Time

It is said that when a person loses one sense, their other senses are heightened. In Joe’s case, he has lost all but one of his senses. He has no mouth, ears, or nose. All he has is the sense of touch. But, even then he does not have any hands to touch with, so he has to play a passive role. Something has to touch him, and then he can use his sense of touch to wrap his head around it.
So, with only the sense of touch, he figures out a way to keep time. He waits to feel the warmth of the sun on his skin from the window when the sun comes up. Then, he knows it is dawn. The first time he every figures this out, he says it is January 1st. Even though it is not the first day of the year, it is a way to keep everything in order.
Joe says, “If you can keep track of time you can get a hold on yourself and keep yourself in the world but if you lose it why then you are lost too. The last thing that ties in wit other people is gone and you are all alone.” Joe knows that he is very alone, and realizes that time is the only thing that connects us and keeps us together. Everybody goes by the same time. Joe plays a very passive role, because he can’t get up and do anything. He can’t do anything about how he feels. He can’t communicate with others and there’s no way to fix him. Mastering time was a way for Joe to take control of himself for himself.