 Literary critic Jean @-@ Marie Apostolidès of Stanford University , in a <unk> review of The Crab with the Golden Claws , commented that this book witnessed Tintin 's " real entrance into the community of human beings " as he gains an " older brother " in Haddock . He also believed that the recurring image of alcohol throughout the story was symbolic of sexuality . In particular , he believed that there was a strong <unk> subtext between Haddock and Tintin , represented in the two delirious sequences ; in one , Haddock <unk> Tintin as a <unk> bottle <unk> at the top ( thereby symbolising an <unk> penis ) , while in the other , Tintin dreams that he is trapped inside a bottle , with Haddock about to stick a <unk> into him ( thereby symbolising sexual penetration ) . However , Apostolidès notes , in both instances the pair are prevented from realising their sexual fantasies . Literary critic Tom McCarthy concurred with Apostolidès on this point , also highlighting what he perceived as <unk> undertones to these two scenes . He also noted that in this Adventure , the manner in which a chance finding of a tin can on a Belgian street leads Tintin into the story is representative of the recurring theme of " Tintin the detective " found throughout the series . 
