A Thousand Acres | Themes
Central to A Thousand Acres is the theme that the transfer of power from one generation to the next is fraught with tension, the older persons regretting the loss of power, the younger chaffing for responsibility. The consequences of the transfer are that buried secrets can resurface and that established relationships may collapse. Smiley uses an Iowa farm family to develop her King Lear-like situation.
Ginny Cook Smith, the point of view character, has led a seemingly placid life into her mid-thirties, the only significant disappointments being the death of her...
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