Literary critic Jean @-@ Marie Apostolidès of Stanford University , in a psychoanalytical 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 gain 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 homoerotic subtext between Haddock and Tintin , represented in the two delirious sequences ; in one , Haddock envision Tintin as a champagne bottle frothing at the top ( thereby symbolising an ejaculating penis ) , while in the other , Tintin dream that he is trapped inside a bottle , with Haddock about to stick a corkscrew 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 homoerotic 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 lead Tintin into the story is representative of the recurring theme of " Tintin the detective " found throughout the series .