"I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness"

This quote by James Thurber is a humorous method of expressing the problem of getting up early in the early morning. It suggests that the speaker was so tired that they disliked consciousness, as if it was a physical substance. The speaker's attempts to learn what sort of allergic reaction they had were unsuccessful, as they eventually concluded that it needs to be an allergy to awareness. This quote is a humorous method of expressing the difficulty of getting up early in the early morning and the exhaustion that comes with it. It likewise suggests that the speaker was so tired that they were unable to consider any other explanation for their sneezing fits. The quote is an amusing way of expressing the problem of awakening early in the early morning and the fatigue that features it.