Protagonist

John T. Unger

John T. Unger is the clear protagonist in "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." We experience the bizarre happenings of the story through his eyes – the eyes of an outsider, both to the Washington estate and to the world of extravagant wealth as a whole. We root for him as he tries to escape from Braddock and from the object of the story's satire – America's obsession with wealth.