Description of social life in “The Octopus” by Frank Norris nodira turgunova group #1804

Description of social life in “The Octopus” by Frank Norris nodira turgunova group #1804

Description of social life in “The Octopus” by Frank Norris

NODIRA TURGUNOVA

GROUP #1804

Agenda Layout

A
B

C
D
Background information about Frank Norris
The Octopus
Social life in 1900s
Summary

Background information about Frank Norris

Frank Norris

He was educated at private schools, and in 1887 he moved to Paris, to attend the famous Académie Atelier Julien art school.

Norris was born on March 5, 1870, in Chicago, Illinois, to a wealthy and artistic family.
His first book “Yvernelle: A Legend of Feudal France” was published in 1892 when he was still undergraduate
After parents’ divorce he transferred his studies to Harvard to major in literature
In 1899, Norris began work on an "epic of wheat," which would trace the cycle of America's wheat crop.
Died very young age, 32, in 1902 in San Francisco
Norris Jr.—Frank Norris, to his readers—is remembered for being one of the founding figures of American naturalism, a literary movement that flourished at the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth. His novels reflected the places that he had lived and his view that the world was changing for the worst, with humanity's baser instincts overrunning its nobility.

THE OCTOPUS: A STORY OF CALIFORNIA

An absorbing novel of the wheat crowers and their fight with the railroad
The novel takes place in the San Joaquin valley, in the middle of the state. Wheat farmers struggle to grow crops and send them to market for a profit, while being beleaguered by the inflated prices of the giant railroad conglomeration—the "octopus" referred to in the title.

The epic of the wheat

This novel was the first one in what Norris planned to be a "Trilogy of Wheat," examining every aspect of the modern world through the progression of wheat, from seed to consumption. The second novel was The Pit: A Story of Chicago, about the commodities market. The third novel, The Wolf, was intended to follow what happened to the wheat crop once it was exported to Russia, but Norris died of a burst appendix before that book was written

Presley – A poet searching for a plot, as well as a surveyor of the dilemma between the ranchers and the railroad. The novel begins with him, riding his bicycle across the countryside, and ends with him as well. Magnus Derrick – Owner of El Rancho de los Muertos and the father of Harran and Lyman Derrick, Magnus represents the upstanding integrity of the previous generations, as opposed to the modern, increasingly dishonest dealings of the youth, as represented by the railroad and the rancher’s League, which Magnus leads. Harran Derrick – Son of Magnus, Harran aids his father on the ranch. It is Harran who persuades Magnus to head the League. Along with his father he is part of the inner circle of the ranchers' League.
Characters
Lyman Derrick – Son of Magnus, Lyman is a lawyer in San Francisco up north. Lyman is contracted by the League to represent the farmers on the state Railroad Commission, which decides on transport rates. Annixter – Owner and operator of the Quien Sabe Rancho, Annixter is a young, headstrong confirmed bachelor who, over the course of the novel, matures into a soft-hearted, selfless man, largely due to his developing interest in Hilma Tree. Part of the inner circle of the League. Vanamee – Long-time friend of Presley, Vanamee is a wanderer haunted by the tragic, violent death of a love interest, Angele Varian, years before. In the novel he works on different ranches and spends a great deal of time at the Mission San Juan de Guadalajara, where Angele had been murdered.

Social life in California

Moral Corruption
Law breakers
Natural culture
Politics

SUMMARY

D
D

SUMMARY

In conclusion, reading a progressive, muckraking novel like Frank Norris' The Octopus tends to lead readers toward anger and indignation, of course; that is what novels of this type are supposed to do. These are books that call for change, and anger leads to change. As years pass, the issues involved are not as outrageous as they once were. In a way, this is a natural and even desirable part of the muckraking process: if novels that are meant to incite change are effective, then the social situations they cover will in fact change, and in a few generations, if all goes well, nobody will have direct experience with the issues that once seemed so crucial.

Thank you

http://fayllar.org