The Diamond as Big as the Ritz was written in 1922, during the early years of the Jazz Age, when the United States was experiencing post–World War I optimism, rapid industrial growth, and a speculative faith in ever-expanding wealth. Across the country, new technologies, booming stock markets, and mass consumer culture fostered the belief that prosperity was both attainable and endless, especially for those already positioned near power and capital. The Roaring Twenties were characterized by an emphasis on recreation, with the widespread opening of dance halls and amusement parks, a reflection of both the widespread relief at the end of the war and the prosperity that resulted from it (Zeitz, Joshua. “The Roaring Twenties.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History). At the same time, stark class divisions and economic insecurity persisted beneath the surface of national celebration. In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, Fitzgerald’s depiction of unimaginable private riches, hidden from public view, reflects this tension between visible glamour and underlying instability.

The novella also engages with America’s frontier mythology. Although the western frontier had been officially declared “closed” in the late 19th century, stories of hidden resources, bold individualists, and undiscovered territories still shaped the national imagination. In the US, going West was still seen as an indicator of one’s strength, resilience, and individualism, and the West itself was represented as a place of limitless freedom and resources. By placing the Washington estate in a secret valley in the Montana Rockies, Fitzgerald capitalizes on the mythology of “going West” to strike it rich, turning the fantasy of boundless resources into an absurd scenario: an entire mountain made of diamond. The narrative places myths about the West and those who succeed there against the hollow and immoral nature of huge wealth, illustrated by the Washington family.

In addition, the story is informed by the ongoing legacy of enslavement and racial exploitation. At the time of the novella’s publication, more than 50 years after the Civil War, Black Americans continued to face systemic discrimination, disenfranchisement, and economic oppression. Organizations like the Ku Klux Klan, which expanded quickly in the 1920s to a membership of millions, were a reflection of the era’s racial tensions, and Jim Crow laws were still in place, ensuring racial segregation and discrimination (“KKK Series.” FBI). The Washington family’s deception and manipulation of generations of enslaved Black people, kept in isolation and fed false information, echoes this history in satirical form, underscoring how immense fortunes in the United States have often been tied to racialized systems of control and dependency. The family’s dependence on enslaved people echoes the South before the Civil War and illustrates that although the war is long over, the fortunes built through the labor of enslaved people continue to grow, interrogating the exploitative nature of inherited wealth.