1 - Die Blechtrommel: The Language of Judgment

Summary

GRASS's DEBUT NOVEL was received with both great enthusiasm and outrage. Published in 1959, it remains his most acclaimed work and the one to which the Nobel Committee referred most prominently when awarding him its prestigious prize. The commentary on the Second World War that Oskar Matzerath beats out on his drum has been read as an example of the principle of Störung (disturbance), and his ambiguous presence in the narrative draws attention to the irrational and carnivalesque dimensions of life. From a communicative perspective, Grass recreates and probes the milieu of prewar Danzig, its dialects, ethnic mix, and speech habits. He then goes on to extend his study of communicative modes to the postwar years, adopting a critical stance toward the business negotiations undergirding the Economic Miracle of 1950s West Germany. Human verbal exchange, after all, mirrors the ethical choices of individuals and can be read between the lines to reveal blind spots, hidden agendas, and fears.

In Die Blechtrommel, the act of communication can mean the difference between life and death and frequently involves skewed exchanges that reflect differences in the power and position of interlocutors. Oskar's memories are shaped by the unkind utterances of his parents and other adults. However, just as he is closely scrutinized by fellow Danzigers, they themselves also suffer from being pigeonholed or branded. The Danzig years are characterized by exchanges that result in the pronouncement of social judgments or verdicts. This chapter argues therefore that Die Blechtrommel revolves around a “language of judgment,” suggesting dynamics of persecution at both the personal and public levels. The protagonist is labeled a gnome, his mother overweight, Matzerath a murderer, Jan Bronski effeminate and cowardly, Sigismund Markus a Jew, and Herr Meyn an alcoholic. The greengrocer Greff, a homosexual and ostensible pedophile, is summoned by the Sittenpolizei, or vice squad, on moral charges (Bt, 414). His grotesque suicide through the use of a bizarre scale conveys the objectification of being measured—and found wanting—in the Nazi state's distorted value system.

Direct conversations in Die Blechtrommel are not always fully developed, but rather described or abbreviated.