Simpsons and Freudian Dream Theory

S4Ep3 Analysis

Homer's first dream displays a wish-fulfillment using the symbol of a womb to represent comfort.  The womb is a universal symbol of maternal care, as it is every human's shared experience of being cared for.  Homer is experiencing an anxiety dream, as he fears that he will be rejected by this maternal figure (forced out of the womb).  This anxiety may stem from a repressed desire for all of his mother's love and affection.  The hand that pulls him from the womb is actually Marge's hand, and she pulls him awake so that he will face the responsibilities of the day.  This external stimuli of Marge pulling his foot is incorporated into his dream, and shows a condensation of both Marge and his mother as figures that represent care and trigger a fear of rejection.

Homer's latter two dreams show a wish-fulfillment that is concerned with the daily residue of Homer's life.  Homer has decided to stop attending church, and his dreams fulfill his desire to justify this decision against the criticism of his family.  The beginning of Homer's first dream displays anxiety, as Homer's house begins to shake.  This can be interpreted as a repressed desire for destruction of the family roles that confine him (represented as the house).  God is a displacement of a father figure, and justifies all of Homer's habits as He drinks and watches tv and dislikes the Reverend alongside Homer.  In Heaven, Homer's dream reveals a death wish, as God tells Homer he will be dead in 6 months.  The "meaning of life" that Homer questions God about is distorted by His evasion of the question, and by the cutoff right before the answer.  Benjamin Franklin and Jimi Hendrix can be interpreted as further wish-fulfillment, as they are figures associated with money, prestige, power, and intelligence.  That they are playing air hockey suggests that they are doing an activity that Homer also enjoys, and are thus share the same status as him.
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