Inspired by The Mussel Slough Tragedy, an 1880 dispute over land titles between California settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Frank Norris' 1901 novel, "The Octopus: A California Story", is the first part in his unfinished trilogy, "The Epic of Wheat". The novel depicts the conflict between wheat farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and the Pacific and Southwestern Railroad. When the railroad company attempts to take possession of land leased to and improved by the farmers, the farmers are forced to defend themselves and their claims to the land that they rely on for their livelihood. A powerful social and political commentary, "The Octopus" focuses on how the powers of big business, in this case railroads and their unfair monopolies, are leveraged against the interests of the common man.
