How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
My white enameled metal hospital bed thus sets a standard. To me it is more; my bed is a goal I've reached, it is my consolation, and could easily become my faith if the administration would allow me to make a few changes: I'd like to have the bed rails raised even higher to keep anyone from coming too close (1.4).
Right away, Oskar lets us know what he's after in the hospital: isolation and protection from others.
Quote #2
[H]e behind his peephole, I in front of it; and that when he opens the door, the two of us, for all our friendship and loneliness, are still far from being some nameless mass devoid of heroes (1.12).
Early in the book, Oskar meditates on his relationship with his caretaker Bruno. He admits that both he and Bruno are friends in a way, but also lonely. Grass represents this sense of isolation by the way that Bruno usually looks at Oskar through a peephole instead of coming into the room. This is how Oskar relates to people his whole life—more of an observer than a participant.
Quote #3
Lonely and misunderstood, Oskar lay beneath the light bulbs, concluded that things would go on that way for sixty or seventy years […] and so lost his enthusiasm before this life beneath light bulbs even began; and only the prospect of a tin drum back then kept me from expressing more forcefully my desire to return to my embryonic head-first position.
Besides, the midwife had already cut my umbilical cord; there was nothing more to be done (2.38-9).
This is just the beginning of Oskar's lifelong wish to return to the womb, i.e. a safe and protected place. It's why he likes the asylum—no demands, all your needs met, not having to deal with other people's expectations of you. Good thing he can afford a private room.