Creon as the Tragic Hero of an - 802 Words

Greek tragedy would not be complete with out a tragic hero. Sophocles wrote Antigone with a specific character in mind for this part. Based on Aristotles definition, Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone. Creon fits Aristotles tragic hero traits as a significant person who is faced with difficult decisions. Creon is significant because he is king. This makes him both renowned and prosperous. Creon is not completely good nor completely bad; he is somewhere in-between, as humans are. The audience can relate to this and they admire his qualities of intelligence in political affairs. They can also relate to his ability to make hard decisions with apparent ease. These hard decisions are what lead Creon to fit Aristotles definition of a†¦show more content†¦Creons character meets all of Aristotles views of a tragic hero. Some people argue that Antigone is faced with tough decisions and a downfall, just as Creon is, but she does not meet all of the characteristics. While Creon realizes his wrong-doing and negative traits, and strives to change, Antigone does not. She does not change, but stays ignorant, even in her death. The only way to grow and improve oneself is to change. Creon changes, but cannot benefit from them because his death so quickly follows his transformation. The audience realizes how short life is, and Creons downfall causes them to re-examine their values and beliefs. It also helps the audience learn that it is never too late to admit you are wrong, orShow MoreRelatedCreon as Tragic Hero1586 Words   |  7 PagesIn the Greek play Antigone, Creon and Antigone can both be claimed the title of Tragic Hero. Creon was made king when Oedipus Rex fled the kingship. Creon is the brother in law of Oedipus, and was giving the kingship only because Oedipus’s sons, Eteocles and Polyneices were killed trying to fight for the thrown. Antigone is Oedipus’s daughter and Creon’s niece. When it comes down to who the tragic hero is, Creon most definitely walks away with the title. A tragic hero by definition is ordinary personRead MoreCreon The Tragic Hero1005 Words   |  5 PagesA tragic hero is defined in most cases as a literary character of great stature whose moral defect leads to tragedy but some self-awareness brings the character to make the right decision (World Literatures). That is why although Antigone portrays many characteristics of a tragic hero, the real tragic hero of this play is Creon. A tragic hero in the Greek world is very different from our perceptive of a hero in the modern world. When today’s society thinks of a hero they think of superpowers andRead MoreCreon As A Tragic Hero In SophoclesAntigone1509 Words   |  7 PagesIn Poetics, Aristotle describes a tragic character as someone who experiences an error in judgement, experiences a reversal of fortune due to the error, has an excessive pride, and receives a fate much greater than what is deserved. In Sophocles’ Antigone, many would argue that Creon is the tragic he ro of the play. However, he is not alone as the recipient of tragedy. A young woman by the name of Antigone also fits the characteristics for being considered a tragic heroine. A key element in the tragedyRead MoreCreon As A Tragic Hero Essay1650 Words   |  7 Pages Orens English 10H 26 October 2017 What makes tragic heroes different from an ordinary hero? A tragic hero is a character who is complex by nature, having the ability to give off distinctive impressions to different readers. Creon, king of Thebes, is the tragic hero in Sophocles’ â€Å"Antigone† who can be perceived as the antagonist on account of his behavior. One can say that Creon’s decision to prosecute Antigone for burying her brother made Creon look like the enemy. However, with further examinationRead MoreCreon, the Tragic Hero Essay1663 Words   |  7 Pages an argument of who is the tragic hero between Antigone and Creon exists. I firmly believe Creon is the tragic hero of the play. Creon becomes the typical fallen hero in Greek drama. He faces many conflicts, internally and externally, and undergoes quite a bit of painful emotions. One might say Antigone should receive the title of being the tragic hero, but Creon plays a more significant role by learning his lesson the hard way and en ding up as the classic tragic hero who loses everything at theRead MoreCreon Is a Tragic Hero Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesThe Hero, Creon Aristotle once said, regarding his principles that a certain character is a tragic hero, A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. This quotation is an accurate statement regarding the actions between Creon in the beginning of the play, and at the end once he has lost his family. A tragic hero is defined as a character of noble stature, the hero is imperfect allowing the audience to relate to him, as well as the hero’s downfall is caused by hisRead MoreCreon Is The Tragic Hero Of Antigone734 Words   |  3 Pages The civil war is over. After the tragic death of the Oedipus, everyone would take the throne from one year to the next. Creon orders Eteocles to be buried with full honors, while Polynices body is left to rot. Creon says that â€Å"anyone who attempts to bury Polynices shall be publicly stoned to death† (Sophocles 57). Antigone has disobeyed the decree and has been sentenced to death. While Antigone is awaiting execution, the blind prophet, Tiresias, informs Creon that he has angered the gods. BasedRead MoreCreon : The Tragic Hero In SophoclesAntigone886 Words   |  4 Pagesit presents a certain type of hero or heroine who is neither completely good nor completely bad† (â€Å"What is† 739). He or she must also be â€Å"highly renowned and prosperous,† have a tragic flaw, learn a lesson, and suffer greatly (â€Å"What is† 739). Therefore, in Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is the tragic hero because he is a king who has the tragic flaw of pride, learns to respect god’s law, and suffers more than he deserves. The first thing that makes Creon a tragic hero is his pride. When the ChoragosRead MoreCreon: A Tragic Hero in Antigone606 Words   |  2 Pagesqualifications of a tragic hero vary between Aristotle and Shakespeare. Aristotle thinks of a tragic hero as someone who is a noble character by choice and makes his/her own destiny, while Shakespeare sees a tragic hero as someone who is born of nobility and born to be important. Although both tragic heros end in a tragic death that effects many people, not all tragic heros fit perfectly into both categories. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon is considered a tragic hero. Creon follows Aristotles definitionRead MoreEssay about Creon the Tragic Hero931 Words   |  4 Pagesplay Antigone by Sophocles,one could easily be lead to believe Antigone is the the tragic hero when in fact a strong case can be made that Creon, the king of Thebes, is actually the tragic hero. In believing that Creon is the tragic hero it would seem practical to call the play Creon rather than Antigone. On the other hand, naming the play Antigone gives the play a twist that leads the audience into a dynamically tragic journey through the lives of a prestigious royal family and it gives birth to thoughts

Social Networking And Its Effects On Society - 2163 Words

Social networking is an online community of people with a common interest who use a website or other technologies to communicate with each other and share information and resources, according to Webster. There are countless social networking sites that make it possible to establish connections between people. Some of the most popular sites are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. These social sites make it easier for people to find and communicate with others that share the same network. Although social media leads people to have more interaction and promotes long-distance relationships, it has a lot of negative qualities that tends to drive people to do thing they wouldn’t normally do. When people put an excessive amount of personal information on a profile, it gives predators and bully’s the opportunity to attack them. Many of the users are addicted to social media and they become isolated by using these sites. Social networking must be used in moderation, especi ally since it leads to several significant negative effects on society. Do you ever wonder how social networking became so popular? Social networking began when the first email was sent out in 1971. The forerunner to today’s social networking sites is America Online (AOL). AOL was the first way people created profiles and utilizing chatrooms. The chatrooms were categorized, for example â€Å"Teens 20-24 only†, and people went to these chatrooms to meet people. The fad of chatrooms slowly faded away and integratedShow MoreRelatedSocial Networking and Effects on Society1326 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Networking and Effects on Society Wouldn’t you say that online social networking has changed the way society interacts with friends, family and perfect strangers. When someone exposes themselves to these sites, they open the door to allow these people into their lives. Some of them you would have passed on the street and not even thought of befriending. These people you have chosen to interact with, whether they are in your city, another state, another country or just someone you met onlineRead MoreSocial Networking And Its Effect On Society1303 Words   |  6 Pagestechnology, online social networking has taken on society by storm. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram are just to name a few of the objects of mass consumption and insatiable obsession. Those online social network sites have become an influential and integral aspect in our daily lives. They have a tremendous impact on society through its persistently active users, whether or not it is directly or indirectly. In fact, the stability and well being of society revolve around social media due to itsRead MoreSocial Networking And Its Effect On Society917 Words   |  4 PagesAdvancing technology has played a part in the new methods of communication and with being very social creatures, who experiment with new ways of socializing, have found a new way to connect. Social Networking websites have changed how the world connects with friends and family, changing from the traditional ways of connecting with others like face-to-face connections. Many concerned themselves that social networking friendships centered on expectations that sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, andRead MoreSocial Networking And Its Effect On Society1997 Words   |  8 Pagesmodern times, technological advancement has greatly improved the social benefits within society. A vastly growing percentage of young people across America are growing more proficient in using the internet for communication across their country to international regions. In the year 2009, a national survey was conducted for individuals between the ages of eight to eighteen years, where the average time adolescents spent on any form of social media was more than 7.5 hours of a day. Once the average timeRead MoreSocial Networking And Its Effects On Society3236 Words   |  13 Pages When we hear the word â€Å"social networking† what comes to mind is: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, OoVoo and so on. While accessing these trendy resources, we can interact with others by messaging, video chatting, live streaming, instant chatting and overall fast pace communication. Society as we know it has evolved tremendously in regards to the way we communicate and interact with one another. There is a significant difference between the way we used to get in touch with our families andRead MoreSocial Networking And Its Effects On Society988 Words   |  4 Pagesaccounts on multiple social networking sites and they spend a lot of time on updating the develop ments in their daily life and uploading various media like pictures and videos. People really enjoy doing this kind of activity, to be able to communicate with their friends, family members, and also meet new people. For certain people who use social networking as a marketing forum, this is an effective method. However social networking comes with its own share of negative effects on people. It is indeedRead MoreThe Effects Of Social Networking On Society1317 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects of Social Networking Intro Over half of the world uses the internet. 2.2 billion people actively use any kind of social networking. There were 176 million new users of social media just last year (Regan 1). With the influence of so many people a pressing question: Is the impact of social media harmful or beneficial in its effects? Social networking is one of the biggest reports of online traffic. So, if so many people are using these networking sites, what are the effects on us? The â€Å"first†Read MoreThe Effects Of Social Networking On Society1545 Words   |  7 PagesSheena Gonzales Instructor Mushett Eng-123 10 June, 2015 The Effects of Social Networking Social networking websites (further referred to as SNS) are web based platforms in which people connect to other individuals that they already have a real-life connection to, locate individuals they have shared interests with, and they allow users to share information with others such as photographs, life events and thoughts. Being able to keep current with one s personal group quickly and easily is one ofRead MoreThe Effects of Social Networking upon Society1100 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Introduction: Social networking is a network of sites is very effective in facilitating social life among a group of acquaintances and friends , and enable old friends to connect to each other and after a long year , and enable them to also communicate the visual and audio and share images and other possibilities that solidified social relationship between them. Featured social networking such as : ( Facebook – WatsApp - Twitter – Skype - MySpace - LIVE Boone - Hi- Five - Orkut - Tagd - YouTubeRead MoreThe Effects Of Social Networking On Society1767 Words   |  8 PagesThe Effects of Social Networking Social networking websites (further referred to as SNS) are web based platforms in which people connect to other individuals that they already have a real-life connection to, locate individuals they have shared interests with, and they allow users to share information with others such as photographs, life events and thoughts. Being able to keep current with one s personal group quickly and easily is one of the reasons SNS have become so mainstream (McKensie 436)

================================================== Essay Example For Students

================================================== Essay ==================== REPRODUCTION: A-Courting to Nature!LIFE SCIENCES SIG - For some time she had watched his movements, appearing coyly in his haunts. And now, had it paid off? Doubtless, he was in love. His muscles were taut; he swooped through the air more like an eagle than a Greylag gander. The only problem was, it was not for her that he then landed in a flurry of quacks and wingbeats, or for her that he dashed off surprise attacks on his fellows. It was, rather, for another for her preening rival across the Bavarian lake.Poor goose. Will she mate with the gander of her dreams? Or will she trail him for years, laying infertile egg clutches as proof of her faithfulness? Either outcome is possible in an animal world marked daily by scenes of courtship, spurning and love triumphant. And take note: these are not the imaginings of some Disney screen-16 writer. Decades ago Konrad Lorenz, a famed Austrian naturalist, made detailed studies of Greylags and afterwards showed no hesitation in using words like love, grief and even embarrassment to describe the behavior of these large, social birds. At the same time he did not forget that all romance animal and human is tied intimately to natural selection. Natural selection brought on the evolution of males and females during prehistoric epochs when environmental change was making life difficult for single-sex species such as bacteria and algae. Generally, these reproduced by splitting into identical copies of themselves. New generations were thus no better than old ones at surviving in an altered world. With the emergence of the sexes, however, youngsters acquired the qualities of two parents. This meant that they were different from both different and perhaps better at coping with tough problems of survival. At the same time, nature had to furnish a new set of instincts which would make parents out of such unreflective entities as mollusks and jellyfish.. The peacocks splendid feathers, the fireflys flash, the humpback whales resounding bellow all are means these animals have evolved to obey natures command: Find a mate. Transmit your characteristics through time! But while most males would accept indiscriminate mating, females generally have more on their minds. In most species, after all, they take on reproductions hardest chores such as carrying young, incubating eggs and tending newborns. Often they can produce only a few young in a lifetime. (Given half a chance, most males would spawn thousands.) So its no surprising that the ladies are choosy. They want to match their characteristics with those of a successful mate. He may flap his wings or join a hockey team, but somehow he must show that his offspring will not likely be last to eat or first in predatory jaws.Strolling through the Australian underbrush that morning, she had seen nothing that might catch a female bowerbirds eye. True, several males along the way had built avenue bowers twin rows of twigs lined up north and south. True, they had decorated their constructions with plant juices and charcoal. Yet they displayed nothing out front! Not a beetles wing. Not a piece of flower.Then she saw him. He stood before the largest bower and in his mouth held a most beautiful object. It was a powder blue cigarette package, and beneath it there glinted a pair of pilfered car keys. Without hesitation she hopped forward to watch his ritual dance. Males have found many ways to prove their worth. Some, like bowerbirds, flaunt possessions and territory, defending these aggressively against the intrusion of fellow males. Others, like many birds and meat-eating mammals, pantomime nest building or otherwise demonstrate their capacity as dads. Still others, however, do nothing. Gentlemen may bring flowers, but most male fish just fertilize an egg pile some unknown female has left in underwater sand. .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 , .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .postImageUrl , .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 , .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:hover , .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:visited , .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:active { border:0!important; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:active , .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4 .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua577b8bbc1d1a86134e63e60ab4396f4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: W.R.1 - Inquiry Activity Essay For a fish, survival itself is a romantic feat. For other species, though, love demands supreme sacrifices.Shortly after alighting on the back of his mate, the male praying mantis probably had no idea what was in store. This would have been a good thing too, because as he continued to fertilize his partners eggs, she twisted slowly around and bit off his head. She continued to put away his body parts until well nourished and thus more able to sustain her developing young. Luckily for most species, the urge to mate come on only occasionally, usually in springtime. For love can hurt, particularly if you intended has difficulty telling a mate from a meal. Pity the poor male of the spider species, Xysticus Cristatus, for instance. His only hope of survival is to tie a much larger female to the ground with silk thread, and keep her there.Every time a moth releases its attracting scent, or a bullfrog sings out its mating call, these animals are risking a blind date with some predator. Such alluring traits have long puzzled scientists, particularly those which seem not only risky but useless as well. Why, after all, should a frigate bird mate more if he puffs out an extra large red throat sac? How does ownership of such a thing indicate a superior individual? Until recently, the question stymied biologists, but then researchers in the U. S. and Sweden announced a possible answer. While studying widowbirds, among whom extravagant tail feathers are hip, they discovered that the longest-tailed males also carried a lower number of blood parasites. Sexual ornamentation seemed to be a means by which males could show of superfluous health and energy. All of which may bring us to fast sports cars, flashy clothes and other accessories of the human suitor. After all, if he can afford dinner at the citys most expensive restaurant, chances are he could finance a baby too.

The Octopus Essay Example

The Octopus Essay Boleslav Akselrud Professor Schrepfer Facets of The Octopus In Frank Norris’ first installment of his intended three part series on wheat, and the crop’s far reaching global implications, The Octopus: A Story of California, the author adapts the events and circumstances surrounding the 1880 Mussel Slough tragedy to paint the picture of the historically rugged and prospecting American west’s collision with large industrial capital and monopolized industry; specifically the railways of the Southern Pacific Rail Company. Norris adopts, and in some ways pioneers the naturalist style of writing at the turn of the twentieth-century, but The Octopus is not merely a work of fiction; the novel provides a realist perspective to a complex period of the American frontier’s history. While depicting this unique period of the American frontier, Norris is however, guilty of tailoring certain characters to fit his purposes, and taking advantage of his control of the reader’s emotions, specifically interpretations of good and evil, to align readers with his views of the betrayal of the farming industry by the unstoppable force of the rail industry. We will write a custom essay sample on The Octopus specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Octopus specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Octopus specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The book opens with an introduction to a set of grain farms in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Readers are introduced to Presley, a young man well-educated at an eastern college who chose to live on one of the local ranches, Los Muertos, due, in part, to the cleanliness of the air after nearly dying of tuberculosis. Presley is a writer, but at the beginning of the novel, he states that his artistic inspiration has all but failed him, also playing a hand in his relocation to the Valley. He was in search of a subject; [†¦] he did not know exactly what; some vast, tremendous theme, heroic, terrible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Norris, 33) Presley will grow to be the most prevalent character in the book, and he would eventually find his inspiration, and make himself, and through him Norris’ viewpoint heard. As Norris introduces Presley and other characters, he also lays the historic foundation for the plot of the novel. Norris writes of the landscape of the farms, adding historical b ackground all the while. He describes Presley’s daytime bicycle ride through the farmland of the Valley, and through Presley’s eyes, he tells the reality of farming in California. The land in the San Joaquin was settled due in large part to the laying of rails in the area. The government worked a deal with the rail company that would allow the railway to own half of the plots within a twenty mile radius of the tracks, in return for laying them. This land, however, was not very well suited for much, especially farming due to the lack of irrigation. Because of this, the rail company offered much of their undeveloped land to settlers, with the promise of allowing them to purchase this land at rates as low as $2. 50 per acre later. The allure of the west, and the spirit of the frontier yielded interest from many, but profits for this group were contingent not only on the success of the crop, which at the time of the novel was doing poorly from lack of irrigation, but also on the logistics involved in transporting it, and by extension, the railways. As Presley rode along on his bicycle delivering mail on his way to the old town of Guadalajara, he mused on the manifestations of the issue of climate: â€Å"After the harvest, small though that harvest had been, the ranches seemed asleep. [†¦] There was no rain, there was no wind, there was no growth, no life; the very stubble had no force even to rot. [†¦] [On] the [†¦] only [division of the ranch] whereon the wheat had been successful, [this was] no doubt because of the Little Mission Creek that ran through it. (Norris, 44-47) Clearly, the ranchers would have to improve the land in order to reap any benefit from it, but in a leaflet distributed by the rail company advertising the land, the Southern and Pacific Rail Company stipulated that land prices would not be increased due to improvements performed by the farmers, such as irrigation. The issue of the railroad is at the heart of Norris’ novel. The author presents his work in such a way that clearly define s good and evil, leaving no place for ambiguity. Although he starts slowly, there can be no mistaking that his ultimate motive is painting the railways red. The first clear indication of this is evident in Presley’s interaction with one of his close friends, an engineer for the Southern and Pacific Rail Company, Dyke. Dyke is initially portrayed as a salt of the earth employee, working without complaint for the company in order to dote on his daughter, Sidney. Dyke continues to explain to Presley that he has had his pay cut dramatically, and when arguing against this, the company simply fired him. Here, Norris uses this situation to express just how much of a monopoly Southern and Pacific had, and by extension, Norris sprouts the roots for the reader’s hatred of the rail company. Presley advises Dyke to attempt to find another rail company to work for, but when Dyke presses him to suggest another, he is silenced. â€Å"Dyke’s challenge was unanswerable. † (Norris , 56) Through this, Norris is able to express just how important the ‘benevolence’ of the rail company was. Quite simply, the farms had been built around the rail, and thus almost every person’s finances depended on its policies and even its whims. Naturally, when a profitable industry smote the hopes of its dependents, a sense of anger is developed by the reader. In this sense, Norris takes advantage of the reader, and while not directly misinforming his audience, he plays on emotions to portray history in such a way that is privy to his agenda of depicting good and evil. Although it is difficult to condone the actions of the rail companies, throughout the novel Norris places such perspective as would justify others evil in light of the rail company’s greed. After Dyke was fired by the company, he decides to pursue an agricultural approach to making a living. He invests his saved earnings in a plot of land upon which he can farm hops, but even before his first harvest is ready, he learns that the railway has more than doubled its former rates for transporting the crop. Realizing that this eliminates his profit margin, he does not even bother harvesting his crop, and before long he finds himself a drunk, spending weeks on end in Caraher’s saloon. He then decides to use his knowledge of the trains to become a robber and sometimes a murderer. Norris, however, through Presley finds ways to justify this evil, and even further justifies attempts on the life of S. Behrman, the designated local villain. Regardless of the author’s intent, robbery and murder are facets of evil, but Norris places this above the actions of the rail company, using Dyke as a folk hero. In such pursuits, Norris jeopardizes The Octopus as a veritable historical source. History is not supposed to be subjective, and while this is often difficult to realize, such instances as described above display Norris’ use of the reader’s emotions to align an audience to his cause, and ultimately hinder the effectiveness of the novel as a historical document. Norris’ proliferation of this double-standard is evident not only in the heart wrenching betrayal of Dyke by the rail company, but also in the character of Magnus Derrick. Derrick owns the Los Muertos ranch, and is depicted by Norris as the proud champion of his laborers, called ‘the Governor’ by his respecting workers. This is the initial impression of the character, and it stays so, even when the uglier side of Magnus is shown. Magnus is described as an old school prospector, having made his money through the sale of his portion of the Corpus Christi gold mine in the middle of the nineteenth-century. With the crop not doing so well, and the threat of seizure of his ranch by the rail company, Derrick is faced with a moral dilemma. He must either enter the corruption of the day and submit to bribery, or lose all of his land and livelihood. When he is faced with certain defeat in the struggle with climbing freight rates, Magnus folds and aligns himself with the view that corruption is a necessary evil. The effects of this decision are far reaching, and Magnus finds himself blackmailed by the proprietor of the local newspaper who, on the rail company’s payroll, had become privy to the corruption. After the novel’s version of the armed conflict at Mussel Slough, Magnus finds himself with a dead son, no land, and a conscience that drives him to insanity. Despite the clear lack of judgment by Magnus and the obvious evil that partaking in corruption implies, his poor decisions are excused by Norris as instincts to gamble everything that he retained from his prospecting days, in hopes of making the best for himself and his dependents. Norris further blames the rail industry for forcing Magnus into a situation where he could not come out the better, and thus can pin the blame for Derrick’s demise on the railway, regardless of how evident it is that Magnus had a hand in his own undoing. In Norris’ eyes, there is no room for ambiguity, and he minces no words in the process of representing the Southern and Pacific Company as an evil machine. The namesake of the novel carries with it a dark connotation, and there is little doubt that this is strategically placed by the author. The rail industry is continually cast against the masses of workers, a manifestation of Norris’ ever clearer populist agenda. When showing more of Presley’s musings, he furthers the above views. â€Å"[Presley] told himself that, as a part of the people, he loved the people and sympathized with their hopes and fears, and joys and griefs. †¦] He had set himself the task of giving true, absolutely true, poetical expression to the life of the ranch, and yet, again and again, he brought up against the railroad, that stubborn iron barrier against which his romance shattered itself to froth and disintegrated, flying spume. His heart went out to the people. † (Norris, 41 ) Norris continually describes the rail industry as a machine, devoid of humanity and inherently evil. At the end of the first chapter, this view is compounded, once again through Presley’s character. Presley saw again, in his imagination, the galloping monster, the terror of steel and steam, with its single eye, cyclopean, red, shooting from horizon to horizon; but saw it now as the symbol of a vast power, huge, terrible, flinging the echo of its thunder over all the reaches of the valley, leaving blood and destruction in its path; the leviathan, with tentacles of steel clutching into the soil, the soulless Force, the iron hearted Power, the monster, the Colossus, the Octopus. † (Norris, 128) Although Norris describes an important period in the history of the American West, he is also an author, and The Octopus is a work of fiction. There are vast quantities of historical background in Norris’ story, and even some parallels to real people and events, but the author can use his words to sway the thoughts of his readers, and at times Norris can demonize the rail industry while also justifying the actions of his protagonists. Thus, while historical novels may offer unique insight to events such as the Mussel Slough Massacre, the emotional control that the authors have can sometimes skew perspectives. Works Cited Norris, Frank. The Octopus: A Story of California. Gutenberg Project, 1995. PDF.