As well as some other of Fitzgerald's work, the "Diamond as Big as the Ritz" deals with a phenomenon of money, wealth and its influence on human personality and consequences in moral behaviour. In this short story he criticises the influence of wealth thorough the protagonist John Unger and his visit at Washington's chateau standing on top of a diamond hill. Although this story was first published in 1922, its message is even today, after almost 80 years, very much actual, especially, I think, in society we live in today.
             For 40 years people in the Czech republic hadn't the possibility of getting very rich. Since 1989 the chances of becoming prosperous and wealthy have increased. People face problems with not only accepting rich neighbours and also with dealing with their own wealth. Today, wealthy people are sometimes strikingly deformed by their excessive property.
             There are various objects of criticism in this work: the life in a southern town, the external signs of wealth and the personal defects of characters (adults as well as minors) caused by isolation in sinful luxury. The most prominent for me is the affect on personalities and the strange change of personal hierarchy of moral values.
             I was attracted by the relationship between John and Percy. Both are sent to St. Midas School, which is the most expensive and prestigious preparatory school in the world. That of course says nothing about the quality, but it's obvious, that quality of education is not important for rich parents. John spends summer with families of his colleagues and "wonders at their exceeding sameness"1 (of course he means the fathers). That's one of the characteristic things for the class of the rich who consciously display symptoms that are then ridiculed, because they are typical.
             Percy invites John to spend summer with him, but already at this moment he actually sentences him to death; John becomes a victim of Percy's pride, selfishness and sup...