| Gunter Grass' novel, "The Tin Drum", truly belongs to these literary works, which receive extensive attention from literary critics all over the world. Despite this critical attention, I feel that there is some misunderstanding concerning the kashubians elements. Until now, they were not viewed at the same level as the German or Polish aspects. Moreover, they were either disregarded as unimportant or viewed as a variation of the Polish perspective.; Therefore, it is my intention in this thesis to present my own interpretation of the kashubian aspects in "The Tin Drum". Through the interpretation of the kashubian elements apart from Polish or German, I will show that the presence of kashubian elements in this novel is the key to a different and deeper understanding of Grass' message to his readers. To Grass, the word "kashubian" means not only the name of a minority group in Poland, but also symbolizes universal values, such as honesty, simplicity or living according to nature, etc. The novel conveys a more universal meaning and it should not only be viewed as a book mainly concerning reconciliation with the Nazi past. |
