The Case of the Not So Curious Diamonds Essay Example
Arkansas has a famous park where you can come and dig diamonds. More than 2,000 diamonds have been found at Crater of Diamonds, including Blake’s. Brandon Burrell wrote the article “The Curious Case of the Arkansas Diamonds.” In the article Eric Blake finds a 3.9-carat diamond lying on top of the soil. He has been coming to the park since he was a teenager. However, people still discredit him. No one could possibly find a diamond of that size just sitting there. Burrell describes Blake’s find as mineralogical mischief.
When Eric Blake found 32 diamonds in less than a week, his discoveries started to raise some questions, especially from Dennis Tyrell. Tyrell had been living nearby the park and had been searching for diamonds for 18 months. Tyrell was suspicious when Blake had his big discovery. “You don’t just come here, pick a spot, find 40 diamonds, and say I’ll see you next year.”(16) If Blake really did find that diamond at the park, he would want to show it off. However, when the park superintendent Tom Stolarz called to set up a meeting with Mike Howard,who was a geologist Blake never showed. Blake told Stolarz “ had a flat tire and didn't have time to come by.”(14) If Blake did have a flat tire he should have called to let everyone know what was going on. This raised suspicions about whether he was hiding something.
There was no evidence of wrongdoing so Blake thought he was in the clear. Then a mineral dealer named Yinan Wang noticed something quite interesting. The diamond that Blake had sold to Wang looked a lot like a diamond that an Indian dealer Malay Hirani had sold Blake a while back . When Wang had asked about the diamond Blake gave an answer that would raise even more questions. “ Wang decided to ask Blake if Hirani was trustworthy...Blake denied all connections: All of our diamonds are from the U.S.”(17) Blake knew that Stolarz and Tyrell were starting to dig up more information. Unfortunately, the odds were not in Blake’s favor.
On a Friday afternoon in August, Tyrell found a 4.42-carat diamond of his own. Although Blake was still under the microscope, it was Tyrell’s big day. Burrell is hinting towards Blake being guilty by talking about Tyrell’s diamond. “Blake’s alleged chicanery was no longer the talk of Murfressboro. It was Tyrell’s big day, and no one around there doubts that Tyrell’s stone is legitimate.” (21) Burrell suggested that Tyrell is an honest man and would never lie about the uncovering of the precious stone. However, Burrell was unsure of the lengths Blake would go to save face.
Although there were no charges and no real evidence of Blake’s misconduct, Burell makes readers believe that Blake is guilty. The big question is if Blake is guilty of planting diamonds, was it an offense?
