Octopus Author:Frank Norris Near the end of his life frank Norris set out to write a trilogy which he called his "Epic of the Wheat." Norris lived to see only one volume of the trilogy published. "The PIt," a novel which deals with the distribution of wheat and the speculations on the Chicago wheat exchange, was published the year after his death and "The Wolf," which was ... more »to deal with the consumption of wheat, was never written. The first volume of the trilogy and Norris' finest work was "The Octopus."
While the central action of "The Octopus" is the clash between the ranchers of the San Joaquin valley and the railroad, the dominant symbol and primary force in the novel is neither the vigilant ranchers nor the octopus-like railroad; instead it is the cyclical nature of the wheat. In a manner suggesting the seasonal development of "Walden," "The Octopus" begins just before the wheat is planted in September and ends just after it is harvested in July; it begins and ends with "an open expanse of stubble." All of the violence of the clash between the ranchers and the farmers does not matter in the end. The wheat that was planted inSeptember will mature in July and will be replanted again come fall.« less