The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories share many similarities that are drawn from Fitzgerald’s experiences in life. One of the most common characteristics the characters share is a blind obsession to material objects and beauty. In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Last of The Belles and Winter Dreams characters lack perspective on things that are truly important in life and are blindly driven by their obsessions, which in the end, results in their downfall and in some cases, death.
In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, wealth is a recurring theme as characters in the story are driven by their obsession with material possessions. Nobody exemplifies this theme more than Braddock Washington who is “by far the richest man in the world” (“The …show more content…
She’s obsessed with men being in love with her and their wealth, at times refusing to date or marry men who are not from wealthy backgrounds. This leads to Ailie becoming incredibly materialistic and not appreciating compassion shown to her from the various men who come across her in life.
“The modulations of pride, the vocal hints that she knew the secrets of a brighter, finer ante-bellum day, were gone from her voice; there was no time for them now as it rambled on in the half-laughing, half-desperate banter of the newer South” (“Belles” 17). As time has gone on, Ailie has lost her youthful exuberance. In an earlier line Andy explains that “some of Ailie’s first young lustre must have gone the way of such mortal shining.” Which further emphasises how Ailie is no longer that young beautiful charismatic girl that she was in her youth, and that time has taken it’s toll on the southern belle. Her obsession with gaining the attention of men-- which resulted in her jumping from man to man-- didn’t teach her loyalty or help her understand what true love is so in the long run her youthful obsession hurt her more than it helped
In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, wealth is a recurring theme as characters in the story are driven by their obsession with material possessions. Nobody exemplifies this theme more than Braddock Washington who is “by far the richest man in the world” (“The …show more content…
She’s obsessed with men being in love with her and their wealth, at times refusing to date or marry men who are not from wealthy backgrounds. This leads to Ailie becoming incredibly materialistic and not appreciating compassion shown to her from the various men who come across her in life.
“The modulations of pride, the vocal hints that she knew the secrets of a brighter, finer ante-bellum day, were gone from her voice; there was no time for them now as it rambled on in the half-laughing, half-desperate banter of the newer South” (“Belles” 17). As time has gone on, Ailie has lost her youthful exuberance. In an earlier line Andy explains that “some of Ailie’s first young lustre must have gone the way of such mortal shining.” Which further emphasises how Ailie is no longer that young beautiful charismatic girl that she was in her youth, and that time has taken it’s toll on the southern belle. Her obsession with gaining the attention of men-- which resulted in her jumping from man to man-- didn’t teach her loyalty or help her understand what true love is so in the long run her youthful obsession hurt her more than it helped