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Description edit
Based on an actual, bloody dispute between wheat farmers and the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1880, this is the story of the waning days of the frontier West.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
The Octopus is based on the Mussell Slough Tragedy of 1880, which occurred in the Central Valley of California, and involved a bloody conflict between ranchers and law agents defending the Southern Pacific Railroad.
As an incentive to build a railroad down the Central Valley, the State... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Presley: A young poet visiting California from the East. The story is told through his eyes.
- Magnus Derrick: Owner of Los Muertos ranch and the father of Harran and Lyman Derrick.Magnus is the principle rancher in the vicinity and opposition to the railroad’s methods comes to center on him.
- Harran Derrick: Son of Magnus Derrick. Supports his father and encourages him to resist the railroad.
- Lyman Derrick: Oldest son of Magnus Derrick. He is an attorney in San Francisco.
- 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. The novel compares Vanamee to biblical prophets, as he has a strong spiritual aspect.
- S. Behrman: Local banker, real estate agent, and representation of the railroad. Primary villain in the story.
- Delaney: Add a description of this character.
- Hilma Tree
- Mrs. Dyke
- Minna Hooven
- Broderson
- Mr. Osterman
- Darrell
- Caraher
- Ruggles
- Genslinger
- Sidney
- Garnett
- Mrs. Cedarquist
- Keast
- Dabney
- Angele
- Disbrow
- Mrs. Hooven
- Hilda
- Billy
- Shelgrim
- Buck Annixter
- Gethings
- Gott
- Hartrath
- Mrs. Tree
- Minna
- Angéle
- Annie Derrick
- Mrs. Gerard
- Bismarck
Quotes edit
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““Believe this, young man,” exclaimed Sheigrim, laying a thick powerful forefinger on the table to emphasize his words, “try to believe this—to begin with—that railroads build themselves. Where there is a demand sooner or later there will be supply. Mr. Derrick, does he grow his wheat? The Wheat grows itself. What does he count for? Does he supply the force? What do I count for? Do I build the Railroad? You are dealing with forces young man. There is the Wheat, the supply. It must be carried to feed the People. There is the demand. The Wheat is one force, the Railroad, another, and there is the law that governs them—supply and demand. Men have only little to do in the whole business. Complications may arise, conditions that bear hard on the individual—crush him maybe—but the Wheat will be carried to feed the people as inevitably as it will grow. If you want to fasten the blame of the affair at Los Muertos on any one person, you will make a mistake. Blame conditions, not men.””
Sheigrim, Director of the Railroad -
“In that little, isolated group of human insects, misery, death, and anguish spun like a wheel of fire. But the Wheat remained. Untouched, unassailable, undefiled, that might world-force, that nourisher of nations, wrapped in Nirvanic calm, indifferent to the human swarm, gigantic, resistless, moved onward in its appointed grooves. Through the weiter of blood at the irrigating ditch, through the sham charity and shallow philanthropy of famine-relief committees, the great harvest of Los Muertos rolled like a flood from the Sierras to the Himalayas to feed thousands of starving scarecrows on the barren plains of India.”
Presley
Setting & Locations edit
- Guadalajara
- San Francisco
- Los Muertos
- San Joaquin Valley
- Lower Road
- Sacramento
- California
- Quien Sabe
- Upper Road
- Visalia
- Sarria
- Opera House
- Heaven
- Europe
- Fresno
- County Road
- San Pablo
- Ukiah
- Plaza
- United States
- Long Trestle
- China
- Los Angeles
- Washington
- Port Costa
- India
- Mojave
- New York
- Bakersfield
- Tulare County
- Buck
- America
- Marysville
- City Band
- Southwest
- Solotari
- Monterey
- Arizona
- Good Lord
- Long Trail
- Main Street
First Sentence edit
Just after passing Caraher's saloon, on the County Road, that ran south from Bonneville, and that divided the Broderson ranch from that of Los Muertos, Presley was suddenly aware of the faint and prolonged blowing of a steam whistle that he knew must come from the railroad shops near the depot at Bonneville.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Frank Norris (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Doubleday
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1901
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 652
Publisher: Doubleday
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1901
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 652
Classification edit
- Copyright Status: Public Domain
- Library of Congress: PS2472.O3
- Dewey: 813.4
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
Links to Supplemental Material edit
Movie Connections edit
- The Octopus (1915) (IMDb): Short silent film adaptation
Books That Cite This Book edit
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