What are the physical and psychological states of the camp in the autumn of 1942?

What is common for the characters mentioned in the novel is a sense of loss of identity that comes with being taken away from home and put into a hostile environment. The characters all learn how to behave to attract the less attention to them and this often means denying their natural instincts and needs. Because of this, the characters become a shell of what they were in the beginning of the novel. The mother loses her strength, the children lose their rebellious side and the father loses his authoritarian instinct. All this affects then greatly so in the end the characters are no longer happy and content with the life they have.