The novel The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass is remarkable for the use of symbols in order to depict the changes that take place in the human history. The central symbol in this trilogy is the drum and the rest of the symbols are connected with this symbol. The main character, Oskar Matzerath, is in possession of his toy tin drum. Every important development in his life occurs under the influence of this mystified object. As the readers proceed in reading the novel, they come to understand that the drum denotes human potential for evil. Other important symbols in the novel are Oscar’s ability to control his growth and his strange way of living. In the following paper, the symbolism in The Tin Drum will be addressed in detail along with their significance, its implications, and connections with the centrepiece of the tin drum. Overall, the analysis of The Tin Drum novel suggests a conclusion that the symbols of the red and white drum, Oscar’s ability to control growing, and his strange life course reflect the events of German history in the 20th century with the purpose of demonstrating the ugliness of the Nazi.
The symbol of the red and white tin drum is the representation of human potential for evil. When Oscar gets a toy drum as a birthday present at the age of three, he decides that he has to stop growing because his personality is already fully fledged. This fact suggests a conclusion that when the boy discovered the existence of violence and found attractive implications in it, he did not want to find any more ideals for his further advancement as a person. The parallel of this development in Oscar’s life in the history of Germany is the fascination of its leaders with the concepts of fascism. The drum becomes Oscar’s life companion just like violence became a normal practice in the Nazi Germany. Anyone who tries to take the drum way from Oscar comes to know about the boy’s unusual ability to shatter glass by his voice. Being the symbol of the evil, the drum is the source of continuous tension in the novel. Oscar constantly plays the drum and he needs to play to make further advancement in his life. A notorious fact about Oscar’s obsessions with drums is that he constantly ruins his drums and still needs to find new drums to play. Thus, he can not live without violence.
One more important symbol in the novel is Oscar’s ability to control his growth. At the beginning of the story, readers learn that Oscar deliberately refuses to grow at the age of three years. This occurrence has an equivalent in the history of Germany, which stopped its positive development in the pre-war years under the effects of the Nazi ideology. After a extensive period and numerous events, Oscar decides he needs to continue growing. This detail from the main protagonist’s life signifies the changes in the post-war Germany. Particularly, after the World War II, the leaders of the country take a new course and determine to achieve considerable industrial and economic development. They condemn the Nazi ideology and try to deny all former connections with it just like Oscar tries to destroy his drums at different stages of his life.
Another important symbol in The Tin Drum is Oscar’s life course with its aimless wanderings and vein pursuits. The first and second books of the novel reveal the main protagonist’s unexampled anger and aggression. Oscar performs cruel activities that lead to the death of his parents and other close people of his. This circumstance from the main character’s life reminds about unprecedented cruelty of the Nazi Germany with all the murders, tortures, and other horrible actions. In the third part of the trilogy, Oscar is trying to make his life more rewarding and fill it with the new sense but he fails to do so. Showing this period of the main character’s life, Grass demonstrates his pessimism concerning the future of Germany. Oscar is trying to overcome his fears and concerns by playing the drum because thus he remembers the days of the past and these memories comfort him. However, the relief he acquires is transient. This reflects the pursuits of the renewed Germany trying to stabilize its economic and politic situation but facing the consequences of the former Nazi course. The fascist past scares other nations away from Germany and the country continues to be the castaway for a few decades.
Reflecting on the above-mentioned, The Tin Drum novel by Gunter Grass is the eloquent illustration demonstrating the way symbolism can be implemented to explain the events of history and make their assessment. The analysis of this novel suggests a conclusion that the symbols of the tin drum, Oscar’s ability to control his growth, and his strange life course reflect the events of German history in the 20th century in order to make evident the disfigurement of the Nazi.