--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How on earth could he not see it? It…" description: "\"“How on earth could he not see it? It stood on the wooden floor behind him, in the corner just inside the door, where the light from the hallway poorly..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/helen-garner-12280_alarm-clock_how-on-earth-could-he-not-see-it-it-stoo_1671454.jpg" --- # How on earth could he not see it? It stood on the wooden… ![“How on earth could he not see it? It stood on the wooden floor behind him, in the corner just inside the door, where the light from the hallway poorly fell: an old-fashioned alarm clock with three blunt stumps for legs and a bell like a Prussian helmet. Its face, a faithful little moon, was turned…” quote by Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/helen-garner-12280_alarm-clock_how-on-earth-could-he-not-see-it-it-stoo_1671454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/helen-garner-12280_alarm-clock_how-on-earth-could-he-not-see-it-it-stoo_1671454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/helen-garner-12280_alarm-clock_how-on-earth-could-he-not-see-it-it-stoo_1671454.jpg) > ““How on earth could he not see it? It stood on the wooden floor behind him, in the corner just inside the door, where the light from the hallway poorly fell: an old-fashioned alarm clock with three blunt stumps for legs and a bell like a Prussian helmet. Its face, a faithful little moon, was turned up to her, its hands were spread to plead innocence, and its inner mechanism emitted without ceasing the rapid ribbon of blows called the passing of time.”” [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes an alarm clock as a metaphor for time’s relentless passage, pleading for innocence. **In simple terms:** Time passes relentlessly, like a pleading clock. Key Takeaway Respect time, act mindfully. Themes time mortality memory Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - work deadlines - personal milestones - aging process Key Concepts impermanence existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront time’s pressure? - What does the clock symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Clock cannot stop time’s flow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Passing Of Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-of-time/) ## Related quotes > [We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-went-to-the-moon-to-have-fun-but-the-moon-turned-out-to-completely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beneath the blossoms with a pot of wine, No friends at hand, so I poured alone; I raised my cup to invite the moon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-bai/beneath-the-blossoms-with-a-pot-of-wine-no-friends-at-hand-so-i/) [Li Bai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-bai/) > [The night I was born, Lord I swear the moon turned a fire red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/the-night-i-was-born-lord-i-swear-the-moon-turned-a-fire-red/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [“To become a better you, look nowhere else for another alarm to blow before you wake up. Get up and rise up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/to-become-a-better-you-look-nowhere-else-for-another-alarm-to-blow/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [It is easy to be swept away by some overwhelming feeling, so it's helpful to remember that any stressful feeling is like a compassionate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/it-is-easy-to-be-swept-away-by-some-overwhelming-feeling-so-it-s/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Disturbers are never popular - nobody ever really loved an alarm clock in action, no matter how grateful he may have been afterwards for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/disturbers-are-never-popular-nobody-ever-really-loved-an-alarm-clock/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [“There is no alarm clock like embarassment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryrose-wood/there-is-no-alarm-clock-like-embarassment/) [Maryrose Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryrose-wood/) > [“You know the horrible life of the alarm clock – it’s a monster that has always appalled me because of the number of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-vache/you-know-the-horrible-life-of-the-alarm-clock-it-s-a-monster-that-has/) Jacques Vache > [Stress is an alarm clock that lets you know you're attached to something not true for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/stress-is-an-alarm-clock-that-lets-you-know-you-re-attached-to/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [As a performer, I wanted to be the loudest, most persistent alarm clock I could be, because there didn’t seem like any other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/as-a-performer-i-wanted-to-be-the-loudest-most-persistent-alarm-clock/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [We've already seen digital picture frames pre-loaded with viruses; I'm not eager to have my refrigerator hacked or my alarm clock turned against me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/we-ve-already-seen-digital-picture-frames-pre-loaded-with-viruses-i-m/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [Here in the UK the audience immediately reacts and they get the fact that: "What would be the most annoying thing in the world?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-jones/here-in-the-uk-the-audience-immediately-reacts-and-they-get-the-fact/) [Duncan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-jones/) > [The clouds are passing by slowly as the moon appears. Like the clouds, there are certain things which will disappear with the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jin-sun-mi/the-clouds-are-passing-by-slowly-as-the-moon-appears-like-the-clouds/) Jin Sun Mi > [“But I recently celebrated my thirtieth birthday and became acutely aware of my age, and the passing of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-kinghorn/but-i-recently-celebrated-my-thirtieth-birthday-and-became-acutely/) [Judith Kinghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-kinghorn/) ## More by Helen Garner > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [To slide into the domed reading room at ten each morning, specially in summer, off the hot street outside, was a sensation as delicious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/to-slide-into-the-domed-reading-room-at-ten-each-morning-specially-in/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“But I’ve been reading A Very Easy Death, about Simone de Beauvoir’s mother dying of cancer – it’s just brilliant. It really helped me.’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/but-i-ve-been-reading-a-very-easy-death-about-simone-de-beauvoir-s/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“The two big cities of Australia are tonally as distinct from each other as Boston is from L.A. or Lyon from Marseilles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/the-two-big-cities-of-australia-are-tonally-as-distinct-from-each/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [It's much more interesting for me to think that taking a chunk of experience and mushing it up together with other things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/it-s-much-more-interesting-for-me-to-think-that-taking-a-chunk-of/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [On Melbourne summer mornings the green trams go rolling in stately progress down tunnels thick with leaves: the bright air carries along the avenue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/on-melbourne-summer-mornings-the-green-trams-go-rolling-in-stately/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [It's disturbing at my age to look at a young woman's destructive behaviour and hear the echoes of it, of one's own destructiveness in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/it-s-disturbing-at-my-age-to-look-at-a-young-woman-s-destructive/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [I'm very disturbed by violence against women when it is violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-m-very-disturbed-by-violence-against-women-when-it-is-violence/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [I just... my childhood seems, when I look back, to be largely composed of reading, lying on the bed. I mean, my mother was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-just-my-childhood-seems-when-i-look-back-to-be-largely-composed-of/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [I'm full of restlessness. Not lonely, exactly - my head is racing with ideas. But it is that old treacherous feeling that real life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-m-full-of-restlessness-not-lonely-exactly-my-head-is-racing-with/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“I realised I had a stream of thoughts about him which ran for the most part below conscious level. I noticed jets spurting up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-realised-i-had-a-stream-of-thoughts-about-him-which-ran-for-the/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“It was early summer. And everything, as it always does, began to heave and change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/it-was-early-summer-and-everything-as-it-always-does-began-to-heave/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Maybe this is pathetic, but I still dread producing a book that doesn't earn back its advance. I hate obligations that are financially foggy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/maybe-this-is-pathetic-but-i-still-dread-producing-a-book-that-doesn/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [At the time it seemed like a natural development of my interest in what was going on around me in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/at-the-time-it-seemed-like-a-natural-development-of-my-interest-in/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Courts are supposed to be places of reason. But this, of course, is a fantasy. I mean, there is reason being used as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/courts-are-supposed-to-be-places-of-reason-but-this-of-course-is-a/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) [Explore all 55 Helen Garner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) ## More Alarm clock quotes > [“answer. Donald’s dysfunctional belief was related to Janine’s, but he’d held on to it for much longer—a life of responsible and successful work should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burnett/answer-donald-s-dysfunctional-belief-was-related-to-janine-s-but-he-d/) [Bill Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burnett/) > [My phone is an alarm clock, a flashlight, a music player and a digital camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-phone-is-an-alarm-clock-a-flashlight-a-music-player-and-a-digital/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Something, which the police called a bomb, had exploded in his shed. Investigations were begun, and the efforts of the authorities were soon to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-von-salomon/something-which-the-police-called-a-bomb-had-exploded-in-his-shed/) Ernst von Salomon > [Here in the UK the audience immediately reacts and they get the fact that: "What would be the most annoying thing in the world?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-jones/here-in-the-uk-the-audience-immediately-reacts-and-they-get-the-fact/) [Duncan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-jones/) > [We've already seen digital picture frames pre-loaded with viruses; I'm not eager to have my refrigerator hacked or my alarm clock turned against me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/we-ve-already-seen-digital-picture-frames-pre-loaded-with-viruses-i-m/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“I have a dream. And in this dream I’m under the covers in bed, just a few scant inches away from Carter’s body. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-sivec/i-have-a-dream-and-in-this-dream-i-m-under-the-covers-in-bed-just-a/) [Tara Sivec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-sivec/) > [“Men know what they want. Men make concrete plans. Men own alarm clocks. Men sleep on a mattress that isn’t on the floor. Men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/men-know-what-they-want-men-make-concrete-plans-men-own-alarm-clocks/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [Sleeping is my drug, my bed is the dealer, and my alarm clock is the police..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-sakundiak/sleeping-is-my-drug-my-bed-is-the-dealer-and-my-alarm-clock-is-the/) [Mitchell Sakundiak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-sakundiak/) > [“Tip #2: No more alarm clocks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-helen-conroy/tip-2-no-more-alarm-clocks/) Mary Helen Conroy > [“(On differences between men and boys) Men know what they want. Men make concrete plans. Men own alarm clocks. Men sleep on a mattress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/on-differences-between-men-and-boys-men-know-what-they-want-men-make/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [As a performer, I wanted to be the loudest, most persistent alarm clock I could be, because there didn’t seem like any other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/as-a-performer-i-wanted-to-be-the-loudest-most-persistent-alarm-clock/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [Stress is an alarm clock that lets you know you're attached to something not true for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/stress-is-an-alarm-clock-that-lets-you-know-you-re-attached-to/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“You know the horrible life of the alarm clock – it’s a monster that has always appalled me because of the number of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-vache/you-know-the-horrible-life-of-the-alarm-clock-it-s-a-monster-that-has/) Jacques Vache > [I could barely function as an adult; I slept through alarm clocks and lost train tickets mid-journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/i-could-barely-function-as-an-adult-i-slept-through-alarm-clocks-and/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) Browse all 255 Alarm clock quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How on earth could he not see it? 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