How we cite our quotes: [Part.Paragraph]
Quote #1
Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra. Before that I was three, then two, then one, then zero. "Was I minus numbers?" (1.1)
Jack understands a lot at five, but he still has a rough grasp of time. He doesn't yet understand that he is getting older every single day, not just magically clicking over from four to five on the night of his birthday.
Quote #2
Waiting for my cake takes hour and hours. (1.215)
Unless the cake is burned black by the time it comes out of the oven, there's no way it takes this long to bake. Jack just thinks it takes so long, because it does take so long in kid time… when he's not doing something to keep his mind occupied, time goes by so slowly.
Quote #3
"Next week when I'll be six you better get candles." "Next year," says Ma, "you mean next year." Her eyes are shut. They always do that sometimes and she doesn't say anything for a minute. (1.251-1.252)
Jack doesn't understand the difference between a week and a year, because both are still an insane amount of time for a five-year-old. Ma, however, does understand the difference, and she cannot bear having to spend another year trapped inside Room.