Desire skews

Once upon a time, there was a man who wanted to escape the constraints of time. Mr. Washington in "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" feels that his immense wealth gives him the ability to escape death, "bribe..God"(108), and even escape time; he thinks his wealth will last for today, tomorrow, and forever. Wealth gives Mr.Washington a skewed perception of reality that allows him to believe that he can possess anything including the following: pink elephants, unlimited life, isolation from society. In fact, everyone’s perception is skewed by his or her material desires. By using well-crafted rhetoric, Fitzgerald illustrates how we are all slaves of our desires and even Moses can't free us from the true realities of life.

The author’s extravagant description of Mr. Washington’s life represents his skewed perception of reality. It’s impossible for someone to actually have a car to be “embroidered with jewels”(79) and be made out of “gold”(78) yet Fitzgerald exaggerates the Washington’s wealth to reveal how wealth can create a realm where the impossible might seem possible. However, wealth can never make escaping reality a possibility.

Mr. Washington is also a symbol for the moral corruption that occurs because of desire. His wealth has caused him to believe that imprisoning people in a “bowl” and killing guests is moral behavior.  Desire and wealth not only skew people’s perception but also their morality.