what role does the landscape play in the story?

The landscape at this remote plateau in Algeria is windswept and barren. The tone of this landscape is one of solitude. Throughout the story Daru faces physical isolation on his the remote plateau. This physical solitude is not a negative state, however; Daru has accepted his living conditions and indeed feels at home within them. Though the landscape itself is unfeeling and unforgiving, Daru makes himself comfortable within it.