Summary Of Count The Seconds

The writer of “Count the Seconds” effectively incorporates the analogy of a clock into both the plot and the style of writing. The writer skillfully utilizes the speaker to implement the juxtaposition of a clock’s unwavering repetitiveness, even more specifically “that snake of an alarm clock” and Skyler’s monotonous life. The metaphor not only mirrors the title, but the writer effectively extends the metaphor further through the rhythm of the story as the piece is written mainly in concise, factual paragraphs. This stylistic choice appropriately mimics the constant passing of seconds. Another way in which the speaker artfully establishes the comparison between clock and the banality of routine is through the use of the constant repetition
of counting seconds or passing of seconds effectively creating a strong sense of the passage of time. “Keep counting the seconds[…] only a few seconds off schedule […] miscounted the seconds”. Throughout the short story “Count the Seconds” the writer proficiently carries out the comparison of Skyler’s dull and monotonous life to the constant and unrelenting passing of seconds through the imitation of a ticking clock.