This essay is psychoanalysis of the book Last Night I Sang to the Monster. The book was authored by Benjamin Alire Sáenz in the year 2009, and was published by Cinco Punto publishing house located in Texas. Psychoanalysis is defined as a theory which sources to unveil the relation between the unconscious patient mental process components. The main goal is to liberate the subject from unconscious and undiscovered transference and resistance barriers which are mostly clouded by past experiences or relation which restrain freedom. In the story Zach an eighteen year old teenager wakes up and finds himself in unknown location. Instead of spending his senior year of high school in the vicinity of a school compound he is forced to spend in rehab. This comes after a near death from alcohol poisoning from a drinking spree which left him for the dead on the side of the road. Zach is fighting his conscious to remember what transpired and also trying to develop and straighten his life.
The novel unveils the fundamental of a psychologically disturbed youth being taunted between fighting his fears and spiritualism.
The story is depicted from a modern teenage existence of the 21st century. The author depicts Zach as a character who is troubled and hides his anxiety and psychological malfunction behind alcohol and drug abuse. Zach is an eighteen year old teenager in his final senior year of high school. However, one late night drinking sprees changes the course of Zach life. He wakes up and finds himself in unfamiliar location. He has no recollection of his where about or what happened the following night (Marsden, 231).
Zach instead of attending the usually morning Mr. Garcia English lesson and later hang out with his friend finds himself in rehabilitation. Mr. Garcia is replaced with Adam the rehab therapist and his friends replaced with the elderly Rafael whom they share the room. All the events which resulted to Zach to be in the rehab are clouded; all he is remembering are memories of his alcoholic but loving father, his older brother who is also troubled and his estranged abusive mother. The attempts to remember the other past prove to be futile to Zach as he is articulating that God has placed a curse on him. According to Sáenz (pp, 11) Zach reflects that “in my head after birth God usually engraves writing in our hearts. In some people’s heart happy is engraved and others sad, to some he engraves crazy and others genius, some angry others winners and other plain losers. All this happens randomly as he engraves on the blank hearts. However, on my heart God engraved sad.” This facts and the little recollection of the past which Zach remembers offers that he is one troubled one young man.
In the beginning the chapters are narrated in a fragmented repetitive and dense language. However, slowly and slowly the mind of Zach is slowly opened up to and this also put the reader in perspective of the psychological burden which is being faced Zach. Zach is fighting temptations and mental barriers from past memories in his quest to uplift the barriers which are placed by the excessive consumption of bourbon and cocaine on earlier life.
All through the novel Zach fight his past to regain his conscious. The room mate Rafael is also attempting to overcome his own past. However, he is an important instrument which helps Zach to release the past barriers which are psychologically haunting him (Sáenz, 99). Rafael’s opens up to Zach to encourage him to disclose his dark past and be able to put it rest. Through out Zach personality development, anxiety and phallic characteristics cloud his reasoning despite the care he receives from Rafael and Adam his therapist. Zach is constantly in pleasure principles which crave for gratification on the alcohol and cocaine urges. Eventually Zach is able to open and confronts his fears and mental barriers eventually bloom from a deranged young man to conscious health youth.
Zach as the main character in the story is deeply troubled on his condition. The change of his mood from happiness to sadness randomly is the psychological effects brought about by anxiety and pleasure principles. Usually when a subject is in the phrase of pleasure principle, the craving and urges are strong and limiting, when this desires are met anxiety and tension creeps in slowly. Zach uses bourbon and cocaine to fight off Oedipus/Electra Complex conflict which he harbors of his troubled brother, alcoholic father and abusive estranged mother. After Zach learns of the story of his roommate he sums up the courage to open up about his past and face his fears. Eventually he is able to come out of the psychological cocoon which he had locked himself. In the novel Zach I a very lucky person whose outside is of good fortune, this is because he meets people in his life who takes him as he is and try to reach out (Wright, 182).
Rafael as Zach roommate in the novel is a very artistic person and also is fighting to regain consciousness from psychological catharsis which affects his livelihood. Rafael to Zach is like an angle that helps him to open up. Rafael offers Zach some kind of energy when he narrates his past and these consoles and strengthens Zach to fight his own weakness and urges. Rafael relationship with Zach is the center point of the whole novel as this is the climax of the young man break through of confronting his fears (Sáenz, 102).
Adam who is Zach therapist in the novel portrays a very patient and understanding man. He nurtures back health and releases the emotional stress which are clouding his patients slowly. He offers them an opportunity to overcome their fears through arrays of psychoanalysis which helps them to regain their lost esteem and vigor about life as noted by Wright (pp, 207). He helps Zach break past many barriers and overcome them.
Mr. Garcia, Zach English teacher display great concern in this student which he describes as silent and shy. Mr. Garcia attempts to reach out to Zach to open up on his past and so to overcome his fears. Although most of his attempts are futile, the concern is worthwhile to Zach. He poses a responsible father figure to Zach as his real father though loving is a drunkard.