He started down the steps that dropped from the street to the quay beside the Seine. He bounced the back wheels of the buggy down each step. "I am really quite stuffed," he told himself," but I wish I had taken that apple. It would have been the right dessert after such a rich source.
Armand is hungry but manages to convince himself that he has eaten the meal that he has been smelling through the open window of the restaurant. Not only is this an exercise in suggestion, but it also shows that the mind is capable of believing anything when it is repeated enough. This conversation with himself also illustrates how Armand has managed to maintain normality and humanity by keeping the same routine and the same pattern of life that others in a better situation keep up.
And he didn't sleep well that night. He kept wondering about the children. Were they warm enough? Wouldn't they be lonely? He tried to pretend that he was fretting about something else. "It was my bridge," he said aloud. " They had no right to put me off my own property. I ought to go back and assert my rights."
In this conversation with himself, Armand is trying to pretend that he is still annoyed about being put out of his "home" - the bridge under which he has always lived. He does feel an ownership of the spot because of the number of years he has been there and he feels slightly invaded by the Calcets. However, it also shows that he is already bonding with the children and is starting to feel farherly towards them, concerned for their wellbeing and wondering if they are warm, safe and happy. This reinforces Mireli's observation that he doesn't hate children at all but is frightened they will find a way into his heart.
Armand walked briskly. He raised his head so that the points of his beard were thrust forward. He straightened his shoulders in the mended coat. He wasn't a hobo anymore. He was a workingman of Paris.
The description of Armand now that he has a job and a purpose is far different to the way in which he is described at the beginning of the novel. At the start he is shuffling, his head is down, his beard and hair are unkempt and he does not really make eye contact. In this paragraph he is a proud and purposeful man. He walks quickly, because he has somewhere particular to go. His head is held high. He is well presented. This shows the difference circumstances can make to anperson's self-esteem and the way in which they express their feelings through their body language.
