"He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow"

The image of a cock crowing at sunrise is rich in symbolism, both humorous and critical. Here, the rooster, proud and self-assured, struts in the belief that the glorious sun has emerged from the darkness specifically to listen to his crowing. He misinterprets his role, placing his own importance above the cosmic event. Rather than understanding himself as a small participant in a vast, complex system, he inverts cause and effect, transforming his morning ritual into the presumed catalyst for dawn itself.

Eliot’s words wryly expose the tendency toward egotism and self-centeredness apparent in human nature. The comparison humorously exaggerates the delusions that can occur when someone becomes too absorbed by their own influence, losing sight of larger realities. Such a mindset leads to comic misjudgment, replacing humility with vanity. This figure becomes the center of his own universe, unable, or unwilling, to realize his true scale against the backdrop of greater forces.

The effect is satirical and poignant, calling attention to the ways in which pride can distance an individual from reality. Rather than recognizing that the world goes on regardless of their presence, some people may persist in thinking their actions or opinions are indispensable, that events revolve around them. It’s a gentle but pointed reminder that self-importance can breed absurdity when unchecked by perspective.

On another level, the metaphor highlights the danger of conflating correlation with causation: just because two events happen together, it does not mean one causes the other. The cock’s crow and the sunrise coexist, but the rooster’s conviction that his cry has summoned the light is a fundamental misunderstanding. Eliot playfully captures the blindness that can afflict anyone who confuses coincidence with necessity, ultimately urging the reader toward greater modesty and clarity of thought.