Themes to ExploreThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz

WealthThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Wealth America: a wealth-

obsessed country

Wealth as a religion

All in the name of wealth: imprisonment, murder

Wealth is its own prison

Blindly chasing wealth dehumanizes human life

Let’s discuss it!

Compare and contrast John’ feelings about wealth at the beginning and end of the story.

Are the Washingtons morally corrupt due to being wealthy, or did they become wealthy

because they were morally corrupt?

Considering that diamonds are a natural resource, how much of the Washington

estate is actually natural?

Which of the following does Diamond support: one can be free only when rich or

one can be free only when poor?

Visions of AmericaThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Visions of America Americans deify the

rich

Americans worship at the altar of money

The pursuit of success has replaced morality

Allegory: expansion of America to the West

Founding fathers share the blame for enslaving others

Let’s discuss it!

Which specific words does Fitzgerald use to describe the natural landscape of Hades and

then Montana?

Compare and contrast Hades and Montana.

How does Fitzgerald describe the situation of the slaves Braddock Washington keeps on his

château?

Describe Fitzgerald’s social critique of slavery.

Let’s discuss it some more.

Is Fitzgerald’s history of

the Washington family an

allegory of the growth

and expansion of

the U.S.?

How does Diamond satirize

immigration laws?

ReligionThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Religion Religious and

mythological allusions

“In money we trust” as a timeless theme

King Midas

Man’s unstoppable desire to reach higher

Reference to mythological figure Prometheus

Let’s discuss it!

Two settings are contrasted in this religious allegory. What are they?

Which one is ultimately Heaven and which one, ultimately Hell?

Does Fitzgerald distinguish between mythology and religion in his allusions?

Fitzgerald implies an absence of religion. What are the resulting consequences?

Let’s discuss it some more.

Braddock can bribe even God.

God refuses Braddock’s bribe.

Discuss it some more.

• Diamond is a mythological tale.

• Diamond is a modern short story.

• Diamond is a religious parable.

YouthThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Youth Allegory of youth

Nature of wealth

First love

Summer haze, dream-like state, “a form of chemical madness”

Youth never living in the present but rather in an imagined future

Let’s discuss it!

Describe the Washington children’s upbringing within the context of their circumstances.• How would you describe Mrs. Washington’s devotion to her

son? What part does her motherly devotion play in the story?

How does John’s age affect character?

• How does John’s age affect his reaction to the Washington estate?

What do the final few passages conclude about youth?

Lets discuss it some more.

Splendor of youth Religion

and wealth

…and a bit more.

Does John Unger

come of age in

the course of this

story?

Freedom and ConfinementThe Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Freedom and Confinement

Imprisonment of those who know about the diamond

Imprisoned via obsession with wealth

Americans imprisoned by their own founding history

Parallelism to immigration since estate is closed-off to outsiders

Let’s discuss it!

You can be either free or poor but

not both.

How are “imprisoned” and “free” defined in

the story?

Why does Washington

imprison some and kill others?

Who is imprisoned and who is free in

Diamond?

Why do Washington, his

wife and son choose to go down with the château?

Let’s discuss it some more.

When the story begins, John is imprisoned by wealth; but by the end John is free.

John is never able to escape from his own imprisonment: his obsession with wealth.

Diamond Trivia

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend

Shine like a diamond!

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Escape: The Diamond as Big as the Ritz