The narrator and protagonist of Gunter Grass' novel The Tin Drum is unique not only in his stature, but also in his mental progress. He chose to stop growing at the age of three and no longer spoke, except to the beat of his drum, until he was fifteen. This lack of development and desire to be seen as a child poses a problem for both the protagonist and the reader when Oskar is confronted with sexual relations. Susan M. Johnson states in her article "Sexual Metaphors and Sex as Metaphor in Grass's Blechtrommel" that Grass uses these sexual metaphors as representations of "personal or political themes" (79). She goes on to say that the sexual encounters depicted in the three books parallel the political forces at work in the war, chronicling "the rise and fall of Hitler's empire alongside the rise and fall of Oskar as a sexual being” (Johnson 87). Although Johnson makes valid and sophisticated arguments in his article, I disagree with the interpretation of the sexual encounters and what they mean to the characters. In particular, I will focus on three scenes located in volumes one and two: the horse's head, Niobe and the meeting with Madame Greff. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the chapter “Good Friday Fare,” Oskar describes a memory of a walk along the beach with Jan, Matzerath, Agnes, and an encounter with a fisherman using a horse's head to catch eels. Johnson would have us believe that this scene is sexual in nature because the black horse's head is a symbol of male virility, and this symbol is grotesquely destroyed by nasty, slimy eels. However, I do not agree that this horse's head represents the death of male virility, but rather the dissolution of the family. This scene marks a turning point in Oskar's family, where everything begins to fall apart. Agnes, who, after observing the eels at work, declares: “I never eat fish again, much less eel” (Grass 139). This turns out to be false as Agnes commits suicide with fish, ingesting so much that she dies while pregnant, presumably with Jan's child. The scene involving the horse's head didn't strike me as a sexual metaphor. Johnson argues that this scene shows not only the death of male virility but also “traditional images of procreation” (82). A horse's head filled with eels does not exactly evoke a feeling of procreation, but to follow this thought and refute this statement, we can assume that the phallic symbol of the eel, expressed by Grass when he explains that " a married woman…tried to satisfy herself with a live eel” (138), proof that this scene is in some way sexual. That being said, the sexual overtones may have to do with the audience of this show and their reactions, namely Matzerath and Bronski. The true nature of their character is represented by their reaction to Agnes' illness and shows the conflict between the two men and the conflict surrounding them in Agnes. Bronski comforts Agnes in her difficult times, feeling sympathy for her, while Matzerath takes care of himself and his winnings. This worsens the dilemma Agnes faces and hastens her eventual suicide. This is not a situation showing the death of male virility, nor the sexual disorders that Oskar faces, but simply a representation of the different character traits of the two men that Agnèslove and the decline of her desire to be more involved. The first time Johnson connects Oskar's sexual experience to a political context is when Herbert Truczinski dies attached to the statue of Niobe, "the mythical queen of death and destruction" (82). This cursed virgin is responsible for the deaths of several men, all committing suicide under her watch with any object at their disposal, including a penknife and the needle of a compass. Herbert is shown describing and belittling this statue in relation to his personal views on women stating: "She's not my type anyway...take a look at those rolls of fat and that double chin" ( Grass 175). Although he does not recognize the attraction of this virgin, he impales himself on her anyway in an attempt to obtain sexual gratification. Contrary to Johnson's argument that this is an incident of reverse rape, that he was virginity raped, and that it represents an enactment of German national history (83), this shows the importance of sculptural figures in Oskar's life. Herbert's reverential attitude and mocking gestures towards this statue do not represent political aspects of this period, but rather imitate Oskar's contempt towards the statue of Jesus in the church. Therefore, the sexual nature of this episode in Oskar's life is not a metaphor for political structures, but can be seen as a triggering moment for Oskar's lack of respect for idols. Johnson briefly mentions Oskar's affair with Frau Greff in his article, mentioning that he is telling her story. affair “at Hitler’s military campaign in Russia” (84). This relationship can easily be seen as a political metaphor, thus synchronizing with Johnson's argument. However, the implications of Oskar's actions with Frau Greff have a deeper meaning than just political affairs when thinking about the development of the protagonist. It is at this point in the novel that Oskar decides to become more than the child he is seen to be, and it is also the point where he discovers his sexuality which plays an important role in the rest of the novel. If Oskar hadn't had his experiences with Frau Greff, he probably wouldn't have had his close relationship with Roswitha Raguna. He learned a lot about women from Mrs. Greff as she welcomed him into her bed despite his physical appearance. If he hadn't been able to explore the female gender in this way, he probably wouldn't have had a relationship with Raguna. Johnson states that Oskar's relationship with Greff became "an escape from pain" (84); however, I feel like he not only escapes the pain of losing Marie, but finds his place among the adults in the novel. It took him twelve years to decide to speak out and even then he tried to hide, a child among men. This affair with Mrs. Greff made Oskar understand that he could no longer live his life playing the character of a child and that he had to accept the advantages and disadvantages of adulthood. The complications of Oskar's affair also play a key role in his development. He states that “it was Oskar who abandoned the bedridden woman just as he considered his studies finished” (Grass 288). Oskar has already shown his penchant for taking care of himself on several occasions. For example, when he was at the Polish post office, he accused his alleged father of having kidnapped him to serve as a shield for his child to preserve his life. He also decided to stop his growth by jumping down the stairs in order to stop his growth and be a child forever. These examples reinforce the argument that Oskar's affair with Frau Greff had no purpose other than to make himself feel better. The connotation that this example shows the political metaphor. 2013.