He awoke at six, as usual. He needed no alarm clock. He was already comprehensively alarmed.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the idea of being mentally alert and aware of one's surroundings without needing external prompts.
In this quote, Martin Amis illustrates the state of heightened awareness and preparedness that one can possess naturally, suggesting that certain individuals are so attuned to their environment and responsibilities that they do not require external stimuli, like an alarm clock, to wake them up. It emphasizes an inner sense of urgency and engagement with life's demands, showcasing a deeper understanding of personal consciousness and vigilance.
In practice
You can use this quote in a motivational speech about self-awareness and personal responsibility.
Oh Christ, the exhaustion of not knowing anything. It's so tiring and hard on the nerves. It really takes it out of you, not knowing anything. You're given comedy and miss all the jokes. Every hour you get weaker. Sometimes, as I sit alone in my flat in London and stare at the window, I think how dismal it is, how heavy, to watch the rain and not know why it falls.
Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark - spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It's passing, yet I'm the one who's doing all the moving.
You know how it is when two souls meet in a burst of ecstatic volubility, with hearts tickling to hear and to tell, to know everything, to reveal everything, the shared reverence for the other's otherness, a feeling of solitude radiantly snapped by full *contact* - all that?
All my adult life I have been searching for the right adjective to describe my father's peculiarly aggressive comic style. I recently settled on 'defamatory.'
Love is an abstract noun, something nebulous. And yet love turns out to be the only part of us that is solid, as the world turns upside down and the screen goes black.
Jane was my wicked stepmother: she was generous, affectionate and resourceful; she salvaged my schooling and I owe her an unknowable debt for that. One flaw: sometimes, early on, she would tell me things designed to make me think less of my mother, and I would wave her away, saying, Jane, this just backfires and makes me think less of you.
Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?
Be careful with words, they're dangerous. Be wary of them. They begat either demons or angels. It's up to you to give life to one or the other. Be careful, I tell you, nothing is as dangerous as giving free rein to words
When the sage points at the moon, all that the idiot sees is the finger.
Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.
You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.
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