The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
For some reason, only one word stood out to me when I read this title. Why do I feel hungry all of a sudden?
If you're craving something that lacks any meaningful nutrition, a Ritz Cracker is a great snack. I, personally, love the flavor because of the salt that comes with each cracker. That being said, the word "Ritz" stood out to me only when I read the title for a second time because the salt on a Ritz cracker relates directly, if not perfectly, to a large theme in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz: Perfection.
First of all, salt has a crystalline structure due to the ionic bonding of sodium and chloride ions. Similarly, diamond also has a crystalline structure, which, by the way, is the closest nature gets to making a perfect substance. Now, Fitzgerald obviously did not have Ritz crackers in mind when he wrote The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, but the coincidence applies perfectly to the theme of perfection. For example, John only wants a girl who is "the incarnation of physical perfection".
What do you think of perfection?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
For some reason, only one word stood out to me when I read this title. Why do I feel hungry all of a sudden?
If you're craving something that lacks any meaningful nutrition, a Ritz Cracker is a great snack. I, personally, love the flavor because of the salt that comes with each cracker. That being said, the word "Ritz" stood out to me only when I read the title for a second time because the salt on a Ritz cracker relates directly, if not perfectly, to a large theme in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz: Perfection.
First of all, salt has a crystalline structure due to the ionic bonding of sodium and chloride ions. Similarly, diamond also has a crystalline structure, which, by the way, is the closest nature gets to making a perfect substance. Now, Fitzgerald obviously did not have Ritz crackers in mind when he wrote The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, but the coincidence applies perfectly to the theme of perfection. For example, John only wants a girl who is "the incarnation of physical perfection".
John, however, is not the character who seeks perfection the most. This characteristic goes to Braddock Washington and his want for perfect security. The value of Washington's diamond mountain has caused him to become extremely paranoid, leading him to protect the mountain and its value in the most perfect way possible. This, inevitably, leads to the death or imprisonment of the visitors of the mountain. At the end of the story, however, we see that Washington was not able to reach perfection, as his mountain exploded and took his wealth and his life with it.
What do you think of perfection?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
Wow I found this post really cool how you connected Ritz to perfection and then back to the story. It took a very interesting view on this concept. I would have to agree that Washington is very much a perfectionist as he was searching incessantly for the man that got away, which illustrates that sadly sometimes perfection really is unattainable.
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