The Diamond as Big as the Ritz Themes
Wealth
Wealth is the object of scrutinizing social satire in "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." In this story, America is a country obsessed with wealth to a gaudy, destructive, and shameful degree. Wealth...
Visions of America
Fitzgerald paints a critical view of society in "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." In this story, America is a place where the blind pursuit of wealth has replaced religion. Americans deify the rich...
Religion
"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is full of religious and mythological allusions, touching on everything from the Bible to Ancient Greek gods. Fitzgerald's story argues that, in America, religion h...
Youth
One reading of "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is as an allegory for youth. The narrative follows the story of teenager John Unger as he spends the summer with an insanely wealthy family in their...
Freedom and Confinement
"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is the story of a man who owns a diamond so big his only goal in life is to safeguard its existence from the rest of the world. This means imprisoning those who dis...