THE DREAM I on the top floor of a tall building. I am telling the story of how I was nearly eaten by a shark or alligator. It had swallowed me up to my chest. I am laughing and joking.

THE REALITY The previous day the dreamer had been really disappointed. He had been looking forward to a party for ages. It all went badly and he left early. He felt dejected and humiliated. Yet despite this he did not get particularly down about it. Simply got on with his routine.

DREAM ANALYSIS Alligator dreams should in theory be easy to spot. Often they point to something devastating. They could link to something that you really wish to avoid(like an alligator). This dreamer pointed to something in real life that he really did not enjoy. He had just that previous day been humiliated and intimidated by others at a party he had really been looking forward too. Emotionally he felt pretty dejected (so being eaten by an alligator was an excellent metaphor). Yet he did not get into a deep mood or depression about it. Dreams can deal with the complexity of our emotions. This dream deals with a quite refined emotional response. The dreamer is laughing and joking showing that his mood was not bad despite this devastating blow. It shows that he expected to feel a lot worse.

Symbolic Meanings
ALLIGATOR : "Symbolic of the humiliating and crushing disappointment at the party he had just been too." (a shark or alligator attack could be a symbol for any major disappointment or defeat or loss)
LAUGHING: "I was in a relly good mood yesterday" (people who laugh and joke are obviously in a good mood.

DREAM MEANING The dream weaves together these two symbols mentioned above of "good mood" and "disappointment" and the dream probably captures this thought "It was a major disappointment and humiliation yet I am surprised how I was in such a good mood."

So the dreams meaning dealt with how the dreamer had noticed how good he felt even though in normal circumstances he would have been down and disappointed with how things had gone. So the dream highlighted this unusual feeling.