Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Oskar’s school is putting on a performance of Hamlet, and Oskar has been cast as the skull of Yorick. All he has to do is stand in a skull costume while his classmate, Jimmy Snyder, who plays Hamlet, holds his chin and laments the loss of his friend. The play goes on for several nights, and on the first night, Oskar’s family and many of the people named Black whom he has met are there. Each night, fewer people appear, and on the final night Oskar looks out and sees only his grandmother. He imagines taking off the skull mask and insulting Jimmy Snyder for bullying others, and then using the skull to “smash it against Jimmy Snyder’s head” (146). He thinks about how nothing makes sense and wonders if there is a point to struggling through life at all. In reality, he stands in silence and lets Jimmy perform his lines. He looks out and sees Abe Black, whom he met a couple months before as part of his quest to interview everyone in New York with the surname Black. Oskar met Abe in Coney Island, where Abe convinced him to ride a rollercoaster. He then took Oskar to meet the next Black on his list: Ada Black.