The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

“My father has a diamond bigger than the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.”

Percy’s casual boast is an explicit signal of the novella’s move from realistic satire into absurd exaggeration. The comparison to a well-known luxury landmark both grounds the claim in recognizable culture and emphasizes its impossibility, signaling the Washington family’s wealth as grotesque. This line also introduces the theme of The Illusion of the American Dream, and its flippant delivery underscores the novella’s critique of inherited privilege and the moral detachment that accompanies unchecked affluence.

“But the men of Fish were beyond all religion—the barest and most savage tenets of even Christianity could gain no foothold on that barren rock—so there was no altar, no priest, no sacrifice; only each night at seven the silent concourse by the shanty depot, a congregation who lifted up a prayer of dim, anaemic wonder.”

This passage uses religious metaphor to portray the “men of Fish” as hollowed out by geographic and economic desolation. The narrative frames their ritualistic gathering as a parodic form of worship, mocking both their lack of spiritual framework and their passive fascination with the unknown wealth that passes them by. As a localized contrast to the Washingtons’ opulence, the village of Fish illustrates the vast disparity between the classes through its representation of the other extreme.

“The simple piety prevalent in Hades has the earnest worship of and respect for riches as the first article of its creed—had John felt otherwise than radiantly humble before them, his parents would have turned away in horror at the blasphemy.”

This passage uses religious diction—“piety,” “worship,” “creed,” “blasphemy”—to satirize the conflation of morality with wealth in Hades. By framing materialism as a quasi-religious belief system, the narrative critiques the cultural forces that elevate economic success above ethical integrity. This line also provides context for John’s naïve reverence for the Washingtons, showing how he has been raised within a worldview that treats wealth as inherently virtuous.

“There was a room where the solid, soft gold of the walls yielded to the pressure of his hand, and a room that was like a platonic conception of the ultimate prison—ceiling, floor, and all, it was lined with an unbroken mass of diamonds, diamonds of every size and shape, until, lit with tall violet lamps in the corners, it dazzled the eyes with a whiteness that could be compared only with itself, beyond human wish or dream.”

This lavish imagery exemplifies the narrative’s use of sensory excess and surreal detail to critique luxury as both seductive and imprisoning. The paradox of “solid, soft gold” and a “platonic conception of the ultimate prison” suggests that wealth promises comfort while simultaneously restricting autonomy and moral clarity. By describing the diamond room as “beyond human wish or dream,” the narrative exposes the absurd extremes of the Washingtons’ environment.

“He tried drowsily to answer a question that had been asked him, but the honeyed luxury that clasped his body added to the illusion of sleep—jewels, fabrics, wines, and metals blurred before his eyes into a sweet mist.”

Here, dreamlike imagery and soft, fluid diction show how excessive comfort dulls John’s perception and agency. The “illusion of sleep” suggests that luxury creates a state of passive surrender, blurring his awareness of potential danger. This moment anticipates John’s later moral awakening by illustrating how the Washingtons’ environment seduces visitors into complacency and disorientation. The “sweet mist” indicates the intoxicating power of wealth, reinforcing the theme that opulence can numb judgment and obscure the darker realities sustaining it.

“John lay quietly as his pyjamas were removed—he was amused and delighted; he expected to be lifted like a child by this black Gargantua who was tending him.”

This passage exposes the racism and power distortions embedded in the Washingtons’ world and develops the theme of The Role of Exploitation in Building and Maintaining Wealth. The text uses the folkloric label “Gargantua” (a figure from François Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel) to highlight John’s exoticizing gaze, underscoring how extreme wealth normalizes dehumanization, in this case, of the Black enslaved people on the estate, who are seen as extensions of luxury rather than as individuals. The infantilizing expectation that he will be “lifted like a child” reveals how opulence reshapes John into a passive participant, highlighting how such passivity equals complacency with the existing system and disparities.

“The water turned to a pale rose colour and jets of liquid soap spurted into it from four miniature walrus heads at the corners of the bath. In a moment a dozen little paddle-wheels, fixed to the sides, had churned the mixture into a radiant rainbow of pink foam which enveloped him softly with its delicious lightness, and burst in shining, rosy bubbles here and there about him.”

The lush sensory imagery transforms the bath into a spectacle of luxury, emphasizing the theatrical excess of the Washington estate. The textures and colors are exaggerated to satirize how wealth seeks to aestheticize even mundane acts, turning hygiene into a mechanical performance of opulence. This moment reinforces Wealth as a Destructive Force, as immersion in such “delicious lightness” dulls John’s awareness and anchors him in a fantasy divorced from reality.

“It was an amazing predicament. He was, in one sense, the richest man that ever lived—and yet was he worth anything at all?”

This reflection uses paradox to expose the hollowness of wealth when disconnected from practical or moral value. Fitz-Norman’s possession of unimaginable riches isolates him economically and socially, reducing him to a figure whose worth cannot be measured in human terms. This rhetorical question critiques the illusion of the American dream by suggesting that limitless accumulation leads not to fulfillment or success but to existential uselessness.

“His one care must be the protection of his secret, lest in the possible panic attendant on its discovery he should be reduced with all the property-holders in the world to utter poverty.”

This line reveals how the Washington fortune depends on absolute secrecy and anticipates the moral corruption that secrecy both necessitates and enables. The exaggeration that the entire world’s economy would collapse reflects the absurd inflation of wealth within the story, but it also exposes Fitz-Norman’s self-centered worldview. This moment supports the role of exploitation in building and maintaining wealth, illustrating how massive fortunes rely on concealment and the suppression of oversight.

“It is youth’s felicity as well as its insufficiency that it can never live in the present, but must always be measuring up the day against its own radiantly imagined future—flowers and gold, girls and stars, they are only pre-figurations and prophecies of that incomparable, unattainable young dream.”

This lyrical reflection positions youth as inherently idealistic, driven by imagined futures rather than present realities. The imagery of “flowers and gold, girls and stars” evokes both innocence and material aspiration, linking youthful fantasy to the broader cultural myths that shape ambition. In this context, John’s susceptibility to the Washingtons’ opulence becomes part of a developmental pattern, where he embodies the naïve optimism at the heart of The Illusion of the American Dream. The wistful tone underscores the melancholy of disillusionment that will later confront him as the cost of this dream becomes clear, casting this shift as a necessary result of his coming of age.

“I’m very innocent and girlish. I never smoke, or drink, or read anything except poetry. I know scarcely any mathematics or chemistry. I dress very simply—in fact, I scarcely dress at all. I think sophisticated is the last thing you can say about me. I believe girls ought to enjoy their youths in a wholesome way.”

Kismine’s exaggerated self-description exemplifies the narrative’s satirical style, reflecting how the Washington daughters have internalized superficial notions of innocence shaped by wealth and isolation. Her insistence on simplicity, despite living amid unthinkable luxury, exposes the distorted self-perception created within the insulated estate. The comedic contradiction between her environment and her claimed naïveté critiques the ways privileged individuals construct narratives of purity that obscure complicity in exploitation.

“How absurd. How could a man of my position be fair-minded towards you? You might as well speak of a Spaniard being fair-minded towards a piece of steak.”

Braddock Washington’s remark uses a dehumanizing metaphor to reveal the moral logic underpinning his power. The grotesque comparison aligns with the novella’s satirical portrayal of elite entitlement, exposing how absolute privilege erases any sense of ethical responsibility. The cold clarity of his statement strips away illusion, revealing a worldview in which everyone outside of the Washington family is categorized as less than human and thus expendable.

“But Mr. Washington, followed by the two boys, was already strolling on towards the ninth hole of the golf-course, as though the pit and its contents were no more than a hazard over which his facile iron had triumphed with ease.”

The extended golf metaphor satirizes Braddock Washington’s indifference to the suffering of the imprisoned aviators. By likening the pit to a golf hazard, the narrative exposes how wealth distances individuals from the moral weight of their actions. The casual “strolling” contrasts with the horror below, underscoring the idea of wealth as a destructive force, as Braddock’s power has eroded his basic recognition of humanity.

“July under the lee of the diamond mountain was a month of blanket nights and of warm, glowing days.”

This serene pastoral imagery is an ironic contrast to the corruption of the Washington estate. The lush description of the valley—protected “under the lee” of the diamond mountain—emphasizes the deceptive beauty of a landscape sustained by secrecy and violence. The idyllic phrasing highlights the novella’s blend of fantasy and satire by showing how luxury can create the illusion of paradise while concealing the moral decay beneath.

“A chaste and consistent selfishness ran like a pattern through their every idea.”

This line crystallizes the narrative’s characterization of Percy and Kismine, whose upbringing has instilled a refined yet unwavering self-centeredness. The juxtaposition of “chaste” with “selfishness” exposes the paradox of a family that cloaks amorality in elegance and the appearance of innocence. The metaphor of selfishness as a “pattern” suggests that their worldview is ingrained, aestheticized, and culturally reinforced.

“It’s absurd […] Think of the millions and millions of people in the world, labourers and all, who get along with only two maids.”

Kismine’s notion that “only two maids” constitutes hardship underscores how privilege distorts perspective. This line critiques the moral and social insulation that wealth creates, reinforcing the illusion of the American dream by exposing the vast gulf between the elite’s imagined hardships and the lived realities of “millions and millions.” The comedic phrasing and Kismine’s obliviousness to her statement’s irony highlight the absurd values upheld within the estate.

“His love for her returned and settled placidly on his heart. She was his—she would go with him to share his dangers. He put his arms about her and kissed her fervently. After all she loved him; she had saved him, in fact.”

John’s sudden reversal from anger to romantic idealization demonstrates his vulnerability to emotional and perceptual manipulation, a recurring pattern shaped by the estate’s moral distortions. He uses gentle, pastoral verbs (“settled,” “placidly”) to contrast the volatile context of their impending escape, underscoring John’s desire to impose narrative coherence on chaos. This moment highlights the psychological consequences of wealth’s influence, as John interprets Kismine’s complicity through the lens of affection rather than confronting the moral horror surrounding her family. His rationalization reveals how seductive narratives of romance and rescue cloud his judgment.

“Kismine clapped her hands with pleasure, which a moment later, turned to dismay at the airplanes at some prearranged signal, began to release their bombs and the whole of the valley became a panorama of deep reverberant sound and lurid light.”

The narrative juxtaposes Kismine’s childlike delight with the violent spectacle unfolding before her, highlighting the disorientation produced by extreme wealth and isolation. Her initial reaction reveals how insulated she is from real danger, perceiving the attack as entertainment rather than destruction. The shift from “pleasure” to “dismay” underscores her belated comprehension, showing how privilege blunts awareness and distorts emotional responses.

“We’ll be poor, won’t we? Like people in books. And I’ll be an orphan and utterly free. Free and poor! What fun!”

Kismine’s naïve enthusiasm for poverty reflects her lack of understanding of ordinary life, shaped by an upbringing detached from hardship. Her romanticization of becoming “poor” like “people in books” satirizes elite fantasies about simplicity and freedom, revealing privilege’s inability to imagine life without safety nets. Her cheerful tone exposes the absurdity of her worldview, a naivety based in her insulated, affluent upbringing.

“When the planes had made certain that the beleaguered possessed no further resources, they would land and the dark and glittering reign of the Washingtons would be over.”

The phrase “dark and glittering reign” encapsulates the paradox of the Washingtons’ world—visually dazzling yet morally corrupt. The diction positions the family as rulers of a hidden empire sustained by secrecy and violence. The conditional structure of the sentence emphasizes the attackers’ tactical calculation while foreshadowing the inevitable downfall of a system built on the illusion of seemingly endless resources.

“God had His price, of course. God was made in man’s image, so it had been said: He must have His price.”

Braddock’s attempt to bribe God represents the apex of his moral delusion and reveals how thoroughly wealth has shaped his worldview. By projecting capitalist logic onto divinity, he demonstrates an inability to conceive of power outside transactional terms. In addition, his thought that “God was made in man’s image” inverts the actual Biblical reference, “man was made in God’s image,” reflecting his continued understanding of himself as the center of the universe, even above God.

“There was no fire—what smoke there was drifted off mingling with the sunshine, and for a few minutes longer a powdery dust of marble drifted from the great featureless pile that had once been the house of jewels.”

The understated imagery of the chateau’s destruction contrasts with its former magnificence, emphasizing the fragility of opulence and the family’s wealth. The narrative’s calm, almost serene description—dust drifting, sunshine mingling—replaces human spectacle with nature, suggesting that wealth leaves little behind when stripped of illusion. The phrase “featureless pile” highlights the erasure of grandeur, reinforcing the idea that lavish displays of wealth lack true substance.

“Your father is dead […] Why should he go to Hades? You have it confused with another place that was abolished long ago.”

John’s remark plays on the literal and symbolic meanings of “Hades,” contrasting the name of his hometown with the underworld of Greek myth. His claim that the other Hades “was abolished long ago” invokes both moral relativism and modern skepticism toward traditional notions of punishment. The statement underscores the novella’s critique of wealth as a destructive force, implying that, for the Washingtons, consequences were suspended until the moment of their destruction. The line also reveals John’s growing clarity and detachment from the illusions that once shaped his worldview.