Themes to Explore
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Wealth
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Wealth
 America: a wealthobsessed 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 America
The 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?
Religion
The 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.
Youth
The 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.
Freedom and Confinement
The 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?
Who is imprisoned
and who is free in
Diamond?
Why does
Washington
imprison some and
kill others?
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