How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
What could these people in the living room have to offer me? (12.40)
In this instance, Oskar asks us one of his many rhetorical questions, since his answer seems to be, "Nothing." Oskar's obsessed with proving to us that he doesn't need anybody, justifying his efforts to distance himself from others.
Quote #8
Once upon a time there was a tin-drummer named Oskar. When they took away his toy merchant and destroyed the merchant's shop, he sensed that bad times were ahead for midget tin-drummers like him (16.24).
On the night of Kristallnacht, Oskar realizes he's living in a world that isn't going to be very kind to "different" people like him. You can imagine that the poor guy feels pretty alone and vulnerable. And he's right. The Nazis try to convince Alfred to put him into an institution, where "defective" people are eliminated.
Quote #9
Oskar was alone, betrayed and sold out. How could he preserve his three-year-old face over time when he lacked the most basic necessity, his drum? (17.16)
Oskar's drum is his way of avoiding emotional connection—he can pretend to be a child. Without his drum, he truly feels alone and exposed. But rather than trying to engage with people, he decides that his best option moving forward is just to find a new drum.