Please write a 5-7 page paper on Frank Norris's novel The Octopus. You may choose from one of the approaches below. Please limit yourself to ONE of the approaches. The paper should include material from secondary sources, which must be listed correctly on a Works Cited Page (which will be the last page of your paper and DOES count toward the total number of pages).
But most of the paper should contain your ideas.
Choose from one of the list below:
a) Examine the novel in terms of genre. In what way(s) can the novel be considered a "western?" Is it something more than that? Or is it one at all? Explain.
b) Examine the views of the railroad. Is its portrayal in the novel totally negative?
c) Focus on ONE of the characters in the novel. Don't just summarize what he or she does in the novel; why is this character important to the novel and why did you decide on him/her to write about.
d) Just as the U.S.A. was undergoing major changes around the turn of the century, so was American writing. In what way(s) is The Octopus (1901) a "modern" novel? Or would you consider it a book that is old-fashioned? Both? Explain.
e) Explain why The Octopus, although written over a hundred years ago, is still a very revealing and relevant novel in 2013. Why? What does it have to say to the contemporary reader?