never needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/growing-up-in-new-york-city-i-d-flirted-with-the-idea-of-driving-but/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Life can be a bore if you're constantly walking sidewalks instead of a tightrope once in a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilcox/life-can-be-a-bore-if-you-re-constantly-walking-sidewalks-instead-of/) [Larry Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilcox/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Canals quotes > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Actors do have good and bad sides. It's because the passage down the birth canal distorts the face. People born by caesarean section are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-griffiths/actors-do-have-good-and-bad-sides-it-s-because-the-passage-down-the/) [Richard Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-griffiths/) > [My daughter squealed again and both Bubba and I winced. It’s not an attractive sound, that. It’s high-pitched and it enters your ear canals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/my-daughter-squealed-again-and-both-bubba-and-i-winced-it-s-not-an/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [The citizens of Love Canal provided an example of how a blue-collar community with few resources can win against great odds (a multi-billion-dollar international…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-gibbs/the-citizens-of-love-canal-provided-an-example-of-how-a-blue-collar/) [Lois Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-gibbs/) > [The problem was that Panama technically belonged to Colombia, which refused to sign a treaty leasing it to the United States. So Roosevelt sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-problem-was-that-panama-technically-belonged-to-colombia-which/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [I miss that time. The cities back then, just after the forests died, were full of wonders, and you'd stumble on them--these princes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-that-time-the-cities-back-then-just-after-the-forests-died/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One learns little more about a man from his feats of literary memory than from the feats of his alimentary canal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/one-learns-little-more-about-a-man-from-his-feats-of-literary-memory/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [“The city's canals outnumber those in Venice,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonely-planet/the-city-s-canals-outnumber-those-in-venice/) [Lonely Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonely-planet/) > [dating you would be like a series of unnecessary root canals interspersed with occasional makeout sessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/dating-you-would-be-like-a-series-of-unnecessary-root-canals/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I have had a number of patients with breast cancer, all of whom had root canals on the tooth related to the breast area…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-diamond/i-have-had-a-number-of-patients-with-breast-cancer-all-of-whom-had/) [John Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-diamond/) > [The digestive canal represents a tube passing through the entire organism and communicating with the external world, i.e. as it were the external surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-pavlov/the-digestive-canal-represents-a-tube-passing-through-the-entire/) [Ivan Pavlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-pavlov/) > [People generally have more feeling for canals and roads than education. However, I hope we can advance them with equal pace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/people-generally-have-more-feeling-for-canals-and-roads-than/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-crowning-fortune-of-a-man-is-to-be-born-to-some-pursuit-which/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Equally important is the lack of cultivable land for farmers, a profound problem when you take into account that Afghanistan has always largely been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/equally-important-is-the-lack-of-cultivable-land-for-farmers-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) [Browse all 129 Canals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like these people swarming on the sidewalks, wedged into a little space of houses and canals, hemmed in by fogs, cold lands, and the sea streaming like a wet wash. 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