Exploring: The affects of Societies' Expectations Through Mouthwashing's Swansea, Curly, and Jimmy

Our worst moments don't make us...

Developer: Wrong Organ

Publisher: Critical Reflex

Genre: Narrative first-person phycological horror

Platforms: Steam

Price: $12.99, introduction discount until Oct. 10 for $11.69.

Socials: Wrong Organ’s Discord, Steam, Twitter | Critical Reflex’s Discord, Twitter, Steam, Website

For a 2 hours or so game, Mouthwashing says a lot. Its length and pace are perfect for someone who enjoys a short story. During my first playthrough, there were a lot of things that struck me, such as Curly trying to cover Jimmy’s sexual assault, Swansea's speech on societal expectations, and the reason why Jimmy crashed the ship. I realize that the game’s narrative talks about worker displacement, envy, the pressure of climbing the ladder, abiding by societal norms regarding work and happiness, and the mental toll that creates on the workers. The idea that joy is locked behind a specific job, title, or way of living.

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This article will contain spoilers, and if you’d prefer a simple review of the game, I’d recommend this link to my prior article, which is Spoiler Free:

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For this article, I’ll assume that you already played the game, and so I won’t repeat the story piece by piece, only my observations. I will, however, talk about the three specific characters that aligned interestingly with the theme of Societies’ Expectations: Swansea, Jimmy, and Curly

Society’s Expectations

Be a “good man.”

Society’s push to attain a stable job to be considered a good man is a running theme in the game, and it’s first spotted during the T.V., where there are key commercials that follow this theme.

The first one talks about the benefits of working for a successful company, such as high and secure wages and time off to spend with your family, which creates expectations on what you’re supposed to do and the best way to do it.

The second commercial depicts two employees working on what seems to be a slaughterhouse through rigid shots, morbid sounds, shots of meat hooks and dangling meat, and overall unsettling, which I believe pushes the idea of the need to work for a successful company, regardless of what it is and how it makes you feel.

While this is something that occurs in the real world, it’s also clear that Mouthwashing has its commentary regarding this, as all three characters are affected by these expectations.

Swansea’s Lament

Borracho y loco!

Swansea’s bitter outer shell is only protecting the lament and resentment created by the dissatisfaction of his accomplishments imposed by society. Swansea spent thirteen years of his life severely drunk, often wandering around the streets and passing out, until one day, maybe during one of his drunk benders, he had a vision of his bloated body in a ditch. This prompted him to quit drinking, get a stable job, buy a house, and get a credit card which he says,

“All the things that make a good man.”

Swansea to Jimmy

This brings up the concept of what society believes a good man is. A good man is a man who works, the bread maker, the man who can sustain their family, the person who is strong enough to bear it all and can reach the top of the ladder.

“The endless fucking desperation to get shit done. A loving wife? Great kids? Sobriety? I’m telling you. You. Accomplishments I’d been chasing all my life never felt as good as I expected when I crossed the finish line”

Swansea to Jimmy

Swansea’s sobriety was imposed on him by a society that told him that what he was doing was wrong, but that there was only one way to do it right. Following the imposed rules of what it means to be a “good man” created that bitter shell the player saw in the game, only to see the cracks during his final laments. Swansea isn’t happy with his life decision, he only did what he thought made him a “good man,” not a happy one. This also explains why he was so harsh on Daisuke, leading to Swansea killing him,

“I should’ve been able to protect that kid.”

Swansea to Jimmy

“You could never have become like miserable ol’ Swansea. What a tragedy. Decades of hauling ass for Pony Express, big mighty bruiser with all his shiny tools. This is where it got me. The good life, huh? … You coulda taught an old fool like me a lot”

Swansea to Daisuke

Swansea is bitter about life, and no matter what he does, he can’t be happy. His drunken episodes were his only escape from the suffering he felt, as every time he was sober, even as he did everything society thought made a “good man,” he could never be a happy man.

Swansea constant belittling and aggression towards Daisuke was because he saw that Daisuke was a ray of sunshine, as he said, and he knew that he wasn’t cut out of this line of work, or life. He wanted Daisuke out of the environment, maybe because he didn’t want him to be tainted, maybe because he thought that one day Daisuke would be as bitter as him, but he didn’t want anything like that to happen. Even as he laments that he wasn’t able to feel fullness in life, and it’s clear that he suffered from severe depression, as nothing he did ever made him happy, this last line means a lot, considering he killed Daisuke,

“If I could have done one thing right, I wish it had been to give him one small chance of this goddamn rock.”  

Swansea to Daisuke

Jimmy, Jim, Jim-bo’s envy.

Look at what you’ve become. Isn’t this what you always wanted?

With all the expectations of what it is to be a good man, emerges envy. When Curly asks Jimmy how he feels about the job, of being the co-pilot, he says,

“I like it. We’re in control here.”

Jimmy to Curly

There’s a lot implied in this sentence, especially considering that this is after the psych eval, and Curly says that it’s “off the record.” Jimmy doesn’t have control of his life on Earth, and as the story unfolds, the player sees that he doesn’t have control of himself. And as Curly tells Jimmy that he’s surprised how well he’s doing as a freighter pilot, considering how much he struggled on Earth, Jimmy says,”

“Sure. All I ever hear is how great of a leader you are. Honestly, it’s kind of annoying. So how is it? How come it always seems like you’re standing on the edge of a bridge with your feet in cement?”

Jimmy to Curly

Then later in that same conversation,

“You reached the highest run on this ladder. So now you’re thinkin’ you might be on the wrong ladder altogether. Still a long way down from the top no matter how you look at it. While I’m still climbing and climbing.”

Jimmy to Curly

In a space between two friends where they’re supposed to vent to each other, Jimmy victimizes himself and tells Curly that, while he has options and is on top of the ladder, he’s still at the bottom, struggling. Jimmy makes it about himself, and even as Curly tries to cheer him on and tries to share his insecurities, it’s clear that Jimmy wants to bring him down so they can meet at eye level.

Jimmy not only is Curly’s co-pilot, but also his close friend. He got his job, potentially through nepotism, and owes a lot of thanks to Curly, as Curly is the captain, and given the track record Jimmy has on Earth, it wouldn’t be surprising if Curly did get him the job. This being his second haul with the team shows that Jimmy potentially has been working for Pony Express for just over a year, and as Curly was surprised that Jimmy’s doing well at his job, further shows that Jimmy lacked the experience.

Owing Curly so much for his upward track, and only hearing how great of a captain Curly is, and how Jimmy wallows on his failures instead of working on his perspective and efforts, explains why during the birthday scene, where Curly tells everyone about the company’s closure, Jimmy snaps,

“I can go back to my, how’s you put it? Struggle of a life?”

Jimmy to Curly

Jimmy then talks about how poorly everyone else will do because of the dismissal of the company, except Daisuke, because he’s young and lives with his parents, and Curly, because he believes that Curly has many opportunities in life, without considering that Curly had told him that he feels unsatisfied, even if he has been doing everything that should make him happy. Kind of like Swansea.

With how unstable Jimmy was, as seen through the outburst he had in the birthday party, how he victimizes and attacks Curly whenever possible, and having in mind that Anya felt uncomfortable evaluating him, it’s possible that Jimmy sexually assaulted Anya to tarnish Curly’s reputation, as Jimmy tells Curly during a “confrontation,”

“You were supposed to be the one who had everything under control. You said so yourself. This ship, this crew, everything that happened here… This was your responsibility, Captain. That is what you’ll be hearing the rest of your life.”

Jimmy to Curly

Jimmy was unstable and committed two heinous acts for two different reasons. One was to tarnish Curly’s record, the other was to make amends for his action, while also still saving himself from the imminent jail time he would’ve faced. By the end of the game, he makes amends with himself and “saves” Curly and takes his own life, just as he promised,

“Or this can all be remembered as a tragedy.”

Jimmy to Curly

Jimmy’s envy and dissatisfaction with his life prompted him to constantly compare himself to Curly, the golden standard. And once Jimmy was on top, he crumbled, as he wasn’t made for that position or life. Jimmy wanted what society said exemplified a “good man,” he wanted to be like Curly. He focused too much on becoming a “good man,” when he should’ve worked on becoming a happy man.

The Golden Standard: Curly’s Dismay

Stay Gold, Ponyboy

While Curly is the leader of the crew, and he is portrayed as the golden standard when it comes to his leadership and work ethic, he’s deeply troubled. During Curly’s and Jimmy’s conversation in the cockpit, Curly says,

“Is this enough? Should I just stay here because I’ve been successful at it? A good long haul freighter Captain.”

And

“I think, ‘Am I figured out? Is this all I’ll ever be? Or do I take the risk and try something new? Even if I’m bad at it”

Curly to Jimmy

In a way, Swansea and Curly are parallels, as they are both unhappy with life. Just like Swansea Curly wanted to become a good man. While we don’t know if Curly had a family, as it’s never mentioned, he is talked about as a successful man with options. At least in Jimmy’s eyes, he is living the ideal life that men envy, even if Jimmy still said,

Troubling thoughts plague Curly. He gives the same response in the psyche eval, which prompts Anya to say,

“I do wish you’d open up a little more, Captain. The evaluations aren’t just about you.”

Anya to Curly

During the birthday scene, Curly, under the stress caused by Jimmy lashing out at him, says.

“I’m just working on my life being a place I don’t have to fucking escape!”

Curly to Jimmy

Curly is escaping from the reality that he isn’t happy. He has climbed the ladder as far as he can, but it’s not fulfilling. He is in such a stable spot, in such a successful position for him, that the fact that it doesn’t make him happy creates fear in him. He doesn’t know if he should move on to something that could make him happy, or still in a spot that others deem “successful” even if he’s not happy.

If Curly had been a leader over a friend, Mouthwashing probably wouldn’t have happened. Though societal expectations, depression, and stress are the main factors of why this whole event occurred, and Jimmy was the main person who crashed the ship, he isn’t the only one at fault.

“Why do you think Pony Express put a lock on the medical room door but not in the sleeping quarters?”

Anya to Curly

Jimmy sexually assaulting Anya is a clear case of negligence and favoritism, as many things lead up to the horrible event. From the inappropriate comment Jimmy to Anya during the psyche eval, to putting Jimmy on board as a co-pilot, even as Curly knew he was unstable, which is seen when Curly does Jimmy’s psyche eval and says,

“I’ll just put ‘Good’ for that one.”

Curly to Jimmy

Curly could’ve made better decisions if he treated Jimmy as the subordinate he is, not just his close friend. Curly knew that Jimmy sexually assaulted Anya, and still wanted to protect Jimmy, which is evident when Anya tells him,

“I know you’d never give me the gun to protect myself.”

Anya to Curly

Anya understood that Curly wanted to protect Jimmy. In the same conversation Anya tells Curly about the gun, Curly says that being let go isn’t a reason to self-harm, meaning he didn’t even want to mention that Anya’s having a horrible time because of what his close friend did. Even stated that if Anya told him where the gun was, it wouldn’t be in her performance logs. Anya didn’t want Jimmy to have the gun, because she knew he was dangerous, but Curly wanted to protect his friend, even asking who got her pregnant.

Curly, though painted as a great leader, is very flawed and had he reprimanded Jimmy like he should’ve, taken Jimmy’s mental state seriously, corrected his inappropriate comments, and even not given him a job he probably wasn’t fit for, the events wouldn’t have happened. It’s not all Curly’s fault, but it’s not all Jimmy’s fault.

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And I Have More To Say!

But I realize that this was long enough. I originally was going to focus on more themes and the other two characters, but as I realize that my word doc hit 11 pages, I thought that this would be long enough. If you got to the end, I appreciate it a lot, and please, leave a comment! I would love to know what you thought about the characters, or if you thought that I was wrong, and if so, why?