"Octopus"

Paper Summary:

This paper provides a discussion of the novel the "Octopus" by Frank Norris. It addresses the naturalistic philosophy, the economic and political setting, the social impact and the reasons why Frank Norris wrote the novel. "The Octopus", is about social protest because it exposed the conflict between two types of economy, the dying agrarian and emerging industrial. Frank Norris was one of a group of writers caught up in the Progressive movement, who reported on the corruption and exploitation of the Gilded Age in America.

From the Paper:

"More than any figure of his era, Norris was acknowledged as a true literary trailblazer of the Far West. His singular contribution to western American literature was his exploration of land-centered values versus economic-political considerations, which was a discovery for western fiction. The book was well received because it aspired to epic scope and highlighted a titanic struggle between the People and the System, the all encompassing reach of the steel tentacles of the railroad (McElrath & Knight 23-40)."

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