History Analysis / AmongTheSleep

Within the second level through the magic portal, there are a series of paintings showing a normal-looking woman drinking from a well and turning into the swamp monster. This shows that the toddler has some idea that the monster is created from drinking something, so the well represents the alcohol. Teddy also reads part of a book in the beginning that mentions thirsty animals upon a hill digging a well to find water before they die of thirst. This could represent the mother's desperation for alcohol or the mother's need to sober up before it destroys her completely as drinking water can help counter the effects of alcohol.

** The figure is shown wearing a coat and boots along with holding an umbrella, indicating that the figure is going out somewhere, such as

The toddler is shown exiting the closet twice: once after they are shown entering it, a second time after they are not. The first time the toddler enters the closet with Teddy, there are trenchcoats freaking everywhere. As previously mentioned, the father is linked to trenchcoats, and is a positive figure, but here, they're portrayed as ominous and fearful, reinforcing the child's fear of their father taking them away from their mother. Alternatively, they could be used as symbols of safety just like the father; when the mother opens the closet, she specifically notes "you need to stop hiding from mommy", implying that this is where they hide when she's drunk, which is often. This comes into play at the end, because whatever the hell happened the night before, it ended with mommy crying and drunk on the floor with teddy in one hand, and the toddler hiding in their closet.

''Among The Sleep'' is a game highly notable for having a drastic case of TheEndingChangesEverything: what initially appeared to be a straightforward horror game is revealed to be a story of an alcoholic mother and her toddler who is trying to make sense of their surroundings. While the rest of the game appears to be [[MindScrew ridiculous nonsense]] beforehand, one can swiftly discover how much [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolism]] and [[FridgeBrilliance brilliance]] is hidden behind it all. This page will be dedicated to explaining the symbols and psychology of the toddler's mind. Feel free to add what you can.

Throughout the game, the toddler is chased by two monsters: a frizzy-haired swamp beast and a trenchcoat with eyes on the inside. Each of these respective monsters is a representation of how the toddler views their parents.

* '''The Swamp Monster (Mother):''' The swamp monster is a representation of how the toddler views their mother- or rather, their mother when she's drunk.

** The appearance of the monster is also bizarre, in that it wears a tank top, shorts, and has frizzy hair; this is possibly the state of the mother after she awakens from a hangover, and as such is the most common time for when mommy may get angry. Additionally, at the end of the game, the mother is drunk, yet the interface is completely normal until she strikes them because she isn't dressed like the monster, and as such the toddler isn't aware that she's angry.

* '''The Trenchcoat Monster (Father):''' The trenchcoat monster is a representation of how the toddler views their father.
** The appearance is likely inspired by the big, long trenchcoat the father might wear. It's possible the father wears this coat the majority of the time, as there are dozens of them in varying areas of the game, meaning that the toddler not only thinks that he owns a ton of trenchcoats, but shows up in a different one each time. Judging by the sheer number of coats, he probably shows up a lot.
** Unlike the swamp monster, the trenchcoat monster seems to actively look for the child, reflecting how often the father comes by to try and take them from the mother. This is also reflected when the monster tries holding up the toddler when they fall down the hole: ''he's trying to save their life''. Despite this, the toddler runs away like normal, meaning they may have a desire to stay with their mother.
** Unlike the Swamp Monster, the Trenchcoat Monster is completely featureless outside of the namesake clothing, not even having a head as the eyes are seen only from out of the neck hole. This suggests that the toddler actually sees their father so rarely they do not even recognize him without the trenchcoat, or that the toddler associates the trenchcoat to times when the father is most active in trying to take custody of the Toddler.
** Another differing factor from the swamp monster is the game over scene. The Trenchcoat Monster only reaches for you and takes you away, not with any apparent violence behind it. This is likely representing the father taking his child away from their mother.
** There's also the fact that the Trenchcoat Monster will immediately move toward any place he hears a glass bottle break, likely worried about the Toddler getting hurt. This suggests that the father is constantly worried about the toddler's safety whenever they're with their mother (since a shattered bottle can be a sign the mother's been drinking), or may be worried about his child even when the mother isn't around (glass shards can be plenty harmful to a two-year-old after all), and is very quick to take action to stop even the slightest chance of his child getting hurt.

Near the start of the game, you are introduced to Teddy, a talking stuffed bear who accompanies you throughout your journey. It's commonly believed that he represents your father in some ways, since they are shown to share the same voice. When you enter the closet at the start, he says "I hope there are no monsters in here," which can reinforce the idea that the toddler hid in the closet whenever the mother got drunk, with the monsters being the mother and possibly the father. He also says that "if you ever feel scared in a dark place like this, you can hug me tightly. You might feel a little bit safer!" If you interpret the "dark place" as being one of their mom's drunk nights, then this could possibly mean that they wish their father would come get them during these times. This interpretation is implying that the father wasn't abusive as well, however.

''Among The Sleep'' is a game highly notable for having a drastic case of TheEndingChangesEverything: what initially appeared to be a straightforward horror game is revealed to be a story of an alcoholic mother and her toddler son who is trying to make sense of his surroundings. While the rest of the game appears to be [[MindScrew ridiculous nonsense]] beforehand, one can swiftly discover how much [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolism]] and [[FridgeBrilliance brilliance]] is hidden behind it all. This page will be dedicated to explaining the symbols and psychology of the toddler's mind. Feel free to add what you can.

Throughout the game, the toddler is chased by two monsters: a frizzy haired swamp beast and a trenchcoat with eyes on the inside. Each of these respective monsters is a representation of how the toddler views his parents.

* '''The Swamp Monster (Mother):''' The swamp monster is a representation of how the toddler views his mother- or rather, his mother when she's drunk.
** An InterfaceScrew occurs at least three times throughout the game: once at the start, when his mother leaves the room and he hears her getting angry, again when he looks at the swamp monster, and one final time at the end when the mother lashes out against her child. The screw never occurs when the mother is content, implying that the child believes that his mother becomes a monster when she gets angry. This fact is reinforced by the [[NightmareFuelColoringBook drawings]] found throughout the game: the mother and monster are shown as separate entities.
** The appearance of the monster is also bizarre, in that it wears a tank top, shorts, and has frizzy hair; this is possibly the state of the mother after she awakens from a hangover, and as such is the most common time for when mommy may get angry. Additionally, at the end of the game, the mother is drunk, yet the interface is completely normal until she strikes him because she isn't dressed like the monster, and as such the toddler isn't aware that she's angry.
** Notably, the monster chases the toddler on sight, but never outright looks for him; it's the mother trying to get him to piss off.
** A major hint to the nature of this monster's true life equivalent is the animation sequence for a game over. The swamp monster, picks the toddler up and shakes him around violently and screams at him. This is likely representative of the mother drunkenly abusing her son.
* '''The Trenchcoat Monster (Father):''' The trenchcoat monster is a representation of how the toddler views his father.

** Unlike the swamp monster, the trenchcoat monster seems to actively look for the child, reflecting how often the father comes by to try and take him from the mother. This is also reflected when the monster tries holding up the toddler when he falls down the hole: ''he's trying to save his life''. Despite this, the toddler runs away like normal, meaning he may have a desire to stay with his mother.
** Unlike the Swamp Monster, the Trenchcoat Monster is completely featureless outside of the namesake clothing, not even having a head as the eyes are seen only from out of the neck hole. This suggests that the toddler actually sees his father so rarely he does not even recognize him without the trenchcoat, or that the toddler associates the trenchcoat to times when the father is most active in trying to take custody of the Toddler.
** Another differing factor from the swamp monster is the game over scene. The Trenchcoat Monster only reaches for you and takes you away, not with any apparent violence behind it. This is likely representing the father taking his son away from his mother.
** There's also the fact that the Trenchcoat Monster will immediately move toward any place he hears a glass bottle break, likely worried about the Toddler getting hurt. This suggests that the father is constantly worried about the toddler's safety whenever he's with his mother (since a shattered bottle can be a sign the mother's been drinking), or may be worried about his son even when the mother isn't around (glass shards can be plenty harmful to a two-year-old after all), and is very quick to take action to stop even the slightest chance of his son getting hurt.

The toddler is shown exiting the closet twice: once after he shown entering it, a second time after he is not. The first time the toddler enters the closet with Teddy, there are trenchcoats freaking everywhere. As previously mentioned, the father is linked to trenchcoats, and is a positive figure, but here, they're portrayed as ominous and fearful, reinforcing the child's fear of his father taking him away from his mother. Alternatively, they could be used as symbols of safety just like the father; when the mother opens the closet, she specifically notes "you need to stop hiding from mommy", implying that this is where he hides when she's drunk, which is often. This comes into play at the end, because whatever the hell happened the night before, it ended with mommy crying and drunk on the floor with teddy in one hand, and the toddler hiding in his closet.

Near the start of the game, you are introduced to Teddy, a talking stuffed bear who accompanies you throughout your journey. It's commonly believed that he represents your father in some ways, since they are shown to share the same voice. When you enter the closet at the start, he says "I hope there are no monsters in here," which can reinforce the idea that the toddler hid in the closet whenever the mother got drunk, with the monsters being the mother and possibly the father. He also says that "if you ever feel scared in a dark place like this, you can hug me tightly. You might feel a little bit safer!" If you interpret the "dark place" as being one of his mom's drunk nights, then this could possibly mean that he wishes his father would come get him during these times. This interpretation is implying that the father wasn't abusive as well, however.

To progress in the game, you have to place memories in a machine. All of these memories involve the mother happy and treating the toddler kindly, and to reach the end of the game where he leaves with his father, he has to get rid of them. This implies that to cope with his mother's alcoholism and abuse, and having to leave her to live with his father despite still caring for her, he is abandoning the memories of happy times he spent with her so he won't feel conflicted.

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** There's also the fact that the Trenchcoat Monster will immediately move toward any place he hears a glass bottle break, likely worried about the Toddler getting hurt. This suggests that the father is constantly worried about the toddler's safety whenever he's with his mother, or may be worried about his son even when the mother isn't around, and is very quick to take action to stop even the slightest chance of his son getting hurt.

The toddler is shown exiting the closet twice: once after he shown entering it, a second time after he is not. The first time the toddler enters the closet with Teddy, there are trenchcoats freaking everywhere. As previously mentioned, the father is linked to trenchcoats, and is a positive figure, but here, they're portrayed as ominous and fearful, reinforcing the child's fear of his father taking him away from his mother. Alternatively, they could be used as symbols of safety just like the father; when the mother opens the closet, she specifically notes "you need to stop hiding from mommy", implying that this is where he hides when she's drunk, which is often. This comes into play at the end, because whatever the hell happened the night before, it ended with mommy crying and drunk on the floor with teddy in one hand, and the toddler hiding in his closet.