Chapter 45, The Last Streetcar or Adoration of a Preserving Jar Summary

Vittlar questions what Oskar has in his pocket, but Oskar insists it is only a stick, or cooking apples. The scene switches from Oskar's point of view to Vittlar's testimony in court. After some disagreement, Oskar gives the aquamarine ring to Vittlar, keeping the finger himself. The two men converse, and become friendly. Together, they take a cab to the stonecutters, where Korneff makes several casts of the finger.

Over dinner in a restaurant, Oskar argues that he is entitled to keep the finger because he was promised it at birth. He insists that the finger is the "drumstick" for his drum, a word he has also used to describe his penis. The finger resembles the scars on his friend Harold's back, and the cartridge...