Time Quotes in Room

It's true that kids have longer attention spans than adults, at least when it comes to certain things. But being forced to entertain himself with very little, Jack has a very long attention span compared to most other kids. When he's doing stuff that he loves, it doesn't feel like any time is passing at all, whereas time seems to be dragging and dragging for poor Ma, having to read Dylan the Digger over and over again.

A day just has twenty-four hours, and Jack is probably only awake for sixteen of them, tops. But when he's bored, without Ma, the hours seem like they're stretched out forever and ever.

Jack already has a very poor concept of time. Add panic to the mix, and he completely loses all sense of it. He has no idea how long he's in the truck; all he knows is that it's been too long, and he fears that it's too late to attempt an escape.