The Octopus: A Story of California

How does the Naturalist instinct toward Social Darwinism explain the narrative’s focus on specific characters while disregarding others? What does this suggest about the shaping function of narrative focus?

Caraher exerts a large influence over Presley and Dyke, though he rarely appears in the novel. Discuss the undercurrents of Socialism and Anarchism in the novel.

How does structuring The Octopus into two books help reveal the motivations that lead the characters to their inevitable fates? To develop your answer, pick two characters and examine their paths.

S. Behrman and Shelgrim are portrayed in very different ways. Why is this important to the moral statement of the novel?

Discuss Norris’s ambiguity in the reappearance of Angéle and his use of supernatural elements in the context of Naturalist philosophy.

What characteristics of epic poetry, particularly the Homeric poems, does Norris utilize in The Octopus? To what end?

Presley and Vanamee are characterized as outsiders. Discuss their roles in the moral project of the narrative and explain how the outsider position best allows them to fulfill these roles.

Vanamee essentially achieves spiritual union with the land, while Annie Derrick is utterly horrified by the landscape. Alongside these two characters, choose a third to illustrate a more central position on this spectrum, and examine how their relationships to the land define Norris’s San Joaquin Valley.