RememberingTrauma of  the Holocaustin Gunter Grass’s Novel the Tin Drum

Paudyal, Yub Raj

RememberingTrauma of the Holocaustin Gunter Grass’s Novel the Tin Drum

Publisher

Central Department of English

Abstract

Gunter Grass’s novelThe Tin Drum(1959) is about a representation of the trauma caused by the Holocaust. The novel includes references ranging from the Second World War and the Nazi atrocityupon the German Jews and other minorities to the supernatural power gained by the narrator, blasphemies to Church and Christ, parody, fairy tales, folklore, carnival, philosophy and intertextuality. At the personal level, the novel is about revolt againstparent generation. The demigod character Oskar stops growing at the age of three, can smash glasses with high pitch sound, can grow humpwillfullyand starts drumming. He is an autobiographical character which portrays himaparadoxical character causedby mental and physical dilemma. At the societal level, Oskar carries the burden of Germany in his hump. He uses blasphemy to take revenge against church which secretly supports Nazis and their activities. His revolt against Nazi run education system and smashing doctors glass equipments in his lab indirectly represents his disobey of ideology and cry against euthanasia. The Tin Drum,in this light, can be read and interpreted as a remembrance of the reality of trauma in both personal and societal levelwhich iscaused by Naziideology but inspired by GermanChristiancultureand support of German to Hitler and Nazis.