The deathwatch is a recurring motif for Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty. It represents Ralph’s fearful anticipation of death, which he first experiences when Carolyn is dying: “[H]e listened to […] the deathwatch ticking inside Carolyn, and it seemed to him that his heart would break with sorrow and terror. How much would she be required to suffer before the end came? How much would he be required to suffer?” (5)

The desire to escape these questions compels Ralph to go on his long walks, which brings him to Ed at the airport. The deathwatch not only suggests death’s inevitability, but its inescapability. Despite Ralph’s best attempts to get away from the deathwatch, his encounter with Ed eventually leads to his involvement in the conflict between the Random and the Purpose, immersing him in a hyper-awareness of death. Consequently, the deathwatch recurs at the end of the novel, after Ralph has resolved the main conflict of the narrative. Ralph anticipates the death of Natalie, which he plans to substitute with his own.

Ralph’s second experience with the deathwatch sees a change in attitude, as Ralph no longer tries to walk away from death, but toward it.