•  In telling the Washington family history, Fitzgerald refers to several actual historical figures. Research the following names and write a short paragraph for each one, indicating the relevance of the historic figure to the story: George Washington, Lord Baltimore, and General Forrest. In addition, Mr. Washington’s first and middle names, Braddock Tarleton, have historic significance; include these names in your research.

•  Research the size of the world’s largest diamonds. How do they compare to the size of the Washington’s diamond? Make a chart comparing the size of the top three diamonds to each other and to the fictional diamond in Fitzgerald’s story. Given the monetary value of the world’s largest diamonds, estimate how much a diamond as large as this fictional diamond would be worth.

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