Octopus, The: A Story of California
Octopus, The: A Story of California,novel by Frank Norris, published in 1901 as the first part of his uncompleted trilogy, “The Epic of the Wheat.”
The central theme in this realistic study of California farm life is the growing and harvesting of the wheat. Magnus Derrick operates the great Rancho de los Muertos, near Bonneville in the San Joaquin Valley, and is the leading spokesman for the farmers of the community. His son Harran helps him to manage their tenants and agricultural activities, while another son, Lyman, is a corporation lawyer in San Francisco. Among the neighboring farmers are Broderson, Osterman, and Annixter, all of whom are associated in a struggle to resist the encroachments of the Pacific and Southwestern Railroad, which dominates the state government and gradually extends its monopoly over other industries. The railroad is in complete control of Bonneville, for it subsidizes Genslinger, editor of the town...
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