"Last Resort" and Freud

Freud was an extremely important man in the psychoanalysis field and his theories could be applied to many various aspects of life. Even a rock song heard frequently on the radio could be analyzed in terms of Freudian concepts and ideas. The song “Last Resort” by Papa Roach is a perfect example of how a song can fit into the boundaries of the Freudian theory of the Oedipus Complex.
The singer of the song is a male and the song is sung in the first person, so it can be assumed that the persona being presented is of the masculine gender. The man is completely distraught about life and is “contemplating suicide” (Papa Roach). The life of the man is pure turmoil and he admits that “It all started when I lost my mother /No love for myself/ And no love for another” (Papa Roach). That statement clearly shows that he never passed the Oedipal stage of his life and was not able to form the healthy “identification with the father” (Freud 439). Freud believed that when a child was in the Oedipal stage, the boy would associate himself with the mother (mirroring), receive comfort from her, and desire her love and affection. The persona in the song could not handle the death of his mother, so all of his ability to cope with life and desires were buried with her. The man does say that “Im losing my sight/ Losing my mind /Wish somebody would tell me Im fine” (Papa Roach). He is inside searching for support, but because he was never able to pass the Oedipal stage, he does not know how to formulate healthy loving relationships outside of his connection with his dead mother. Freud gave an example of “someone who feels great animosity toward a cold and distant mother may convert that feeling into its opposite, a fantasy that all women are themselves hostile and therefore unworthy of love” (Freud 390). In this case the mother does not appear to have been cold, but her death made the man shut out the rest of the world. The persona lost all capability to function in society to the point where he wants to end his own life. This song shows how Freud’s idea of the importance of the mother and son relationship is relevant, and how truly vital it is to be able to move past the Oedipal stage.
The Oedipal stage might have been escaped, but the death of the mother made it stagnant in time. All the desire the man had for the mother, only escalates due to the fact that he could never have her. The mother gets even more idolized and no human being could compare to the emotional attachment the man had with his dead parent. “Nothing’s alright” (Papa Roach) for the man and that is because he does not have the skills to formulate relationships with people around him. This is a sad song and it shows how terrible life can turn out if a child does not develop good, healthy relations with both parents.



Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. 2nd ed.
Malden: Blackwell, 2004. p.389-396, 431-446

"Papa Roach/ Last Resort." Lyrics Freak. 28 Feb. 2009
.