The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Character Analysis: John T. Unger • John begins the story with an obsession with riches and the rich. • He is so overwhelmed by what he experiences at the lavish château that he simply falls asleep at dinner. • It is only later on that we see this wealth comes at a price and that price is his life. • It is uncertain whether or not John learns anything from the whole ordeal.

Character Analysis: John T. Unger • After escaping, he, Kismine and Jasmine begin making plans for their new lives in Hades. • At the end of the novel, John claims he was disillusioned, but there is no real evidence that John has learned anything about the pursuit of wealth. He does, though, consider his disillusionment valuable. "There are only diamonds in the whole world, diamonds and perhaps the shabby gift of disillusion. Well, I have that last and I will make the usual nothing of it. " (CH 11)

Character Analysis: Braddock Tarleton Washington • Braddock is the embodiment of the values Fitzgerald critiqued in his story. His life is ruled by an insatiable desire for wealth, an absence of religion, and the will to destroy others for personal gain. • Braddock is a symbol of America’s founding and expansion into the West = he is the descendant of George Washington and Lord Baltimore. • "Cruelty doesn't exist where self-preservation is involved. " (CH 6)

Character Analysis: Braddock Tarleton Washington • Braddock is a prisoner of his own wealth. His life revolves around hiding the diamond from the world. • After failing to bribe God, Braddock voluntarily returns to his prison to die. Even in death, he cannot / will not leave it as he is a victim of his own volition.

Character Analysis: Kismine Washington • Kismine is described as being as flawless as her father’s diamond: [John] was critical about women. A single defect—a thick ankle, a hoarse voice, a glass eye—was enough to make him utterly indifferent. And here for the first time in his life he was beside a girl who seemed to him the incarnation of physical perfection. (CH 5) • Unfortunately, she doesn’t understand the real value of anything, not even of human life.

Character Analysis: Kismine Washington • At the end of the story, we discover that Kismine is so bored with her life of luxury that she is excited about being poor. For the reader, this is proof that money does not buy happiness. "'We'll be poor, won't we? ' she says to John with childish delight, 'free and poor. What fun!'"

Character Analysis: Percy Washington • Percy is John’s way in to a world of luxury. • Percy brings John to his home knowing he would die. • He also provides John (and the readers) with the background of his family history. • At the end of the novel, we discover that Percy has followed his father back into the mountain to die.

Themes: Wealth • In this story, America is portrayed as a country obsessed with wealth. • Wealth replaces religion and terrible things are done in its name including imprisonment and murder. • Fitzgerald showed that wealth is a prison. Those who chase it blindly lose their humanity and cannot even see the value in human life.

Themes: Wealth • "He must be very rich, " said John simply. "I'm glad. I like very rich people. The richer a fella is, the better I like him. " (CH 1) • John is depicted as the embodiment of America’s culture at the time: totally consumed by the promises of wealth.

Themes: Visions of America • In The Diamond, the pursuit of wealth has replaced religion. Americans treat the wealthy like gods and worship an altar of money. • Fitzgerald compares this to the American expansion into the West and argues that this was done at the cost of human values and life. • He also puts the blame on the founding fathers for their part in the history of American slavery.

Themes: Visions of America • “The Montana sunset lay between two mountains like a gigantic bruise from which dark arteries spread themselves over a poisoned sky. (CH 2)” • Here the words ‘bruise’ and ‘poison’ seem to suggest that the land has been harmed by those who would harness its resources.

Themes: Religion • Religion has been replaced by wealth and Americans worship money instead of God. • St. Midas School = King Midas was a mythological Greek figure who turned all that he touched into gold – eventually to his own detriment. • Hades - Hades was the Greek God of the Underworld; the Underworld itself can also be referred to as "Hades. "

Themes: Youth • The story focuses heavily on the concept of youth. During his summer at the château, John learns about the nature of wealth and experiences his first love. • Fitzgerald argues that youth is “a form of chemical madness” and says that “youth can never live in the present”.

Themes: Freedom and Confinement • The Diamond is a story about a man who’s only goal in life is to keep its existence a secret. Braddock is willing to murder and imprison people to do so. • The irony is that Braddock is himself a prisoner of his own wealth. • The servants that Braddock keeps at the château don’t even know they’re prisoners.

Themes: Freedom and Confinement • "It's impossible to be both [free and poor] together, " said John grimly. "People have found that out. And I should choose to be free as preferable of the two. As an extra caution you'd better dump the contents of your jewel box into your pockets. " (CH 9)

The Diamond as a Satire • A critique of American values and history. • Material success comes at a price. • Sacrificing human life for personal gain is absurd. • The diamond itself is a symbol of satire – vulgar, garish excess of the Washington’s estate. • The Washingtons have built their home on a mountain of wealth.

Religious and Mytholgical Allegory • John’s home (Hades / Hell) VS Percy’s (The Garden of Eden) • The Village of Fish - the 12 men of Fish = 12 apostles. These men also represent America and the fact that they’ve abandoned God. • St. Midas Prep. – making a saint out of a king who turned things to gold. • Braddock tries to bribe God refuses or doesn’t exist.

Understanding the Ending • Youth as a dream – the time John spends with the Washingtons is like a dreamy-haze, like youth itself. • Free and poor – John tells Kismine that “it’s impossible to be both {free and poor} together”, but at the end of the story, we discover Kismine has taken rhinestones by mistake (freedom VS wealth). • Going back to Hell (the mountain VS Hades)