---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had awakened at five that morning, as…"
description: "\"“He had awakened at five that morning, as the condemned man awakens at dawn on the day of his execution,”\" — Anonymous"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg"
---

#  He had awakened at five that morning, as the condemned man…

![“He had awakened at five that morning, as the condemned man awakens at dawn on the day of his execution,” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg)

> ““He had awakened at five that morning, as the condemned man awakens at dawn on the day of his execution,””

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He rises early with a sense of impending doom, likening his awakening to a condemned man's final moments before execution.

**In simple terms:** Early awakening feels like facing inevitable fate.

Key Takeaway

Morning dread can mirror existential crisis.

Themes

mortality anticipation psychological tension existentialism fear

Mood

foreboding introspective somber

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- preparing for a life‑changing event
- facing a personal crisis
- confronting a deadline
- experiencing acute anxiety
- reflecting on mortality

Key Concepts

time death psychology self-awareness

Practical Applications

- writing a novel to convey tension
- using metaphor in therapy to explore fear

Questions to Reflect On

- What does this metaphor reveal about his mindset?
- How does the comparison shape our perception of urgency?

A Different Perspective

null

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [The biggest coward is a man who awakens a womans love with no intention of loving her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-coward-is-a-man-who-awakens-a-womans-love-with-no/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I AWAKENED THAT MORNING to birdsong. It was only the little yellow bird who lives in the locust tree outside our bedroom window,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-tryon/i-awakened-that-morning-to-birdsong-it-was-only-the-little-yellow/)

[Thomas Tryon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-tryon/)

> [“For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-all-to-be-accomplished-for-me-to-feel-less-lonely-all-that/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [How would you feel, if the day that you were born, somebody else had already planned the day of your execution?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-yourofsky/how-would-you-feel-if-the-day-that-you-were-born-somebody-else-had/)

[Gary Yourofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-yourofsky/)

> [...a condemned man who, at the hour of death, says or thinks that if the alternative were offered him of existing somewhere, on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-condemned-man-who-at-the-hour-of-death-says-or-thinks-that-if-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The absurd man will not commit suicide; he wants to live, without relinquishing any of his certainty, without a future, without hope, without illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-absurd-man-will-not-commit-suicide-he-wants-to-live-without/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [...When a man first awakens, it sometimes takes several moments before he starts thinking clearly." "And here I thought it took several years, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/when-a-man-first-awakens-it-sometimes-takes-several-moments-before-he/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“The morning will brighten the day, darkness gives way to light. The man awakens and sharpens his knife on the whetstone of success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/the-morning-will-brighten-the-day-darkness-gives-way-to-light-the-man/)

Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann

> [“No noose is good noose’—as the condemned man said on the scaffold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/no-noose-is-good-noose-as-the-condemned-man-said-on-the-scaffold/)

[Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/)

> [Prayers for the condemned man will be offered on an adding machine. Numbers constitute the only universal language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/prayers-for-the-condemned-man-will-be-offered-on-an-adding-machine/)

[Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/)

> [“At the age he had attained with his life span short before him he had begun to look upon the human world with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/at-the-age-he-had-attained-with-his-life-span-short-before-him-he-had/)

[Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/)

> [In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as delusion of reprieve. The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-psychiatry-there-is-a-certain-condition-known-as-delusion-of/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [“In the darkest region of the political field the condemned man represents the symmetrical, inverted figure of the king.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/in-the-darkest-region-of-the-political-field-the-condemned-man/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [When you see a condemned man on his way to the gallows, it moves you to pity. If you could do something to free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mary-claret/when-you-see-a-condemned-man-on-his-way-to-the-gallows-it-moves-you/)

[Anthony Mary Claret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mary-claret/)

> [The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-intelligent-man-who-is-proud-of-his-intelligence-is-like-the/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

## More by Anonymous

> [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More Condemned Man quotes

> [The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-intelligent-man-who-is-proud-of-his-intelligence-is-like-the/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [When you see a condemned man on his way to the gallows, it moves you to pity. If you could do something to free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mary-claret/when-you-see-a-condemned-man-on-his-way-to-the-gallows-it-moves-you/)

[Anthony Mary Claret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mary-claret/)

> [“At the age he had attained with his life span short before him he had begun to look upon the human world with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/at-the-age-he-had-attained-with-his-life-span-short-before-him-he-had/)

[Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/)

> [Prayers for the condemned man will be offered on an adding machine. Numbers constitute the only universal language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/prayers-for-the-condemned-man-will-be-offered-on-an-adding-machine/)

[Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/)

> [The absurd man will not commit suicide; he wants to live, without relinquishing any of his certainty, without a future, without hope, without illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-absurd-man-will-not-commit-suicide-he-wants-to-live-without/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“No noose is good noose’—as the condemned man said on the scaffold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/no-noose-is-good-noose-as-the-condemned-man-said-on-the-scaffold/)

[Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/)

> [In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as delusion of reprieve. The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-psychiatry-there-is-a-certain-condition-known-as-delusion-of/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [“In the darkest region of the political field the condemned man represents the symmetrical, inverted figure of the king.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/in-the-darkest-region-of-the-political-field-the-condemned-man/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [“For by giving it some hard thought, by considering the whole thing calmly, I could see that the trouble with the guillotine was that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-by-giving-it-some-hard-thought-by-considering-the-whole-thing/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Nothing is more humiliating than to have to beg for work, and a system in which any man has to beg for work stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/nothing-is-more-humiliating-than-to-have-to-beg-for-work-and-a-system/)

[Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/)

> [“The papers were always talking about the debt owed to society. According to them, it had to be paid . But that doesn't speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-papers-were-always-talking-about-the-debt-owed-to-society/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [“cartridge belts. Maybe wood smoke somewhere. Jacob was dark-eyed and pale. He had a young man’s beard, only potential, the hint of black whiskers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/cartridge-belts-maybe-wood-smoke-somewhere-jacob-was-dark-eyed-and/)

[Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/)

> [At the end of the table, the secretary was reading the decision in some case, but in such a mournful and monotonous voice, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/at-the-end-of-the-table-the-secretary-was-reading-the-decision-in/)

[Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/)

> [“Nowhere. No one is ever going to hear from you again, sir. No one." 'Uh... well... I...' 'You profane my world, sir! I cannot...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rice/nowhere-no-one-is-ever-going-to-hear-from-you-again-sir-no-one-uh/)

[Jeff Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rice/)

> [“He shook his head, staring at her like a condemned man who beheld the face of his executioner. "Aline," he whispered, "Do you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/he-shook-his-head-staring-at-her-like-a-condemned-man-who-beheld-the/)

[Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/)

Browse all 21 Condemned Man quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He had awakened at five that morning, as the condemned man awakens at dawn on the day of his execution,”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anonymous"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as-the-condemned-man-awakens-at/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Condemned Man"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as-the-condemned-man-awakens-at/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ec/anonymous-1_condemned-man_he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as_33893.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He had awakened at five that morning, as the condemned man awakens at dawn on the day of his execution,” — Anonymous",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anonymous",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He had awakened at five that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as-the-condemned-man-awakens-at/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-had-awakened-at-five-that-morning-as-the-condemned-man-awakens-at/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
