The Tin Drum - Gunther Grass

8/9/2019 The Tin Drum - Gunther Grass

1/107

The Tin Drum Book Notes

The Tin Drum by Gnter Grass

The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale'sFor Students Series: Presenting nalysis! "onte#t! and "riticism on "ommonly Studied

$orks: %ntroduction! uthor Biography! Plot Summary! "haracters! Themes! Style!&istorical "onte#t! "ritical (er(iew! "riticism and "ritical )ssays! *edia daptations!Topics for Further Study! "ompare + "ontrast! $hat ,o % Read -e#t.! For FurtherStudy! and Sources/

0c12334567768 0c16776 9y Gale/ Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group! %nc/! a di(ision ofThomson Learning! %nc/ Gale and ,esign and Thomson Learning are trademarks usedherein under license/

The following sections! if they e#ist! are offprint from Beacham's )ncyclopedia ofPopular Fiction: Social "oncerns! Thematic (er(iew! Techni;ues! LiteraryPrecedents! 5677?! 9y $alton Beacham/

The following sections! if they e#ist! are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for@oung dults: 9out the uthor! (er(iew! Setting! Literary =ualities! SocialSensiti(ity! Topics for ,iscussion! %deas for Reports and Papers/ 0c1233>5677?! 9y$alton Beacham/

ll other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted 9yBookRags! %nc/


2/107

Contents

The Tin ,rum Book -otes //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 2

"ontents ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 6

uthorA"onte#t///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?

Plot Summary //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

*aCor "haracters ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 4

9CectsAPlaces /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 2>

=uotes /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 2D

Topic Tracking: %ndi(idualityA%dentity /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 6?

Topic Tracking: Red + $hite ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 63

Book 2! "hapter 2: The $ide Skirt///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// E6

"hapter 6: nder the Raft////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// E>

"hapter E: *oth and Light Bul9 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// E

"hapter >: The Photograph l9um ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// E4

"hapter ?: Smash a Little $indowpane ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// >7

"hapter : The Schedule /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// >6

"hapter D: Rasputin and the lpha9et/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// >>

"hapter 4: The Stockturm/ Long5,istance Song )ffects //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// >

"hapter 3: The Rostrum ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// >4

"hapter 27: Shopwindows ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?7

"hapter 22: -o $onder ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?6

"hapter 26: Good Friday Fare /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?E

"hapter 2E: Tapered at the Foot )nd ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?>

"hapter 2>: &er9ert Trucinski's Back /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ??

"hapter 2?: -io9e ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?D

"hapter 2: Faith! &ope! Lo(e /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?3

6


3/107

Book 6! "hapter 2D: Scrap *etal/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 7

"hapter 24: The Polish Post ffice //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 6

"hapter 23: The "ard &ouse ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// E

"hapter 67: &e Lies in Saspe //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// >

"hapter 62: *aria ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ?

"hapter 66: Fi Powder ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"hapter 6E: Special "ommuni;uHs /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 4

"hapter 6>: &ow skar Took &is &elplessness to *rs/ Greff//////////////////////////////////////////////////// 3

"hapter 6?: 2? l9s//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// D2

"hapter 6: Be9ra's Theater at the Front/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// DE

"hapter 6D: %nspection of "oncrete! or Bar9aric/// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// D>

"hapter 64: The %mitation of "hrist//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// D

"hapter 63: The ,usters //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// D4

"hapter E7: The "hristmas Play //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// D3

"hapter E2: The nt Trail/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 42

"hapter E6: Should % or Shouldn't %. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 4E

"hapter EE: ,isinfectant//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 4>

"hapter E>: Growth in a Freight "ar ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 4

"hapter E?: Firestones and Tom9stones /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 44

"hapter E: Fortuna -orth ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 37

"hapter ED: *adonna >3 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 36

"hapter E4: The &edgehog //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 3>

Book E! "hapter E3: %n the "lothes "up9oard //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 3?

"hapter >7: 6: %n the nion "ellar ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 34

E


4/107

"hapter >E: n the tlantic $all or "oncrete )ternal////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 277

"hapter >>: The Ring Finger //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 276

"hapter >?: Last Streetcar or doration of a Preser(ing Iar //////////////////////////////////////////////////// 27>

"hapter >: Thirty //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 27

>


5/107

Author/Context

GJnter Grass was 9orn on cto9er 2! 236D in ,anig! a northern port city in Poland/&is parents owned a small retail grocery store/ &e attended 9oth elementary and high

school in ,anig! and later 9ecame an anti5aircraft gunner/ &e ser(ed as a soldier in$orld $ar %% and was wounded 9y the Russians during an ad(ance in 23>>/ %n 23>?! he

was kept as a military prisoner 9y the merican forces in Ba(aria for se(eral months/ &e9ecame a farm and mine worker in the Rhineland after his release! then 9ecame anapprentice stone car(er in ,Jsseldorf/ nce the ,Jsseldorf rt cademy opened in23>4! he studied sculpture and painting there for two years/ fter that! he 9egan totra(el in %taly and France! and then resumed his art study in Berlin in 23?E/ The ne#tyear he married a Swiss 9allet dancer named nna Schwar! and won third prie in apoetry competition/ %n 23?! he mo(ed to Paris and held his first art e#hi9ition inStuttgart/ %n 23? and 23?D! he finished his first plays! then in 23?4! he recei(ed priesof stipends to proceed with his writing career/ %n 23?3! he 9ecame famous with the

pu9lication of Die Blechtrommel0The Tin Drum1! winning se(eral international awards!including the -o9el Prie in Literature/ &e is most well5known for his fiction! whichinclude Katz und Maus02328 Cat and Mouse,23E1! Hundejahre023E8 DogYears,23?1! Der Butt023DD8 The Flounder,23D41! Kopfgeburten oder die Deutschensterben aus023478 Headbirths or, the !ermans "re D#ing $ut,23461! and %n&enrufe023368 The Call of the Toad,23361/ The Tin Drumwas later made into a motion picture023D31/ Grass has 9een hea(ily in(ol(ed in politics throughout his life! and his politicalessays ha(e 9een influential in the thinking of the Social ,emocratic Party in Germany/

Grass' fiction 9orrows much of its influence from twentieth century mo(ements such as)#pressionism and Theater of the 9surd/ &e is known for his use of o9Cects and

o9Cecti(e correlati(e to propel his story line! instead of strict narrati(e/ Grass sees aseparation 9etween the man5made categories of morality and logic and the actualthread of e(ents/ &is chosen o9Cects take on a certain am9iguity of meaning and lackstraightforward morality/ &is o9Cects take an indi(idual personality in his no(els!9ecoming e#tended metaphors and motifs that hold throughout the te#t/ %n the same(ein! Grass plays with time in his work! 9oth e#tending and foreshortening traditionalnarrati(e distance and flow/ This holds for point5of5(iew as well 5 skar in The Tin Drumuses se(eral points of (iew! sometimes layered simultaneously/ Grass' work alsorepresents success as parody8 The Tin Drum's style is a parody of Goethe's no(el'ilhelm Meister! which follows a young man through his education to maturity/

Bibliography

"unliffe! $/ Gordon/ !(nter !rass/ Twane Pu9lishing/ -ew @ork! 233/

Grass! GJnter/ The Tin Drum/ Kintage %nternational! Kintage Books/ -ew @ork! 2337/

Grass! GJnter $ilhelm/ Microsoft )ncarta )nc#clopedia *++/ *icrosoft "orporation!2333/

?


6/107

Plot Summary

The Tin Drumis the fictional auto9iography of skar *aterath! who at the time of hiswriting is thirty years old/ &e is writing from inside a mental institution in ,Jsseldorf

Germany! the reasons for which remain unknown to the reader until the end of the 9ook/skar is! for all intents and purposes! a gnome8 when he was a three year5old! herecei(ed a toy tin drum from his mother gnes and decided (oluntarily to stop growing!and to ne(er 9ecome a grownup/ t the same time! he de(eloped a high5pitched singing(oice that he could use to 9reak glass 5 he nurtures this talent and uses it to many ends5 defending his drum 0which he is ne(er without1! 9reaking and entering! inscri9ing! andfor the effect it has on an audience/ s skar gets older! the e(ents in his life impel himto grow 5 at the time of his writing! he measures four feet one inch! and in the middle of

writing his 9ook! he grows to four feet two inches/

skar's auto9iography is also the 9iography of his family and its history! starting around

the turn of the 67th

century and e#tending until after $orld $ar %%/ &e 9egins with hisgrandparents' generation and relates his story to the present day/ &is grand parentswere


7/107

,uring the war! skar takes up with a performing troupe of midgets like himself! led 9yhis mentor! a midget5clown named Be9ra/ skar performs on his drum and 9reaks glass

with his (oice for legions of German soldiers on the front lines during $orld $ar %%/ &efalls in lo(e with Roswitha Raguna! an %talian somnam9ulist and midget like himself! 9utshe is killed 9y artillery fire during the allied in(asion of -ormandy/ fter that! skar

returns home/

skar 9ecomes the leader of a 9and of anti5esta9lishment youths called The ,usters/&e refines their way of doing things and helps them 9reak into go(ernment offices/ Theyare finally caught in a church! sawing apart a statue of the Kirgin *ary and the 9a9yIesus! 9ecause a sister of one of the mem9ers ratted them out/

lfred! a mem9er of the -ais! is killed at the end of the war 9y the in(ading Russianarmy/ nce lfred is gone! skar! *aria! and


8/107

Maor Chara!ters

"skar Mat#erath $Bronski%&The main character and narrator of the no(el/ skarwillfully stunted his growth at three feet tall as a three5year5old! although later in the

no(el he grows to four feet one inch/ For a maCority of the no(el! skar is ne(er foundwithout his red and white lac;uered tin drum! which he plays constantly/ &e is alsoendowed for most of his life with the a9ility to shatter glass with a high pitched scream!though he e(entually loses this a9ility/

Bruno Mnsterberg&skar's keeper in the mental institution/ &e keeps and eye onskar through a peephole in his 9edroom door! and spends his time making ela9orate

works of knotted art with old pieces of string/

Anna Bronski $'olai!#ek/(ranka%&skar's maternal grandmother! wearer of fourpotato5colored skirts! who hides skar's grandfather Ioseph


9/107

is the reason skar is in a mental institution 5 skar asked him to turn him in as themurderer of the nurse Sister ,orothea! e(en though he was innocent/

Al+re, Mat#erath&skar's assumed father 0skar presumes Ian Bronski to 9e hisactual father1! whom gnes


10/107

na(el/


11/107

them! 9eats them to death and puts them in a dumpster/ Lau9chaud the watchmakerreports him to animal control/

Dr3 2ornstetter&skar's doctor in the mental institution! who comes 9y his room almoste(ery day! Cust long enough to smoke a cigarette/ She insists that skar suffers from

childhood isolation/

"l, Man 2eilan,t&n older tenant of skar's apartment 9uilding/ &e had a shed in thecourtyard 9ehind the apartment 9uilding! where he would spend his time straighteningold nails that he pulled out of crates/

Nu!hi *yke6 Axel Mis!hke6 2arry S!hlager6 27ns!hen 'ollin6 an, Susi 'ater& Thechildren skar's age that li(e in his apartment comple#/ They ne(er accept him! 9utmake fun of him and make him drink a soup they make out of pul(eried 9rick! spit!urine! and li(e frogs/

Sigismun, Markus&The Iewish toy store owner where gnes 9uys skar his drums/

Sigismund is secretly in lo(e with gnes8 he (olunteers to watch skar e(ery weekwhen gnes has her hotel liaisons with Ian Bronski/ &e is killed 9y the -ais when theytake o(er ,anig! after they destroy his store/

4bsa!k&The -ai district chief of training! also a hunch9ack/ skar regards him atfirst as the -ai emissary of he and Be9ra's kind! 9ut then realies he is mistaken/

8ather (iehnke&The priest at the "hurch of the Sacred &eart in ,anig! where gnes*aterath went e(ery Saturday to confess/

Dr3 2ollat#&The doctor that gained notoriety 9y pu9lishing a paper studying skar's

glass59reaking (oice/

Sister 9nge&,r/ &ollat' assistant and a nurse! the only person in the office that skarallows to perform e#periments on him/

eo S!hugger& man whose occupation is to turn up as a mourner to funerals andoffer condolences8 he attended seminary school and skar calls his (ision of the world'radiant and perfect/'

Mother Tru!#inski& woman li(ing in skar's apartment 9uilding! the mother of&er9ert! *aria! Guste! and Frit Trucinski/ She keeps skar company and offers him aplace to sleep o(er the years after *aria and lfred *aterath are married/

Guste Tru!#inski $'4ster%& ;uiet! unwed woman who is a waitress at a ,anig hotel/She then marries a soldier named


12/107

8rit# Tru!#inski&Frit keeps ra99its in the courtyard 9ehind skar's ,anig apartment/&e is in the army and is only known to skar through the postcards he sends homefrom the front lines in the west/

aubs!ha, the 1at!hmaker& man li(ing in skar's apartment 9uilding who li(es

surrounded 9y clocks/ &e is a mem9er of the local SP"! and sa(es *eyn's cats fromthe gar9age on the day of &er9ert Trucinski's funeral/

'oybella&The Canitor at the Polish Post ffice in ,anig 5 he had one leg an inchshorter than the other! and was fa9led to 9e a9le to fi# toy drums/ &e is killed in thedefense of the post office when it is attacked 9y the -ais/

.i!tor (elhun&n e#tremely nearsighted man who loses his glasses at the post office9attle/ &is Co9 is deli(ering money orders/ &e is the only man who escapes Germanimprisonment and e#ecution/ skar refers to him only as 'Poor Kictor/'

*hlers&&edwig Bronski's second hus9and! who causes Ian's former family to change

their last names/

8elix 5 'itty&The two acro9ats in Be9ra's troupe/


13/107

(illem Slobber&The ,Jsseldorf (ersion of Leo Schugger/ ccording to


14/107

"be!ts/Pla!es

'notte, string art&Bruno *Jnster9erg! skar's keeper in the mental institution! makespieces of old string 0which he finds after (isiting hours in his patients' rooms1 into

ela9orate pieces of knotted art/ &e dips the string in plaster to harden and places thesculptures on pedestals fashioned out of old knitting needles/

'ashubia& rural region in the north of Poland! west of the city of ,anig 0Gdansk1/This is the region that skar's maternal grandmother! nna Bronski! is from/

8our potato

2>


15/107


16/107

with fi powder 5 skar would spit in *aria's hand! which was full of powder! and shewould drink it/

lo-ebir,&n the way to *aterath's funeral! a soldier gi(es *aria a cage with alo(e9ird inside8


17/107

>uotes

=uote 2: This is the time for the people who want to sa(e me! whom it amuses to lo(eme! who try to esteem and respect themsel(es! to get to know themsel(es! through me/&ow 9lind! how ner(ous and ill59red they areO They scratch the white enamel of my9edstead with their fingernail scissors! they scri99le o9scene little men on it with their9allpoint pens and 9lue pencils/ "hapter 2! pg/ 2

=uote 6: %f % didn't ha(e my drum! which! when handled adroitly and patiently!remem9ers all the incidentals that % need to get the essential down on paper! and if %didn't ha(e the permission of the management of the mental institutionQ to drum on itthree or four hours a day! %'d 9e a poor 9astard with nothing to say for my grandparents/

"hapter 6! pg/ 6?

=uote E: But he has to di(e on account of the launches and he has to stay under onaccount of the launches! and the raft passes o(er him and it won't stop! one raftengenders another: raft of thy raft! for all eternity: raft/ "hapter 6! pg/ E

=uote >: merica isQ the land where people find whate(er they ha(e lost! e(en missinggrandfathers/ "hapter E! pg/ E3

=uote ?: Today skar says simply: The moth drummed/ % ha(e heard ra99its! fo#esand dormice drumming/ Frogs can drum up a storm/ $oodpeckers are said to drum

worms out of their hiding places/ nd men 9eat on 9asins! tin pans! 9ass drums! andkettledrums/ $e speak of drumfire! drumhead courts8 we drum up! drum out! drum into/There are drummer 9oys and drum maCors/ There are composers who write concerti forstrings and percussion/ % might e(en mention skar's own efforts on the drum8 9ut allthis is nothing 9eside the orgy of drumming carried on 9y that moth in the hour of my9irth! with no other instrument than two ordinary si#ty5watt 9ul9s/ Perhaps there are

-egroes in darkest frica and others in merica who ha(e not yet forgotten frica who!with their well5known gift of rhythm! might succeed! in imitation of frican moths 5 whichare known to 9e larger and more 9eautiful than those of )astern )urope 5 in drumming

with such disciplined passion8 % can only go 9y my )astern )uropean standards andpraise that medium5sied powdery59rown moth of the hour of my 9irth8 that moth wasskar's master/ "hapter E! pg/>4

2D


18/107

=uote : SkatQ was their refuge! their ha(en! to which they always retreated when lifethreatened to 9eguile them into playing! in one com9ination or another! such silly two5handed games as 9ackgammon or si#ty5si#/ "hapter >! pg/ ?D

=uote D: % remained the three5year5old! the gnome! the Tom Thum9! the pigmy! theLilliputian! the midget! whom no one could persuade to grow/ % did so in order to 9ee#empted from the 9ig and little catechism and in order not! once grown to fi(e5foot5eight adulthood! to 9e dri(en 9y this man *aterathQ who face to face with his sha(ingmirror called himself my father! into a 9usiness! the grocery 9usiness! which as*aterath saw it! would! when skar turned twenty5one! 9ecome his grownup world/ Toa(oid playing the cash register % clung to my drum and from my third 9irthday on refusedto grow 9y so much as a finger's 9readth/ % remained the precocious three5year5old!towered o(er 9y grownups 9ut superior to all grownups! who refused to measure hisshadow with theirs! who was complete 9oth inside and outside! while they! to the (ery9rink of the gra(e! were condemned to worry their heads a9out de(elopment! who had

only to confirm what they were compelled to gain 9y hard and often painful e#perience!and who had no need to change his shoe and trouser sie year after year Cust to pro(ethat something was growing/ "hapter >! pg/ 752

=uote 4: $hat! after all! is a clock. $ithout your grownup it is nothing/ %t is thegrownup who winds it! who sets it 9ack or ahead! who takes it tot he watchmaker to 9echecked! cleaned! and when necessary repaired/ Iust as with the cuckoo that stopscalling too soon! Cust as with upset saltcellars! spiders seen in the morning! 9lack catson the left! the oil portrait of ncle that falls off the wall 9ecause the nail has come loose

in the plaster! Cust as in a mirror! grownups see more in and 9ehind a clock than anyclock can Custify/ "hapter ?! pg/ D

=uote 3: The ra99le 9ehind me had long ceased their 9ar9aric howls/ % was 9eginningto fancy that my drum was teaching! educating my fellow pupils! making them into m#pupils! when la Spollenhauer skar's teacherQ approached my desk/ For a time she

watched my hands and drumsticks! % wouldn't e(en say that her manner was inept8 shesmiled self5forgetfully and tried to clap her hands to my 9eat/ For a moment she 9ecamea not unpleasant old maid! who had forgotten her prescri9ed occupational caricatureand 9ecome human! that is! childlike! curious! comple#! and immoral/ "hapter D! pg/ 47

=uote 27: % look for the land of the Poles that is lost to the Germans! for the moment atleast/ -owadays the Germans ha(e started searching for Poland with credits! Leicas!and compasses! with radar! di(ining rods! delegations! and moth5eaten pro(incialstudents' associations in costume/ Some carry "hopin in their hearts! others thoughts ofre(enge/ "ondemning the first four partitions of Poland! they are 9usily planning a fifth8

24


19/107

in the meantime flying to $arsaw (ia ir France in order to deposit! with appropriateremorse! a wreath on the spot that was once the ghetto/ ne of these days they will gosearching for Poland with rockets/ %! meanwhile! conCure up Poland on my drum/ ndthis is what % drum: Poland's lost! 9ut not fore(er! all's lost! 9ut not fore(er! Poland's notlost fore(er/ "hapter 4! pg/ 27D5274

=uote 22: )(en today % am occasionally sorry that % declined/ % talked myself out of it!saying: '@ou know! *r/ Be9ra! % prefer to regard myself as a mem9er of the audience/ %culti(ate my little art in secret! far from all applause/ But it gi(es me pleasure to applaudyour accomplishments/' *r/ Be9ra raised a wrinkled forefinger and admonished me: '*ydear skar! 9elie(e an e#perienced colleague/ ur kind has no place in the audience/$e must perform! we must run the show/ %f we don't! it's the others that run us/ nd theydon't do it with kid glo(es/' "hapter 3! pg/ 22>

=uote 26: 9rown rallies on a drum which though red and white was not Polish/"hapter 27! pg/ 26>

=uote 2E: % was looking for frica under those skirts! or perhaps -aples! which! as weall know! one must ha(e seen 9efore dying/ This was the watershed! the union of allstreams8 here special winds 9lew! or else there was no wind at all8 dry and warm! youcould listen to the whishing of the rain8 here ships made fast or weighed anchors8 hereour &ea(enly Father! who has always 9een a lo(er of warmth! sat 9eside skar8 the,e(il cleaned his spyglass! and the angels played 9lindman's 9uff! 9eneath mygrandmother's skirts it was always summer! e(en when it was time to light the candleson the "hristmas tree or to hunt for )aster eggs8 e(en on ll Saints' ,ay/ -owherecould % ha(e 9een more at peace with the calendar than 9eneath my grandmother'sskirts/ "hapter 27! pg/ 26?526

=uote 2>: % asked the Satan within me: ',id you get through it all right.'

Satan Cumped up and down and whispered: ',id you see those church windows. llglass! all glassO' "hapter 22! pg/ 2ED

=uote 2?: 9orn of the folds of white fa9rics in which he saw the 9rooch e#pand intohea(en knows what: a sea of 9anners! the lpine glow! a field of poppies! ready tore(olt! against whom! Lord knows: against %ndians! cherries! nose9leed! cocks' crests!red corpuscles! until a red occupying my entire field of (ision pro(ided a 9ackground for

23


20/107

a passion which then as now was self5e(ident 9ut not to 9e named! 9ecause the littleword red says nothing/// "hapter 26! pg/ 2?

=uote 2: % couldn't help feeling that her head would 9o9 up again any minute and that

she would ha(e to (omit some more! that there was something more inside her thatwanted to come out: not only that fetus aged three months who like me didn't knowwhich father he had to thank for his e#istence8 no! % thought! it's not Cust he who wants tocome out and! like skar! demand a drum! no! there's more fish! not sardines! and notflounder! no! it's a little chunk of eel! a few whitish5green threads of eel flesh! eel fromthe 9attle of the Skagerrak! eel from the -aufahrwasser 9reakwater! Good Friday eel!eel from that horse's head! possi9ly eel from her father Ioseph ! pg/ 2D6

=uote 24: @ou'(e guessed it no dou9t: skar's aim is to get 9ack to the um9ilical cord8that is the sole purpose 9ehind this whole (ast (er9al effort and my only reason fordwelling on &er9ert Trucinski's scars/ "hapter 2>! pg/ 2D3

=uote 23: Today % know that e(erything watches! that nothing goes unseen! and thate(en wallpaper has a 9etter memory than ours/ %t isn't God in &is &ea(en that sees all/ kitchen chair! a coat5hanger! a half5filled ash tray! or the wooden replica of a womannamed -io9e! can perfectly well ser(e as an unforgetting witness to e(ery one of ouracts/ "hapter 2?! pg/ 236523E

=uote 67: Strange to say! % e#pected more from literature than from real! naked life/

Ian Bronski! whom % had often enough seen kneading my mother's flesh! was a9le toteach me ne#t to nothing/ lthough % knew that this tangle! consisting 9y turns of *amaand Ian or *aterath and *ama! this knot which sighed! e#erted itself! moaned withfatigue! and at last fell stickily apart! meant lo(e! skar was still unwilling to 9elie(e thatlo(e was lo(e8 lo(e itself made him cast a9out for some other lo(e! and yet time andtime again he came 9ack to tangled lo(e! which he hated until the day when in lo(e hepracticed it8 then he was o9liged to defend it in his own eyes as the only possi9le lo(e/"hapter 66! pg/ 6D456D3

67


21/107

=uote 62: $ho was doing all this: skar! he! or %.

nd *aria! who was sleeping upstairs and wide awake downstairs! who smelledupstairs of innocent (anilla and under the moss of pungent mushrooms! who wanted

fi powder! 9ut not this little gentleman whom % didn't want either! who had declared hisindependence! who did Cust what he was minded to! who did things % hadn't taught him!

who stood up when % lay down! who had other dreams than %! who could neither readnor write and ne(ertheless signed for me! who goes his own way to this (ery day! who9roke with me on the (ery day % first took notice of him! who is my enemy with whom %am constrained! time and time again! to ally myself! who 9etrays me and lea(es me inthe lurch! whom % should like to auction off! whom % am ashamed of! who is sick of me!

whom % wash! who 9efouls me! who sees nothing and flairs e(erything! who is so mucha stranger to me that % should like to call him Sir! who has a (ery different memory fromskar/// "hapter 66! pg/ 647

=uote 66: skar carried on negotiations with his two gods ,ionysus and pollo/ ///%fpollo stro(e for harmony and ,ionysus for drunkenness and chaos! skar was a littledemigod whose 9usiness it was to harmonie chaos and into#icate reason/ %n additionto his mortality! he had one ad(antage o(er all the full di(inities whose characters andcareers had 9een esta9lished in the remote past: skar could read what he pleased!

whereas the gods censored themsel(es/ "hapter 6! pg/ E6E

=uote 6E: Lankes' calls his pill9o# art: Bar9aric! *ystical! Bored/

Be9ra: @ou ha(e gi(en our century its name/ "hapter 6D! pg/ EED

=uote 6>: '$e dwarfs and fools ha(e no 9usiness dancing on concrete made forgiants/ %f only we had stayed under the rostrums where no one suspected ourpresenceO' "hapter 6D! pg/ E>?

=uote 6?: $hile round us nothing stirred! he started in with his right stick! then a tap ortwo with his left! then 9oth together/ Blessed if he isn't crossing his sticks! say! that roll

wasn't 9ad/ &e was (ery much in earnest and there was plenty of (ariety in his playing/&e did some (ery complicated things 9ut his simple rhythms were Cust as successful/There was nothing phony a9out his playing! he steered clear of gimmicks and Custplayed the drum/ &is style wasn't e(en religious! and there was no military (ulgaritya9out it/ &e was a musician through and through! 9ut no sno9/ &e knew all the hits/ &e

62


22/107

played ')(erything Passes!' which e(eryone was singing at the time! and! of course! 'Lili*arlene/' Slowly! a little Cerkily perhaps! he turned his curly head with the 9lue Bronskieyes toward me! smiled! rather arrogantly it seemed to me! and proceeded to wea(eskar's fa(orites into a potpourri/// "hapter 64! pg/ E?D

=uote 6: skar 0of Iesus1: @ou 9astard! % hate you! and all your hocus5pocus/

Iesus: Thou art skar! the rock! and on this rock % will 9uild my "hurch/ Follow thoumeO "hapter 64! pg/ E?4

=uote 6D: was sick of dragging a father around with him all his life/ "hapter E6! pg/

>7>

=uote 64: 'The Lord! the LordO' he cried! shaking the lo(e9ird in its cage/ 'See the LordO&e's growing! he's growingO'

Then he was tossed into the air with the cage! and he ran! flew! danced! staggered! andfled with the screeching 9ird! himself a 9ird/ Taking flight at last! he fluttered across thefields in the direction of the sewage land and was heard shouting through the (oices ofthe tommy guns: '&e's growing! he's growingO' &e was still screaming when the twoyoung Russians reloaded/ '&e's growingO' nd e(en when the tommy guns rang out

again! e(en after skar had fallen down a stepless staircase into an e#panding! all5engulfing faint! % could hear the 9ird! the (oice! the ra(en! % could hear Leo proclaimingto all the world: '&e's growing! he's growing! he's growing///' "hapter E6! pg/ >7D

=uote 63: '@es! skar! that's how it is with the


23/107

his Courney from the )ast to the $est/ But that kind of thing is not in my line/ % prefer toconcentrate on the Social ,emocrat! who managed with one name and! my patientassures me! one story! which he repeated incessantly until shortly 9efore Stolp! to theeffect that up to 23ED he had 9een a kind of partisan! risking his health and sacrificinghis free time pasting posters! for he had 9een one of the few Social ,emocrats to put up

posters e(en when it was raining/ "hapter E>! pg/ >6>

=uote E2: "emeteries ha(e always had a lure for me/ They are well kept! free fromam9iguity! logical! (irile! and ali(e/ %n cemeteries you can summon up courage andarri(e at decisions! in cemeteries life takes on distinct contours 5 % am not referring to the9orders of the gra(es 5 and if you will! a meaning/ "hapter E?! pg/ >E4

=uote E6: The fields were the fields of ,enmark8 the )rft was my Belt! whate(er rot lay

around was rotten in the state of ,enmark 5 and % was @orick////% looked on asGrJndgens! ct %%%! scene %! la9ored his dilemma a9out 9eing or not 9eing! reCected thisa9surd formulation! and put the ;uestion more concretely: '*y son and my son's lighterflints! my presumpti(e earthly and hea(enly father! my grandmother's four skirts! the9eauty! immortalied in photographs! of my poor mama! the mae of scars on &er9ertTrucinski's 9ack! the 9lood5a9sor9ing mail 9askets at the Polish Post ffice! merica 59ut what is merica compared to Streetcar -um9er 3 that went to BrMsen. "hapter E!pg/ >?35>7

=uote EE: ///*y 9eautiful hair is a glossy chestnut 9rown/ They made me a scraggly5haired gypsy/ -ot a one of them e(er noticed that skar has 9lue eyes/ "hapter ED! pg/>E

=uote E>: skar had nothing 9ut his fists with which to fill the two conca(ities/ Theywere inade;uate/ Too hard! too ner(ous! they were alien and unhappy in these 9owlswhich in my ignorance of their contents % should gladly ha(e lapped up with a teaspoonday after day8 % might ha(e e#perienced a little nausea now and then! for too much ofany fare will unsettle the stomach! 9ut after nausea sweetness! such sweetness as tomake nausea desira9le! the seal of true lo(e/ "hapter E3! pg/ >32

=uote E?: ///it is not true that when the heart is full the eyes necessarily o(erflow! somepeople can ne(er manage it! especially in our century! which in spite of all the sufferingand sorrow will surely 9e known to posterity as the tearless century/ %t was this drought!this tearlessness that 9rought those who could afford it to Schmuh's nion "ellar! wherethe host handed them a little chopping 9oard 5 pig or fish 5 a paring knife for eighty

6E


24/107

pfennigs! and for twel(e marks an ordinary! field5! garden5! and kitchen5(ariety onion!and induced them to cut their onions smaller and smaller until the Cuice 5 what did theonion Cuice do. %t did what the world and the sorrows of the world could not do: it9rought forth a round! human tear/ %t made them cry/ t last they were a9le to cry again/To cry properly! without restraint! to cry like mad/ The tears flowed and washed

e(erything away/ The rain came/ The dew/ skar has a (ision of floodgates opening/ fdams 9ursting in the spring floods/ $hat is the name of that ri(er that o(erflows e(eryspring and the go(ernment does nothing to stop it. "hapter >6! pg/ ?6?

=uote E: $hat more shall % say: 9orn under light 9ul9s! deli9erately stopped growingat age of three! gi(en drum! sang glass to pieces! smelled (anilla! coughed in churches!o9ser(ed ants! decided to grow! 9uried drum! emigrated to the $est! lost the )ast!learned stonecutter's trade! worked as model! started drumming again! (isited concrete!made money! kept finger! ga(e finger away! fled laughing! rode up escalator! arrested!con(icted! sent to mental hospital! soon to 9e ac;uitted! cele9rating this day my thirtieth

9irthday and still afraid of the Black $itch/ "hapter >! pg/ ?4D

6>


25/107

Topi! Tra!king& 9n,i-i,uality/9,entity

Topi! Tra!king& 9n,i-i,uality/9,entity

Chapter ?

%ndi(iduality 2: skar descri9es 9oth his grandfather and the two policemen incompletely impersonal terms: as Short and $ide and Long and Thin/

Chapter @

%ndi(iduality 6: Ioseph : scar 9egins with this ;uote to refer to himself interchangea9ly in eitherthe first or third person! a motif that holds for the whole no(el/

Chapter

%ndi(iduality ?: skar considers his two greatest theoretical influences to 9e Rasputinand Goethe: he creates a hy9rid 9etween the thinkers that plays their contrasting 9eliefsoff one another/ The uniting factor 9etween the thinkers is their insistence onindi(iduality 5 Goethe in an aloof! theoretical! romantic way and Rasputin in a more

(isceral! o(ertly su9(ersi(e way/

Chapter ??

%ndi(iduality : There is a per(asi(e! internal tension that 9egins here and holdsthroughout the no(el 9etween skar and his relation to 0and his identification with1 the9a9y Iesus/ t times skar says Iesus is his opposite 0that the de(il li(es through him1!

6?


26/107

and at other times he says he is the em9odiment of Iesus himself/ &e spends time inthe church of the Sacred &eart trying 0and in time succeeding1 to get the 9a9y Iesussculpture to play his drum/

Chapter ?

%ndi(iduality D: ,uring the German raid on the Polish Post ffice! Ian! skar! and


27/107

%ndi(iduality 2E: By throwing his drum into *aterath's gra(e! skar (oluntarily 9egins togrow/ &e recognies that he is older and he is now orphaned from all of his possi9le9iological parents/ skar e(entually grows into a four foot! one inch hunch9ack! andloses the a9ility to 9reak glass with his (oice/

Chapter E

%ndi(iduality 2>: Bruno has caught skar in a way! for his credi9ility may 9e lacking/ Thetruth of skar's relationships! and who he has descri9ed himself and his family to 9e!are called into ;uestion/

Chapter F

%ndi(iduality 2?: &ere! skar's identity crisis takes on epic proportions8 the e(ents of theno(el are assimilated into a Shakespearean ;uestion of 9eing/ skar identifies himself

with @orick! the dead former court Cester in Hamlet! and the dead! piecemeal womankilled in the war! 9ecomes &amlet! the tragic hero/

Chapter

%ndi(iduality 2: skar has (olunteered himself to 9e an art school model/ &e 9egins a

long series of criti;ues on himself and the state of the world 9ased on therepresentations of his physical form that (arious artists create/

Chapter E?&

%ndi(iduality 2D: skar fails himself here! e(en as he thinks he knows the forces at workwithin him so well/ The identification with the ,e(il is a per(asi(e motif! and! ostensi9ly!a relia9le one for skar to fall 9ack on/ )(en that fails him in his dealings with Sister

,orothea/

Chapter E@

6D


28/107

%ndi(iduality 24: %ndi(idual guilt is pointed to the collecti(e8 perhaps the state of thecollecti(e conscience! the go(ernment! is as destructi(e as the li(es of indi(iduals/ Iustlike


29/107

Topi! Tra!king& 0e, 5 (hite

Topi! Tra!king& 0e, 5 (hite

Chapter @

Red + $hite 2: skar's grandfather! Ioseph


30/107

Red + $hite : skar makes reference to the rallies in terms of their color 5 he says he9roke up 9rown rallies on a drum which though red and white was not Polish/ "hapter27! pg/ 26>

Brown color of the -ai uniforms

Red + $hite color of 9oth the Polish and -ai flag

Red + $hite D: skar sings a hole in a Cewelry shop window so that the man he9elie(es to 9e his father! Ian Bronski! can steal a necklace of red ru9ies set in gold/ %nthat scene! he is compared to the mythological Parsifal! whose attention was captured9y drops of red 9lood in white snow/

Red + $hite 4: fter the war! skar trades the necklace for a 9riefcase and twel(e

cartons of Lucky Strike cigarettes 5 the la9el for Lucky Strikes is a red circle on a white9ackground/

Chapter ?@

Red + $hite 3: %n his parent's 9edroom! skar thinks 9ack to his childhood doctor's(isits! and focuses on Sister %nge's white nurse's suit and 9rooch with a red cross/ &esays she made him fall into a sleep 9orn of the folds of white fa9rics in which he sawthe 9rooch e#pand into hea(en knows what: a sea of 9anners! the lpine glow! a fieldof poppies! ready to re(olt! against whom! Lord knows: against %ndians! cherries!

nose9leed! cocks' crests! red corpuscles! until a red occupying my entire field of (isionpro(ided a 9ackground for a passion which then as now was self5e(ident 9ut not to 9enamed! 9ecause the little word red says nothing/// "hapter 26! pg/ 2?

Chapter ?H

Red + $hite 27: fter sitting on the granite 9anister outside the *aritime *useumwaiting for &er9ert! he descri9es slipping off the 9anister and his drum hitting againstthe rock 5 little pieces of red and white lac;uer chip off and lie on the steps/

Chapter ?

Red + $hite 22: skar descri9es how his grandmother nna would not like him underher skirts when the family was around! 9ecause they would remind her of 9egettinggnes with Ioseph


31/107

red/ skar says her 9lushing was 9ecoming to her! 9ecause her hair at the time waswhite! since she was almost si#ty/

Chapter @?

Red + $hite 26: n the way to the 9each with *aria! skar sets up a parallel 9etweenthe painfully white walls of Saspe cemetery! where Ian Bronski is 9uried! and thesal(ation of *aria's necklace! a string of red wooden cherries/

Chapter @

Red + $hite 2E: skar relates that the mere sight of his son : The Rennwand 9rothers perform *ass with mister dressed in their redand white choir9oy uniforms/ So as not to 9lind skar! -arses and Blue9eard use thered 9eam on their flashlights to light skar on the statue/ $hen the police come in! theyuse their white 9eams only/

Chapter

Red + $hite 2?: Raskolniko(! the 9rilliant art student who paints the masterpieces ofskar and lla together! is descri9ed as ha(ing fiery red hair/

Chapter EH

Red + $hite 2: To sa(e Kictor $elhun from e#ecution! skar drums the Polishnational anthem! and ghostly spirits of the Polish ca(alry! carrying the red and white

9anners of Poland! emerge from the ground and carry off 9oth Kictor and hise#ecutioners/

E2


32/107


33/107


34/107

Chapter @& :n,er the 0a+t

The chapter opens 9ack in the mental institution/ For the first time in the no(el! skarmentions his tin drum! which he claims is responsi9le for his remem9ering of all

essential past e(ents/ skar says:

2f 2 didn*t ha.e m# drum, -hich, -hen handled adroitl# and patientl#, remembers all theincidentals that 2 need to get the essential do-n on paper, and if 2 didn*t ha.e the

permission of the managementof the mental institutionQ to drum on it three or fourhours a da#, 2*d be a poor bastard -ith nothing to sa# for m# grandparents/"hapter 6!pg/ 6?

skar says that his drum tells him that it was that afternoon! under nna's four skirts!while the two consta9les searched! that his mother! gnes


35/107

Topic Tracking: %ndi(idualityA%dentity 6Topic Tracking: Red + $hite 2

The disguise worked for


36/107

Chapter & Moth an, ight Bulb

%n the mental institution! skar reads Bruno a portion of what he has written concerninghis grandfather/ Bruno says it is 9eautiful death and 9egins to recreate the story with

his knotted string art/

skar is (isited 9y his two friends!


37/107

cooking! cleaning! etc/ The couple mo(ed into the flat adCoining the store/ skar makesa point of asking his drum the wattage of the light 9ul9s in the 9edroom of thatapartment/ Satisfied that the lights he first saw were two si#ty5watt 9ul9s! he speaks ofhis 9irth/ &is mother ga(e 9irth at home/ skar says that he was one of those infants

whose mental de(elopment was completed at 9irth 5 it needed only a certain amount of

filling in/ Seeing that it is a 9oy! *aterath says that skar will take o(er the store whenhe is older/ gnes! skar's mother! says simply that when skar is three! he will ha(e atoy drum/ $eighing these two reactions! skar notices a moth darting 9etween the twosi#ty watt light 9ul9s/ &e writes of the sound the moth made as a dialogue 9etween themoth and the light 9ul9 conferring some sort of a9solution to the moth/ &e says:

Toda# $s&ar sa#s simpl# The moth drummed/ 2 ha.e heard rabbits, fo3es, anddormice drumming/ Frogs can drum up a storm/ 'oodpec&ers are said to drum -ormsout of their hiding places/ "nd men beat on basins, tin pans, bass drums, and&ettledrums/ 'e spea& of drumfire, drumhead courts4 -e drum up, drum out, drum into/There are drummer bo#s and drum majors/ There are composers -ho -rite concerti forstrings and percussion/ 2 might e.en mention $s&ar*s o-n efforts on the drum4 but allthis is nothing beside the org# of drumming carried on b# that moth in the hour of m#birth, -ith no other instrument than t-o ordinar# si3t#0-att bulbs/ 5erhaps there are6egroes in dar&est "frica and others in "merica -ho ha.e not #et forgotten "frica -ho,-ith their -ell0&no-n gift of rh#thm, might succeed, in imitation of "frican moths 0 -hichare &no-n to be larger and more beautiful than those of eastern )urope 0 in drumming-ith such disciplined passion4 2 can onl# go b# m# )astern )uropean standards and

praise that medium0sized po-der#0bro-n moth of the hour of m# birth4 that moth -as$s&ar*s master/"hapter E! pg/ >4

Topic Tracking: %ndi(idualityA%dentity ETopic Tracking: %ndi(idualityA%dentity >

$ailing and acting like a normal 9a9y! skar decided to reCect *aterath's 0whoassumed he was skar's father1 plans! and to go with his mother's plans/ skar says it

was only the promise of the drum that kept his from demanding a return to the wom9/

ED


38/107


39/107

when life threatened to 9eguile them into playing! in one com9ination or another! suchsilly two5handed games as 9ackgammon or si#ty5si#/ "hapter >! pg/ ?D/

skar mo(es on to his mother's friend! Gretchen Scheffler! who spent most of her timeknitting/ &er hus9and! the 9aker le#ander Scheffler and she would often take trips on

the German Strength through Ioy ships 0a -ai organiation regulating all recreationalacti(ity1/

skar mentions a photo of l9recht Greff 0Greff1! the greengrocer and 9oy scout leader!with a 9oy of thirteen! one of his scouts/ &e was married to Lina Greff! through whomskar e(entually gets to know the grocer/

skar descri9es a 9a9y picture of himself/ %t was taken in a professional studio8 he issitting on a white rug made of polar 9ear fur/ &e focuses on his hands! which areclenched into fists! and the look of earnest concentration on his face/ &is hands areready to strike! he says 5 to strike the drum! which has not 9een gi(en to him! for he isnot yet three/ &e mo(es on to a picture taken on his third 9irthday! in which he has his

drum/ &e is holding his drumsticks crossed o(er the drum's serrated red and whitefields! his 9lue eyes reflecting determination/ &e relates his decision at that moment toremain that three5year5old fore(er:

2 remained the three0#ear0old, the gnome, the Tom Thumb, the pigm#, the 7illiputian,the midget, -hom no one could persuade to gro-/ 2 did so in order to be e3empted fromthe big and little catechism and in order not, once gro-n to fi.e0foot0eight adulthood, tobe dri.en b# this man*aterathQ -ho face to face -ith his sha.ing mirror calledhimself m# father, into a business, the grocer# business, -hich as Matzerath sa- it-ould, -hen $s&ar turned t-ent#0one, become his gro-nup -orld/ To a.oid pla#ing thecash register 2 clung to m# drum and from m# third birthda# on refused to gro- b# so

much as a finger*s breadth/ 2 remained the precocious three0#ear0old, to-ered o.er b#gro-nups but superior to all gro-nups, -ho refused to measure his shado- -ith theirs,-ho -as complete both inside and outside, -hile the#, to the .er# brin& of the gra.e,-ere condemned to -orr# their heads about *de.elopment,* -ho had onl# to confirm-hat the# -ere compelled to gain b# hard and often painful e3perience, and -ho hadno need to change his shoe and trouser size #ear after #ear just to pro.e thatsomething -as gro-ing/"hapter >! pg/ 752

Topic Tracking: Red + $hite 6

skar admits in the same 9reath! howe(er! that something did grow! to *essianic

proportions! though not always to his 9est ad(antage/

E3


40/107

Chapter H& Smash a ittle (in,o1pane

skar opens 9y saying that the first thing made plain to him was that grownups wereincapa9le of understanding him/ &e relates the story of his third 9irthday/ Ian watched

gnes play the piano! while nna! &edwig! and le#ander Scheffler sat with Greff andlistened to Boy Scout stories/ *aterath was 9usy cooking/ skar! 9eating on his newdrum! wandered into the adCoining grocery store and found the trap door to the cellaropen! *aterath ha(ing forgotten to close it/ skar says he realied what the doordemanded of him 5 not suicide! 9ut sacrifice/ &e walked down the si#teen stairs! placinghis drum in among the sacks of flour so as not to damage it/ Then he walked up to theninth stair and threw himself off! landing headfirst on the concrete floor/ The clatter of9roken glass 9rought e(eryone running/

gnes 9lamed the fall on *aterath 5 she screamed and flailed at him while they calledthe doctor/ skar says that 9y falling intentionally down those stairs! he ga(e a reason!

confirmed 9y the doctors and thus accepted 9y the grownups! for his not growing/ %naddition! he unintentionally made *aterath a guilty man! 9lamed fore(er 9y his wife/

nce home from four weeks in the hospital! skar 9egan to drum! keeping his drumwith him at all times/ t the same time! he de(eloped a (oice that was so high5pitchedthat he could 9reak any piece of glass/ &e used this (oice to keep the drum whene(er agrownup tried to take it away/ $hen the neigh9orhood children learned of this! they9egan to make fun of him 9y singing Cingles/ Like the Pied Piper! skar would drumalong with the song and the children would follow him/

skar drummed until he wore a hole in the drum's top surface8 it 9ecame Cagged andsharp! and little shreds of metal fell inside and 9egan to Cingle/ %nstead of gi(ing skar a

new drum! howe(er! the grownups wanted to take the current one away from him8 hismother tried to 9ri9e him with silly things like chocolate! while *aterath yanked thedrum away/ skar responded with his first glass59reaking scream/ The glass face of thegrandfather clock in the li(ing room e#ploded! 9ut the clock's mechanism was unharmedand kept ticking/ The grownups were taken a9ack8 skar says he 9elie(es that IanBronski 9egan to pray! 9ut that the Lord didn't say a thing/ skar then muses:

'hat, after all, is a cloc&8 'ithout #our gro-nup it is nothing/ 2t is the gro-nup -ho-inds it, -ho sets it bac& or ahead, -ho ta&es it tot he -atchma&er to be chec&ed,cleaned, and -hen necessar# repaired/ 9ust as -ith the cuc&oo that stops calling toosoon, just as -ith upset saltcellars, spiders seen in the morning, blac& cats on the left,

the oil portrait of %ncle that falls off the -all because the nail has come loose in theplaster, just as in a mirror, gro-nups see more in and behind a cloc& than an# cloc& canjustif#/"hapter ?! pg/ D

From that moment on! skar says he 9roke only light 9ul9s if he could! as he is a lo(erof fine glassware/ For his fourth 9irthday he recei(ed no drum! and 9roke se(eral light9ul9s when the grownups tried to take his rusty drum away! plunging the room intodarkness/ %mmediately skar's Grandmother 7


41/107

darkness the into#icated grownups paired off! gnes with Ian! le#ander Scheffler withLina Greff! and *aterath with Gretchen Scheffler/ &edwig Bronski sat alone! 9ut sang aBoy Scout song duet with l9recht Greff/ skar sat under the ta9le! drumming/ nna2


42/107

Chapter F& The S!he,ule

skar says that


43/107

m# hands and drumstic&s, 2 -ouldn*t e.en sa# that her manner -as inept4 she smiledself0forgetfull# and tried to clap her hands to m# beat/ For a moment she became a notunpleasant old maid, -ho had forgotten her prescribed occupational caricature andbecome human, that is, childli&e, curious, comple3, and immoral/"hapter D! pg/ 47

She then complemented skar 9ut tried to take away his drum/ skar ga(e her awarning scratch on her glasses with his (oice/ She let go of the drum 9ut called himwicked/ She changed her glasses and announced that she would gi(e the students'their schedule of classes! and made them all repeat it after her/ skar repeated theschedule 9y 9eating on his drum/ The teacher found the drumming repulsi(e8 she triedto take the drum again/ This time skar sung out the classroom's windows/ The teachertook out a cane and slammed skar's desk8 he refused to ha(e his hand hit! so she hithis drum with a (iolent glint in her eye/ skar shattered the lenses of her glasses/ Themothers threatened to pounce on skar's mother! 9ut skar came to her aid and theyleft! pausing only long enough for a photograph 9y the school photographer/

>E


44/107

Chapter & 0asputin an, the Alphabet

skar tells Bruno and


45/107

like a child for Rasputin/ Gretchen was con(inced that skar could not understand orlearn 5 what skar did was to tear the pages out of the two 9ooks! crumple them! andhide them under his sweater/ Then he would smooth them out at home and read themin peace/ &e would take the two sets of pages! shuffle them like cards! create a wholenew 9ook of Rasputin and Goethe together! and store it in the attic/

skar says he ate too much of Gretchen's cake in those days/ &e 9ecame (ery fat! andwould often (omit up the e#pensi(e cakes once he got home/ &e paid for his lessons 9y9ecoming a dressmaker's dummy! as Gretchen would spend her free time makingclothes for the 9a9y she ne(er had/

>?


46/107

Chapter & The Sto!kturm3 ong/ The portraitof Beetho(en o(er the piano! a present from Greff! was replaced with a portrait of &itler/Though lfred wanted to 9anish the Beetho(en portrait! gnes made him keep it up!hanging it o(er the side9oard/ skar says the two portraits! &itler and the genius! satunhappily staring eye to eye/ lfred pieced together his -ai uniform slowly! piece 9ypiece! and started attending Sunday rallies religiously/ Ian Bronski caught on and9egan to (isit gnes on Sundays while lfred was out/ -ot wanting to distur9 them!skar would slip out and head toward the rallies/

skar admired one of the party's mem9ers 5 a hunch9acked man named LM9sack! the-ai's district chief of training/ &e thought LM9sack to 9e a man fighting on 9ehalf ofthose like Be9ra and himself! as he deri(ed his intelligence and wit from his hump! 9utrealies he is wrong/ The party heads spoke from a rostrum 5 a platform on which wasset up symmetrical rows of flags and people for a rally/ Per Be9ra's orders! skar spenthis time at the rallies on the rostrum/

ne Sunday skar took another tack 5 he approached the rostrum from its uncouthand went underneath/ skar 9egan to 9eat out a walt on his drum o(er the rectilinearmarch played 9y the 9and/ "ouples in the audience started dancing/ skar switched tothe "harleston! and after a moment of chaos! the crowd understood and e(eryone9egan to dance/ For an hour! the SS and S men tore holes in the rostrum looking for aculprit! 9ut they ne(er found skar! who slipped out as an unnoticed three5year5old/

>3


50/107

Chapter ?& Shop1in,o1s

skar says he made a ha9it of spending time with his drum under rostrums until-o(em9er of 23E4! 9reaking up rallies and transforming marches into waltes/ skar

maintains! howe(er! that he was not a resistance fighter 5 resistance is a much5o(erused word/ &e prefers the reader to see him only as an eccentric who reCected theuniforms and colors of the mainstream/

Topic Tracking: Red + $hite

skar learned to play the tempter from his grandmother nna


51/107

window! staring at a ru9y necklace/ %nstead of drumming him away! skar sang a holein the window for this man whom he presumed to 9e his father/ Ian ;uickly picked upthe necklace and put it in his pocket/ skar drummed out Father! father on his drumand Ian came across the street and found skar in the doorway/ Ian reached out tohim and led him home8 a few days later! Ian ga(e the necklace to gnes/ fter $$%%!

skar traded the necklace for a leather 9riefcase and twel(e cartons of Lucky Strikecigarettes on the 9lack market/

Topic Tracking: Red + $hite DTopic Tracking: Red + $hite 4

?2


52/107

Chapter ??& No (on,er

skar laments the fact that he lost his glass59reaking (oice a9ility in the year 9efore hewas committed to the institution/ $hen he saw his friend Kittlar! he was reduced to

using the man's first name! Gottfried! 9ecause his (oice was so lowly/

The incident with Ian and the necklace put a temporary end to skar's temptations/ tthat time! howe(er! gnes found religion8 skar says she did so 9ecause she had falleninto a routine of sin with Ian Bronski/ So she went and confessed to Father $iehnkee(ery Saturday at the "hurch of the Sacred &eart/

skar remem9ers his 9aptism! which Father $iehnke had performed/ ,uring theceremony he had asked if skar would renounce Satan/ Before skar could shake hishead 0e(en though he was an infant1! Ian Bronski said he would/ skar says he had nointention of renouncing Satan: once outside and waiting for a ta#i! skar says:

2 as&ed the :atan -ithin me *Did #ou get through it all right8*:atan jumped up and do-n and -hispered *Did #ou see those church -indo-s8 "llglass, all glass1*"hapter 22! pg/ 2ED

There were three colored sculptures of Iesus in the church/ The first was of a frowningIesus whose ro9es were open! e#posing a 9leeding heart/ %n this sculpture! skar sawa striking resem9lance to Ian Bronski! his presumpti(e father/ The second sculptureshowed Iesus with his eyes closed and muscles 9ulging from underneath his ro9es:Iesus the di(ine athlete/ The third sculpture showed the Kirgin *ary with two young9oys seated on her right leg of her lap 5 Iesus and Iohn the Baptist/ *ary was lookingat Iohn! who was clothed! and didn't notice Iesus! who was naked/ Ba9y Iesus

Sculpture/ skar identified with the two little religious figures! going so far as to say thatthe Iesus was his spit and image/

Topic Tracking: %ndi(idualityA%dentity

skar clim9ed the steps to the sculpture! then stroked and pressed the nakedsculpture's uncircumcised penis8 skar felt a strange and distur9ing sensation withinhimself as he did so/ &e clim9ed the sculpture and hung his drum around thesculpture's neck/ &e stuck his drumsticks into the 9oy's hands/ &e waited for Iesus todrum8 this test would determine who the real Iesus was 5 skar or Iesus himself/ Iesusdid not drum/ skar did a drumming demonstration to teach Iesus! 9ut this only drew

attention from Father $iehnke! who cracked the sculpture in remo(ing the drum/ skarkicked and 9it Father $iehnke to get 9ack his drum! then ran away! Satan Cumpinginside of him/ skar tries to sing out some of the windows of the church! 9ut he failed!lamenting the fact that it was almost )aster and Iesus would 9e in charge/

?6


53/107

Chapter ?@& Goo, 8ri,ay 8are

skar was mad at Iesus for not drumming! 9ut glad the drum was all his/ &e was angrythat the windows did not 9reak! 9ut the fact that they did not preser(ed his "atholic

faith/

*aterath! who was a Protestant! closed the store on Good Friday/ &e! skar! gnes!and Ian took a streetcar to a 9each resort! which was still mostly 9oarded up! as it wasmid5pril/ n the way they passed Saspe cemetery! where gnes said she'd like to 9e9uried/ lfred thought the soil too sandy/ nce there! they walked along the 9each andsaw no one sa(e a lone old man sitting on the 9reakwater/ &e had a wriggling sack ne#tto him and held onto a clothesline that disappeared into the water/ The man! with ato9acco stained smile! pulled in the clothesline/ lthough ready to lea(e! skar's groupstayed to watch/ The man clim9ed down the rocks and hea(ed a se(ered horse's head!attached to the clothesline! onto the 9reakwater/ "linging to the 9lack horse's head were

green eels! which the man pulled off the horse and put in his 9ag! which *aterath held/The man pulled open the horse's mouth and pulled out two large eels from the horse'sthroat! causing gnes to throw up her 9reakfast/ "ircling seagulls swooped down andate what gnes had disgorged/ The man pulled an eel out of the horse's ear! spilling thehorse's 9rains out of its head/

Ian! though weak! led gnes away/ *aterath 9ought four of the eels/ The mane#plained that the 9ag was full of rock salt! which caused the eels to wriggle to deathand scrape off their slime/ The practice was illegal! 9ut the man did it anyway/ skar left*aterath and the old man and found Ian and gnes8 Ian's hand was in gnes' shirt!and gnes' hand was in Ian's coat pocket/

The group took the streetcar home! and lfred promised to make the eels for dinner!which gnes didn't want/ She smoked in pu9lic! which lfred didn't like/ nce home! anargument o(er the eels and skar falling down the stairs ensued/ Sick of it! skar wentinto lfred and gnes' 9edroom and hid in the clothes closet! completely motionless/ &ethought 9ack to his (isits with the doctor! ,r/ &ollat who had his assistant! Sister %nge!perform e#periments on skar/ &e en(isioned her crisp white uniform and her 9rooch

with a red cross/


lfred had put the cooked eels on the ta9le! 9ut Ian and gnes refused to eat them/

gnes 9egan to scream in


54/107

Chapter ?& Tapere, at the 8oot *n,

)#actly two weeks after )aster! gnes 9egan to eat fish o9sessi(ely/ She would start inthe morning with herring! then mo(e on to any sort of fried! 9oiled! preser(ed! or

smoked fish she could find/ She 9egan to (omit at inter(als throughout the day!neglecting to answer either Ian's or lfred's ;uestions a9out why she was doing so/fter drinking the oil from se(eral cans of sardines! she was taken to the hospital/There! gnes was found to 9e three months pregnant/ ,r/ &ollat said she had Caundiceand fish poisoning! 9ut skar says it was the memory of the eels in the se(ered horse'shead! and the fear of seeing it again! that did her in/ For four days she retched! thenfinally died/ skar says in his mother's death she and Ian Bronski had 9ecome Romeoand Iuliet8 she had died for him! held their lo(e on a pedestal! and sacrificed herself/skar descri9es his mother's funeral! who was 9uried not in Saspe 9ut ne#t to herstepfather! Gregor


55/107

Chapter ?E& 2erbert Tru!#inski=s Ba!k

fter his mother's death! skar lost all his will8 he stopped 9reaking up demonstrationswith his drum and singing out the glass of shop windows/ skar plunged himself into

Gretchen Scheffler's 9ooks! and spent time taking walks alone/ n one of these walks!skar ran into Be9ra! who in(ited him to a cup of coffee at the Four Seasons hotel/ $ithBe9ra was a 9eautiful woman who! like skar and Be9ra! had chosen not to grow: hername was Roswitha Raguna/ Be9ra asked a9out skar's deCection8 he told of hismother's death/ Roswitha immediately in(ites skar to tra(el around )urope with herand Be9ra/ %n the same 9reath! howe(er! as she gaed into skar! she trem9led and

withdrew from him/ skar asked Be9ra to e#plain why she shied away/ &e said:

*Your genius, m# #oung friend, the di.ine, but also no doubt the diabolical elements in#our genius ha.e rather confused m# good ;os-itha, and 2 too must o-n that #ou ha.ein #ou a certain immoderation, a certain e3plosi.eness, -hich to me is alien though not

! pg/ 2D3

??


56/107

s skar pushed on each scar with his finger or drumstick! &er9ert would tell him thestory that went along with it 5 all were 9attles that took place o(er &er9ert's pride/ few

weeks later! &er9ert would not ha(e his scars pushed anymore 5 he had killed a Lat(iansea captain in self5defense and could not get o(er his guilt/ &e ga(e notice at the 9arand ;uit! although his 9oss tried in (ain to persuade him otherwise/

?


57/107

Chapter ?H& Niobe

&er9ert was reduced to mulling o(er his trou9les8 skar got him to go into a partnershipwith him/ skar would sing out the windows of a store and &er9ert would do the

sal(aging of the loot/ They ro99ed two delis and a furrier/ They were forced to gi(e it up!howe(er! 9ecause disposing of the goods in(ol(ed re(isiting the 9lack market of the

waterfront! which &er9ert had no intention of doing/ fter another 9out of mulling!&er9ert got out his suit and went looking for a Co9 5 he 9ecame a guard at the *aritime*useum/

The pride of the museum's collection was a figurehead from a Florentine galleon!captured 9y Pirates from ,anig in 2>DE/ The green figurehead was a car(ing of anaked woman8 the car(ing was known as -io9e or the green kitten/ The model for thesculpture had 9een put on trial for witchcraft after its completion and the sculptor'shands were cut off as a result/ (er the centuries! e(ery one of the sculpture's owners

9efell some grand misfortune8 ,anig's citiens 9lamed much of their misfortune on itspresence/ $hile no museum attendant would guard the sculpture! and (isitors wouldnot enter the room! &er9ert Trucinski (olunteered his ser(ices/

Reluctantly! he let skar accompany him to the museum/ n the third day! on theprete#t of cleaning! the two entered the sculpture's room and they studied herproportions8 &er9ert thought there was too much of her! preferring little dainty women/skar drummed on her 9reasts! and &er9ert dro(e a nail into her knee8 she didn't react/skar! at the time! was con(inced of -io9e's indifference toward him and &er9ert/ &esays:

Toda# 2 &no- that e.er#thing -atches, that nothing goes unseen, that e.en -allpaper

has a better memor# than ours/ 2t isn*t !od in his Hea.en that sees at all/ " &itchenchair, a coat0hanger, a half0filled ash tra#, or the -ooden replica of a -oman named6iobe, can perfectl# -ell ser.e as an unforgetting -itness to e.er# one of our acts/"hapter 2?! pg/ 236523E

fter two weeks the ticket seller at the museum refused to let skar in with &er9ert9ecause skar was irresponsi9le/ %n the end he was let in one last time! 9ut 9oth heand &er9ert were disinclined toward games 5 -io9e caught the afternoon light in heram9er eyes and seemed to 9e plotting/

The ne#t day &er9ert guarded -io9e alone and skar sat outside the museum on a

9anister/ skar drummed in protest! then ate lunch outside with &er9ert! then watchedhim drink gin in a local 9ar/


Suddenly an am9ulance showed up at the museum 5 skar slipped inside along withthem and went to -io9e's room/ &er9ert was hanging from -io9e's front! his faceco(ering hers/ &e was naked to the waist! showing off his scars/ &e had taken a safety

?D


58/107

a# and plunged it into the statue8 in the process he had dri(en the other end intohimself/ &is trousers were open and his penis was still erect/ skar says that in order todraw upon this scene! he is o9liged to 9ang on his drum with all of his might! not withhis drumsticks 9ut with his fists/

?4


59/107

Chapter ?F& 8aith6 2ope6 o-e

t &er9ert's funeral! Leo Schugger again offered his condolences to the assem9ly at thecemetery/ *eyn the trumpeter went 9ack to drinking gin and played the trumpet

9eautifully o(er &er9ert's gra(e/ Leo Schugger neglected to gi(e *eyn his sympathies!9ut rather cried in fear at seeing him/ nce home! *eyn found his four cats! who he fedherring heads/ The stench of the cats! howe(er! 9ecame un9eara9le to him/ &e reachedfor the poker that sat 9y his sto(e and flailed out at the cats until they were dead/ &e putthe cats into a potato sack and took them downstairs to dump them in the trash! 9utneglected to notice that the sack was not 9lood5proof 5 it 9egan to drip as he went downthe stairs/ The gar9age can was full and the lid would not stay on well 5 after *eyndumped his cats! the lid 9egan to mo(e/ The cats were not ;uite dead/ %n his house!Lau9schad the watchmaker! a mem9er of the local SP"! saw the gar9age lid mo(ing/&e went out! took out the cats! and took care of them until they died the following night/&e complained to the SP" and *eyn was fined and kicked out of the S 5 e(en his

o9ser(ed 9ra(ery in setting fore to a local synagogue could not sa(e him/

cross from the 9urning synagogue! which lfred and skar had watched 9urn! skarslipped away to Sigismund *arkus' toy store/ The -ais had painted Iewish Sowacross the store window in SJtterlin script/ They had kicked in the window! and se(eralsoldiers had defecated inside the store/ The soldiers 9roke into *arkus' office! wherethey found him with an empty water glass/ skar worried for his drum 5 he left the store;uickly! taking three drums with him/ utside se(eral women were handing out religioustracts from 9etween a 9anner that read Faith/// hope/// lo(e! from "orinthians! chapter2E/ skar says we are waiting for the Sa(ior! 9ut that the sa(ior is really the gasman!offering special rates on the gas of the &oly Ghost! which lets you cook/ The Sa(ior! the

gasman! 9ecame Santa "laus 55 skar himself ;uestions these imaginati(e answers!listing a num9er of things he doesn't understand/

?3


60/107

Book @6 Chapter ?& S!rap Metal

n (isiting day in the institution! *aria 9rings skar a new drum/ skar would notaccept the receipt from the store 5 he e(en had Bruno wash the price tag off the drum

with hot water 9efore he would look at it/ *aria takes the old drum! well worn as it is/Per skar's instructions! she is to put it in the cellar at home! along with all of skar'sother used drums/ skar asks himself what it is that makes him collect his worn outdrums 5 his answer is fear of a drum prohi9ition sometime in the future/ This comple#started on -o(em9er 3! 23E4! the day he lost Sigismund *arkus to the -ais and withit! his supply of drums/

skar had sal(aged three drums from the ruins of *arkus' shop/ &e drummed carefullyand seldom in order to sa(e them/ skar 9egan to lose weight in his depression/ To getaway from ,r/ &ollat! skar 9egan to eat8 the price! howe(er! was that he ruined histhree drums ;uickly/ lfred was of no help 5 he was lost to the Party 0the -ais1! and

held long con(ersations with the portraits of &itler and Beetho(en hanging in the li(ingroom 5 Beetho(en spoke of destiny! &itler of Pro(idence/ n Sundays! lfred wouldspend his time collecting money for the Party/ ne day! skar took the collection 9o#

when lfred was napping and tried to used it as a replacement drum 5 it was amisera9le failure/ skar learned then that no su9stitute could replace his drum/ -ow hehad to carry on his deceptions without his drum8 he had to pretend he was three yearsold alone/ skar went looking for Ian Bronski/

$ith gnes gone! Ian and lfred's friendship had gone 9y the wayside 5 mostly sincethey came down on opposite political sides of the ine(ita9le war 5 their meeting wasfor9idden/ nce or twice a month! Ian would stop 9y after midnight to play skat withlfred and le#ander Scheffler/ lfred and Ian soon found skat partners closer to theirown way of thinking/ Ian found


61/107

inside the post office door! where the workers were putting up sand9ags in defense/skar! una9le to find


62/107


63/107

Chapter ?& The Car, 2ouse

Kictor $elhun helped Ian and skar carry


64/107

Chapter @& 2e ies in Saspe

skar says he has misled the reader in the last chapter 5 the e(ents were not so grandor 9lameless as he made them out to 9e/ s soon as the guards came into the room!

skar had 9egun making himself out to 9e the childish (ictim! and making Ian out to 9ethe e(il culprit who used skar as a shield for 9ullets/ Ian didn't notice! and this factcomforts skar! for it relie(es him of responsi9ility/ Ian was lost in his world of cards/

skar says he has two great 9urdens of guilt in his life: it was he who sent 9oth gnesand Ian to their gra(es/ $hile skar was placed in the hospital with a fe(er and gi(en9ack to lfred! the thirty prisoners were taken to the run5down cemetery in Saspe ande#ecuted/ skar learned this from Leo Schugger! who knew a9out all the 9urials in,anig! e(en unannounced ones/

%n the hospital! the high 9ars on the 9eds in the children's ward kept skar happilyseparated from his family and their friends/ Kincent and nna wanted skar to confessthe truth to the Germans: that he had con(inced Ian to return to the post office! whichhe did not want to defend/ skar did no such thing! 9ut watched Poland fall to theGermans in eighteen days/ skar left the hospital and was gi(en 9ack his drums/ nceout! he took a walk and chanced upon Leo Schugger 5 skar was afraid of him/ fterspending most of the day together! Leo pushed skar into a doorway! pulled somethingout of his pocket! and handed it to skar/ %n his hand was an empty cartridge case/ Leoclosed his hand and skar followed him silently/ Leo played the Pied Piper! playing thecasing! leading skar on/ &e led skar into Saspe cemetery! measured out paces inLatin! marked the spot with a piece of wood! then deposited the casing! which wastapered at the foot end! ne#t to it/ fleet of military planes flew o(erhead! preparing toland/ Suddenly Leo darted away! lea(ing skar alone! and dropped something as heleft which skar thought he should pick up/ %t was a skat card 5 the se(en of spades/ few days later! nna was a9le to come 9ack to the farmer's market in ,anig/ skarapproached her! handed her the skat card and cartridge case! and whispered &e'slying in Saspe! and ran off/

>


65/107


66/107

Chapter @@& 8i## Po1,er

skar 9egins 9y talking a9out fi powder! a soda su9stitute of fla(ored powder thatfied like soda when mi#ed with water/ gnes would sell it in little 9ags of green!

orange! rasp9erry! or lemon fla(or/

skar and *aria spent the first summer of the war on the 9each reser(ed for ladies/ne day! looking for her harmonica! *aria produced a package of fi powder from her9each 9ag/ *aria grew thirsty! 9ut the water fountain was thirty5fi(e paces away! o(er9urning sand/ fter a long while! *aria picked up the package! opened it! and placed it9ack on the towel/ skar picked it up and held it out to *aria! who put one finger in thepackage and offered the finger to skar/ skar tasted the powder5co(ered finger/ *ariaheld out an empty hand and skar filled it with powder/ skar summoned up all of hissali(a and spit into the hand full of powder/ %t fied! and *aria felt something she hadne(er felt 9efore/ *aria licked her own palm/ fter a few minutes! she filled her hand

again! then made it known that she wanted skar's sali(a/ But skar was little8 hissali(a could not replenish ;uickly/ &e had to walk across the 9urning sand to the waterfountain in order to wash out his mouth and replenish his sali(a/ $hen he returned!*aria was on her 9elly and didn't mo(e/ &er hand was empty of fi powder/ skarne(er found what had happened to that handful of powder/

lfred had Coined a new skat clu9 with his Party friends! which was to meet twoe(enings a week/ skar 9egan to spend those nights at *other Trucinski's house! andsince skar refused to sleep on the couch! he was o9liged to spend the night in *aria's9ed/ She whistled! as always! as she undid her 9raids/ She would 9low a kiss at theretouched portrait of her father! and would leap into 9ed/ The smell of (anilla put skarto sleep/ Three days later it was the same routine! 9ut skar had put a package ofgreen fi powder on the ;uilt/ *aria turned off the light 9ut 9reathed uneasily in thedark at the sight of the powder/ *aria switched the light 9ack on! *aria held out herhand! and skar readied his sali(a/ %n the ne#t two weeks the two emptied a doenpackages of fi powder in the 9ed and mi#ed it with sali(a/ skar 9egan to get good atsummoning sali(a8 he could make *aria s;uirm in ecstasy three times with onepackage/

lthough *aria would fall right to sleep after these fi powder sessions! skar found itdifficult/ &e spent all day and all night consulting his drum! his Rasputin5Goethe medley!and his memories of Ian and gnes for answers to his ;uestions a9out lo(ing *aria/ &esays:

:trange to sa#, 2 e3pected more from literature than from real, na&ed life/ 9an Brons&i,-hom 2 had often enough seen &neading m# mother*s flesh, -as able to teach me ne3tto nothing/ "lthough 2 &ne- this tangle, consisting b# turns of Mama and 9an orMatzerath and Mama, this &not -hich sighed, e3erted itself, moaned -ith fatigue, and atlast fell sic&l# apart, meant lo.e, $s&ar -as still un-illing to belie.e that lo.e -as lo.e4lo.e itself made him cast about for some other lo.e, and #et time and time again hecame bac& to tangled lo.e, -hich he hated until the da# -hen in lo.e he practiced it4


67/107

then he -as obliged to defend it in his o-n e#es as the onl# possible lo.e/"hapter 66!pg/ 6D456D3

s *aria ;ui(ered and thrashed with the 9u99ling fi powder! her nightgown would9unch up until it gathered Cust 9elow her 9reasts/ ne night skar filled her na(el with

powder and spit in it8 *aria's reaction was much more intense/ skar put his tongueinside and tasted rasp9erries/ *aria turned off the light and went to sleep! while skarcontinued/ skar again felt himself 9ecome erect/ &e ;uestioned the culprit of hisactions:

'ho -as doing all this $s&ar, He, or 28

"nd Maria, -ho -as sleeping upstairs and -ide a-a&e do-nstairs, -ho smelledupstairs of innocent .anilla and under the moss of pungent mushrooms, -ho -antedfizz po-der, but not this little gentleman -hom 2 didn*t -ant either, -ho had declared hisindependence, -ho did just -hat he -as minded to, -ho did things 2 hadn*t taught him,-ho stood up -hen 2 la# do-n, -ho had other dreams than 2, -ho could neither read

nor -rite and ne.ertheless signed for me, -ho goes his o-n -a# to this .er# da#, -hobro&e -ith me the first da# 2 too& notice of him, -ho is m# enem# -ith -hom 2 amconstrained, time and time again, to all# m#self, -ho betra#s me and lea.es me in thelurch, -hom 2 should li&e to auction off, -hom 2 am ashamed of, -ho is sic& of me, -ho2 -ash, -ho befouls me, -ho sees nothing and flairs e.er#thing, -ho is so much astranger to me that 2 should li&e to call him :ir, -ho has a .er# different memor# from$s&ar///"hapter 66! pg/ 647

Topic Tracking: %ndi(idualityA%dentity 3

Today! skar says! this little gentleman is at a loss to recognie *aria/

D


68/107

Chapter @& Spe!ial CommuniIuJs

%n the mental institution! skar tried an e#periment/ &e sent his keeper Bruno out to findhim fi powder! 9ut the stores no longer sold it/ %n the end! the la9 technician at the

hospital synthesied some for skar out of sympathy/ %t was (isiting day: 9oth


69/107

Chapter @E& 2o1 "skar Took 2is2elplessness to Mrs3 Gre++

skar says that he ne(er liked Greff the greengrocer8 Greff ne(er liked him either/ Greffwas a (egetarian and would talk a9out (egeta9les of idealied perfection/ skar thoughtit was nonsense8 in his rural family they were practical a9out potatoes and such/ Greff

was a generally o(erdone person! and a9o(e all! skar hated that Greff could not gi(eup the 9oy scout troupe that had 9een taken away from him when the 9oys were placedinto the &itler @outh "orps/ The 9oys would come 9y often to see Greff and they wouldsing the songs they had used to sing/ The meetings were tolerated 9ecause 9oth Greffand se(eral 9oys had 9ecome higher5ups in the &itler @outh or the -ai Party/

Greff lo(ed two things most of all: nature and young 9oys/ s an aside! he lo(edcleanliness and orderliness8 his wife Lina Greff! was a slo(enly woman who was

perpetually greasy/ For Greff! a lo(e of nature meant asceticism/ Twice a week in thewinter he would ride his 9icycle to the froen ocean 9efore dawn and spend forty5fi(eminutes digging a hole in the ice/ &e would lift the disk of ice out of the sheet andundress completely! then Cump in and 9athe for two or three minutes/ n Sundays he

would 9athe in the company of se(eral young 9oys! who would play and ru9 each other!then Greff! with snow/

Greff's store opened with money from Lina's father! and could easily ha(e made lots ofmoney! had Greff not 9een cited 9y the Bureau of $eights and *easures/ @et Greff didnot mean to cheat anyone/ &e was gi(en to coming up with ela9orate mechanicalcontraptions! and he had in(ented a set of chimes that went off whene(er someone

weighed something 5 a mo(e that the go(ernment 9ureau did not like/

s *aria 9ecame more o9(iously pregnant! skar's hatred for her mounted/ &e wasangry that the child's name would 9e *aterath and not Bronski/ That 9eing so! skarresol(ed to attempt a9ortion/ $hen *aria was fi(e months pregnant! he pushed her offa ladder8 she turned an ankle 9ut the 9a9y was fine/ Three weeks 9efore her due date!skar tried again/ &e sat in the li(ing room! drumming softly! as *aria napped on thecouch/ Suddenly he couldn't take it8 he had to do away with her 9ulging 9elly/ &e pickedup a pair of scissors and prepared to deflate her 9elly/ *aria caught skar's hand Cust intime/ skar was taken to stay upstairs with *other Trucinski/

ccording to skar's calculations! skar's son


70/107

slid off his chair! crawled to Lina Greff! and 9reathed in her moldering scent/ skar(omited at her feet! and resol(ed from then on to take his helplessness to Lina Greff/

D7


71/107

Chapter @H& ?FH lbs3

Iust as the mud had set in on the front lines of the war! skar says he! too! 9oggeddown in the mud of Lina Greff/ *aria had taught skar to appreciate the delicate side of

femininity8 Lina taught skar femininity on a grand scale 5 she made a man of him/ Linawas permanently 9ed5ridden and slightly ailing! and could not get away from skar/ Shesimply laid herself out for him to e#periment with/

&a(ing lost the (isits from his former 9oy scouts! Greff the greengrocer spent his timetinkering with his homemade contraptions/ The 9oys were fighting and some had died inthe war/

$hen he (isited the 9edridden Lina! he left his drum and clim9ed in wearing all of hisclothes/ Two hours later! he would clim9 out again! fully clothed/ Then! with all of Lina'sunpleasant scents clinging to him! he would go to (isit Greff/ fter skar had 9een withhis wife se(eral times! Greff started a ritual: 9efore skar was finished with Lina! Greff

would come in with a 9asin full of warm water! soap! and a towel/ skar would washand then go to see Greff: e(en second hand! Greff could not stomach his wife's smells/skar and Greff! howe(er! ne(er 9ecame friends/

%n Septem9er! 23>6! Greff in(ented a drumming machine! set in motion 9y un9alancingthe scales with potatoes/ skar liked the machine and asked Greff to demonstrate itoften8 skar realied! howe(er! that Greff had not 9uilt it for skar! 9ut for himself/ %tsfinale was his finale! skar says/

ne morning skar went into the street and Greff's store was not open! which ne(erhappened/ &e drummed up Lina Greff's attention8 she was immediately worried/ She

went into the store! then down to the cellar/ She 9egan to scream/ She desperatelycalled the police! then came 9ack to the window and screamed again/ The wholeneigh9o

The Tin Drum - Gunther Grass

Documents

Transcript of The Tin Drum - Gunther Grass