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Richard Godden Article--"A Diamond Bigger than the Ritz: F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Gold Standard"
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- Washington family owns a mountain that consists of one whole diamond
- Instantly rich? Yes and no
- Law of supply: sell the whole diamond (or if it is discovered), demand lowers--as does its value
- The family kills airplanes that fly over or anyone who comes across the territory
- Eventually someone hears word and sends people in
- After a failed bribe with God, the mother, father, and son decide to blow up the diamond and are left penniless
Exactly what Gatsby wants
Same problem emerges in "Diamond as Big as the Ritz"
His fetish becomes money--and by extension gold--because what it represents fulfills Gatsby's desire to preserve his past with Daisy
If money has this sublime quality about it--of remaining supposedly immutable despite the passing of time, then it certainly appeals to Gatsby, presenting itself as a fetish for him.
A similar concept emerges in "Diamond" because the family members know the system of supply and demand so well that they literally sabbatoge themselves--and their beloved diamond--to hold on to the idea of their fetish.
Instability of gold--a rise in gold can result in a decrease in its value, throwing the system off
Money becomes a fetish, a "presence of absence itself"
Strong security in consumerism because it was backed by a "solid" gold standard, which was quickly falling apart
“[W]e treat money ‘as if’ it consists of ‘an immutable substance' . . . over which time has no power . . .” ~Godden
Consumerism and the Gold Standard
Connection of article to Gatsby
A LOT of theory, especially about the gold standard and consumerism
Relating to Gatsby
Article Summary and Connection to Gatsby
A Diamond Bigger than the Ritz:
F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Gold
Standard ~Richard Godden
First some basic concepts
VERY Basic Plot Review of "Diamond as Big as the Ritz"
The Gold Standard
What is it?
Published in 1922
Basic Plot
- International Standard that determined a country's currency in terms of other countries' currencies
- Fixed exchange rates--price levels world wide moved together, and no foreign-exchange risk
- Each oz. of gold was equivalent to $20.67 (1834-1933)
- 1880-1914 is known as the classical gold standard
- Free trade flourished
- "When London sneezes, the U.S. catches pneumonia."
- When financial panic ensues, inflation often happens. In 1907 London panicked and raised interest rates on gold, leaving the U.S. short on money
- The system broke down shortly after WWI
Sounds good, but . . .