JournalofEcocriticism7(1)Summer2015
Presley’sPauses:UnearthingForceinCalifornia’sLand
andWaterRegimesandFrankNorris’sTheOctopus
PaulFormisano(UniversityofSouthDakota)1
Abstract
ConsideredagainstthebackdropofCalifornia’spastoralobsessiontorealize
Eden,FrankNorris’sTheOctopus:AStoryofCalifornia(1901)revealshowhis
respectivebrandofAmericannaturalisminterpretsthechangestoCalifornia’s
physicalspaceduringthe1880s.Throughhispreoccupationwiththepervasive
discourseofforce-theorythatdominatedlatenineteenth-andearlytwentiethcenturythoughtandhispenchantfordramaandromance,TheOctopusbecomes
muchmorethananepictaleofstrugglebetweentherailroadandthewheat
ranchers.Ratheritexplainsthevariouslayersofconquestandimperialist
discoursewithinthetextwhichbothpromoteandexplainthedrastic
reengineeringofCalifornia’slandandwaterresourcesduringthisperiod.By
readingNorris’sdeterministicprogramthroughanecocriticallens,weseehow
thenovelshedslightonCalifornia’spast,present,andfutureenvironmental
transformationsrevealingaGoldenStatethatismoreofatarnishedidealrather
thantheearthilyparadisesomanylongedtofind.
Introduction
In María Amparo Ruiz de Burton’s The Squatter and the Don (1885), the reader encounters a
group of Anglo families who relocate to California lured by the prospects of “free land” and
opportunity.OneofthosemovingwestisJamesMechlin,awealthyEasternerplaguedby“too
close application to business,” who follows some friendly advice to relocate to Southern
Californiatocurehisaliments(67).UponarrivinginCaliforniaMr.Mechlinfindsthat“hishealth
improvedsorapidlythathemadeuphismindtobuyacountryplaceandmakeSanDiegohis
home,”andasaresult,“hedevotedhimselftocultivatingtreesandflowers,andhishealthwas
betteredeveryday”(67).
Thoughaveryminorpartofthelargernarrative,Mechlin’srestorationfromthebrinkofdeath
thanks to California’s bounteous climate reflects a well-worn trope in the Golden State’s
literature:CaliforniaasPromisedLand.AsDavidWyattobserves,itisinCaliforniathatwestward
expansionreacheditsend,theeffectofwhichgaveAmericansthesensethattheyhadfound
1
PaulFormisanoisanAssistantProfessorandDirectorofWritingattheUniversityofSouthDakota.
([email protected])
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
1
paradise—thatinthislandnestledbetweenoceanandmountainstheyhadreturnedtoEden
(xvi).HereontheshoresofthePacificculminatedsomeofthenation’smostcherishedbeliefs
embodiedinexpressionsofManifestDestinyandtheFrontier.Indeed,forcountlessAmericans
andforeignerswhomigratedtoCaliforniainthenineteenthcentury,thestaterepresentedthe
realizationoftheAmericanDream.YetasRuizdeBurton’snoveldemonstrates,Californiawas
farfromtheidyllicgardenmanyimaginedittobeasunjustlandlaws,pervasiveracism,rampant
greed and corruption, unregulated capitalism, monopolistic control, and violence depict a
Californiafallenfromgrace.1
ThetensionbetweenanidealisticvisionforthestateandtheharshrealitythatplaysoutinRuiz
deBurton’snovelbecomesaprinciplethemeamongmanyturn-of-the-centuryCaliforniatexts
as writers attempt to come to terms with the state’s meteoric rise as a world economic and
culturalforce.FormanyCalifornia-basedliterarynaturalistssuchasCharlottePerkinsGilman,
JackLondon,FrankNorris,andJohnSteinbeck,thestate’svariedphysicalandsocialgeographies
proveidealsettingsinwhichtoapplytheirrespectivephilosophiesregardinghumannatureand
theelementsthatshapeit.Atthesametime,thedecisiontolocatetheirnarrativeswithinthese
localesisalsoaboutreimaginingthisspace—andbyextension,thebroaderAmericanWestwhich
itepitomized—assomethingfardifferentfromtheprevailingidealizationoftheregionthathas
long dictated the nation’s relationship to these western lands. “[T]he overt project of those
adheringtothenaturalistmode,”arguesMaryLawlor,
wastoconstructacriticalreevaluationoftheWestasastrictlymaterialplaceand
a historically determined culture. Thus, in the naturalist mode the West was
pictured as a limited and often limiting geographical space that lacked the
psychologicalandideologicalcoloringsofatrulyopenfrontierandcastregional
identity as the product of material “forces” rather than of individualistic
enterprise.(2)
Lawlor’s description of the naturalist treatment of the American West aptly describes what
occursonamorespecificlevelinregardstohowCalifornia’sliterarynaturalistsgrappledwith
thestate’smultifacetedimaginations.WhereasFrederickJacksonTurner’s1893FrontierThesis
codified the nation’s mythic construction of the West, believing that the frontier continually
remadeandrefinedtheAmericancharacter,literaryartistslikethoseabovecomplicatedsuch
optimisticandillusorysentimentsthroughtheirrepresentationsofCalifornia.However,these
beliefsprovedtobetoopervasiveandpowerfulsothatnoteventhesewriters,soadamantabout
rejecting Romantic principles, could entirely divorce themselves from the allure of the West.
Thus,despitethefactthattheycouldnotentirelydiscardthisnationalidealizationoftheregion,
one should not overlook how they attempt to construct California’s history as a highly
deterministicspace.2
Indeed,itispreciselyintheliterarynaturalists’abilitytoexploretheroleofdeterminismand
force evident in the numerous natural resource battles shaping turn-of-the-century California
that writers such as Norris shed important light on the economic, environmental, and social
transformations that reconfigure the state’s landscape. Considered against the backdrop of
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California’spastoralobsessiontorealizeEden,Norris’sTheOctopus:AStoryofCalifornia(1901)
revealshowhisrespectivebrandofAmericannaturalism—typicallyviewedasevidenceofthe
morepessimisticsideofthisliterarymovement—interpretsthechangestoCalifornia’sphysical
spaceduringthe1880s.3Throughhispreoccupationwiththepervasivediscourseofforce-theory
that dominated late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century thought and his penchant for
dramaandromance,TheOctopusbecomesmuchmorethananepictaleofstrugglebetweenthe
railroadandthewheatranchers.Ratheritexplainsthevariouslayersofconquestandimperialist
discourse within the text which both promote and explain the drastic reengineering of
California’s land and water resources during this period. By reading Norris’s deterministic
program through an ecocritical lens, we see how the novel sheds light on California’s past,
present,andfutureenvironmentaltransformationsrevealingaGoldenStatethatismoreofa
tarnishedidealratherthantheearthilyparadisesomanylongedtofind.
As the reigning motif in the “Naturalist Western”4 (Lawlor 3), force-as-theory is an important
contributiontothescientificfindingsarrivinginAmericaviaEuropeduringthelastfewdecades
ofthenineteenthcentury.InAmericanLiteratureandtheUniverseofForce(1981),RonaldMartin
traces how the turn-of-the-century fascination with force informs and controls the naturalist
project.Heexplainsthatthispervasivebelief—groundedinscientificdiscoveriessuchasthelaw
ofconservationofenergy,otherwiseknownastheLawoftheConservationofForce—emerged
from the observations of a host of scientist-philosophers “who tended to think of force as
inherent in or acting upon physical nature wherever motion or change occurred” (xi). Harold
Kaplan articulates this particular preoccupation with science in a slightly different way,
suggestingthatwhatdefinesthisagewasa“mythofpowerorwhatcanbecalledametapolitics
ofconflictandpower”(1).ForKaplan,thenineteenthcentury’sscientificbreakthroughscreated
a“languageofpower”whichreliedonsuchsynonymsas“‘order,’...‘force,’‘energy,’‘conflict,’
‘struggle’”amongotherstoexpressnotonlythedevelopmentsinthehardsciences,butthosein
thesocialsciencesandhumanities(4).Hefurtherdefinesliterarynaturalismas“ausefultermfor
describing a literary practice and set of programmatic ideas reflecting the laws of
thermodynamics, Darwinian theory, and the sociological thought derived from Adam Smith,
Malthus,Marx,andSpencer”(5).AccordingtoMartin,perhapsthemostinfluentialcontributor
tothisnotionofforcewasHebertSpencer,who,likeDarwin,articulatedaviewofevolutionthat
revolutionized the way in which humans understood the world (xiii). In fact, so powerful was
Spencer’s“descriptionoftheuniverseanditsprocesses”thatitbecamethedefactoparadigm
for an entire host of the late-nineteenth-century thinkers including “philosophers, scientists,
ministers,journalists,andothers”(xiii).5
Aprimaryreasonthatthisframeworkbecamesoinfluentialduringthisperiod,particularlyin
Americaandamongsomanydifferentgroups,wasthatitseemedtologicallyaccountforthe
era’scountlessalterationstothenation’sculturalfabric.ForMartinmanyAmericans,“seeingin
theuniverseofforceabeliefthatexplainedthenatureoftheirsociety—theindustrialization,the
competition, the unremitting change and growth—were reassured to know that this state of
affairswasnotonlyinevitablebutitwasright”(60).Anotherexplanationforthepopularityof
force-theoryinAmericastemsfromitsmeldingofscientificandreligiousexplanationsofreality.
Martin notes that Spencer’s adherents built on his vision of determinism and “made it into a
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3
modeloftheuniversethathadaplaceforGodjustasithadaplaceforscience,andthusjustified
thewaysofboth”(69).Withsuchatotalizingdiscoursedominatingturn-of-thecenturyAmerica,
itisnowonderthatCalifornia—thequintessentialAmericanspace—wouldseethesebeliefsof
divine right and scientific progress play out to drastically reconfigure the state’s social and
physicallandscapes.6
However,thecomfortthatforce-theorygavetolate-nineteenth-centuryAmericansasitseemed
torationallyexplainthechangesaroundthemcamewithahighcost.Whatwasformanyaclear,
organizedexplanationforchangebecame,forothers,ajustificationfor:
someoftheWesternworld’smostpernicioussocialpracticesandtheoriesatthe
turnofthecentury.Forcethinkinggenerallyrationalizedracism,classsuperiority,
imperialism,theacquisitionofwealthandpower,andvenerationofthe‘fittest.’
Explicitlyaphilosophyofinevitableandbenevolentprogress...itmeshedonly
too neatly with the rampant forms of Social Darwinism and helped to obscure
fromotherwiseresponsiblementheobligationandeventhepossibilityofsocial
reform.(xv)
LikeotherAmericanswholookedtotheapparentrationalityofforce-theory,Norriswasattracted
tothisconceptandreliedonittodesignhisliteraryexperimentsregardingthehumancondition.
Yetastheabovereactionstoforce-theoryindicate,hisworkisalsomiredwiththetensionswhich
derive from a reliance on this principle. On one hand, the theory justifies the scientific and
technological breakthroughs to advance the human race while, on the other, it reveals the
oppressive actions inherent in these attempts. Norris grapples with these tensions in his
representationofcentralCalifornia,demonstratinghowscience,economics,andnaturearepart
of a broader discourse concerning what Mark Seltzer defines as a “rivalry between modes of
production and modes of reproduction” that he argues defines much of American literary
naturalism(3).Thisrivalryreliesuponwhathefurthernotes“istheresolutelyabstractaccount
of‘force’thatgovernsthenaturalisttext”(28).Thus,Seltzer’sargumentnotonlysuggeststhe
waysinwhichpeopledominateothers,butinthecaseoftheTheOctopus,howsuchnotionsof
productionandreproduction—inherentinthecultivationofwheat—speaktobroaderconcerns
regardingCalifornia’secologicaltransformationsduringthelatenineteenthandearlytwentieth
centuries.7
Echoingtheprevalenceofforce-theoryevidentinothernaturalisttextssuchasLondon’sTheSeaWolf, Norris’s The Octopus relies on this concept as the foundational discourse to retell the
eventsofthe1880MusselSloughaffairwhichpittedwheatranchersagainsttherailroadina
bloodyshootout.8Infact,Norrisreferstothisprinciplerepeatedlythroughoutthenovelinsuch
well-knownpassagesasthoseneartheendofthetext.Inthissegment,Presley,theEastern-born
poetgonewestinsearchofromance,scanstheSanJoaquinValleyfollowingthemassacreasthe
narrator gives voice to his thoughts: “FORCE only existed—FORCE that brought men into the
world,FORCEthatcrowdedthemoutofittomakewayforthesucceedinggeneration,FORCE
thatmadethewheatgrow,FORCEthatgarnereditfromthesoiltogiveplacetothesucceeding
crop” (634). For Norris, force is the governing principle dictating both human’s and nature’s
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4
existence.Heviewsitasuniversalinitsapplication,andassuch,itbecomestheprimaryessence
toshapethenovel’sevents.
WritingtohispublisherinApril1899,Norrisdescribeshisgrandvisionforcapturingthetragic
shootoutbetweenthewheatfarmersoftheSanJoaquinValleyandtheSouthernPacificRailroad:
“ImeantostudythewholequestionasfaithfullyasIcanandwriteahairliftingstory.Theres[sic]
thechanceforthebig,Epic,dramaticthinginthis,andImeantodoitthoroughly.—getatitfrom
everypointofview,thesocial,agricultural&political.JustsaythelastwordontheR.R.question
in California” (Letters 35).9 Whether or not he actually had the “last word” on the incident is
debatable;however,fewcanarguethatNorrislackedthoroughness.Inattemptingtocreatethis
epictalethatNorrisenvisionedasthefirstinstallmentinhiswheattrilogy,heendedupcreating,
inHeinzIckstadt’ssummation,“perhapstheonlymajorimperialistnovelinAmericanhistory(the
novel of a new empire of power: of machines, markets, corporations)” as it concludes with
California’swheatabouttobeshippedoverseastoIndia’semergingmarkets(26).10WhileIdo
notwanttodownplayIckstadt’sattentiontoNorris’streatmentofempireinthesescenes,my
own interests lie in the less overt references to empire that Norris explores in the text’s first
chapter.ThroughtheseopeningpassagesandPresley’sobservations,Norrisarticulateswhathe
envisionsasthetroublingsocial,agricultural,andpoliticalconditionsoflate-nineteenth-century
California,conditionswhichareallrootedintheshiftingeconomiesoftheCentralValleyand
theirrelianceonlandandwater.
Norris’s representation of these changes in the novel’s opening pages are illuminated by
RaymondWilliams’sdescriptionofdominant,residual,andemergentculturalsystemsandtheir
relationships to one another. In Marxism and Literature (1977), Williams explains that “the
complexity of a culture is to be found not only in its variable processes and their social
definitions—traditions, institutions, and formation—but also in the dynamic interrelations, at
every point of the process” (121). As Williams outlines, dominant cultural processes maintain
their authority through their appropriation and repression of residual forms. Although these
latterexpressionsresistandopposethedominantsystem,thegoverningculturallenstransforms
themthroughalegitimizingnarrativethatdownplaystheviolenceandpowerdifferentialevident
intheirrelationship(122).Similarly,emergentformsare“incorporated”astheyrespondtothe
dominantthroughaprocessthatseekstoward“recognition,acknowledgement,andthusaform
ofacceptance”(125).Ultimately,suchincorporation“narrowsthegapbetweenalternativeand
oppositionalelements”(126),normalizingandobfuscatinganyformofinherentresistancetothe
dominantsystem.InTheOctopusthisongoingprocessofresistanceandincorporationemerges
throughtherelationshipsbetweentherailroad,thevalley’sSpanish-Mexicanheritage,andthe
cooperativeirrigationeffortsoftheAngloranchers.EmblematicofWilliams’sdominant,residual,
andemergentprocesses,respectively,thesethreecomponentsofNorris’stextrevealthecultural
clashesuponwhichCalifornia’seconomicandagriculturalmightinthelate-nineteenthcentury
isbuilt.
EachoftheseculturalsystemsbecomesthesubjectofPresley’swanderingsinthenovel’sfirst
chapter.WhenthereaderfirstmeetsPresley,heis,ascriticReubenJ.Ellisdescribes,“inmedias
ride”(17)since“earlythatmorning...[he]haddecidedtomakealongexcursionthroughthe
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5
neighbouringcountry,partlyonfootandpartlyonbicycle”(Norris,TheOctopus3).Notingthis
peculiarentryofoneofthetext’sprotagonists,Ellisremarks,“TheOctopusistoanimportant
degree an exercise in the point of view established by the introduction of Presley in this first
chapter.Whateverelsethenovelmightbe,itisplainlyanaccountofwhatthisbicycle-ridingpoet
foundwhenhecametoconvalesceinthedryairoftheSanJoaquin”(17).WhilePresleyhasa
numberofinterestingencountersduringhistripthroughtheLosMuertosRanchtothesmall
townofGuadalajaraasheperiodicallyinterruptshisjourneytotalktoneighborsandobservehis
surroundings, perhaps those most significant speak to the region’s history and current
inhabitants.UsingPresley’scyclingadventureashisnarrativeframe,Norrisleadsthereader—
through Presley’s pauses—on a journey through California’s imperial past, one “already
contouredtovariouseconomicempires”(Mrozowski167).Movingthroughandcommentingon
this“historicalpalimpsest”(167),PresleyrevealsthepowerswhichtransformtheSanJoaquin
Valley’sagriculturalbasefromindividuallandholderstocorporatecontrol.
Infact,itisfromtheveryfirstsentenceofthenovelthatNorrisintroducesPresleyandthereader
totheomnipresencethattherailroad—asthedominantculturalforce—playswithinthevalley’s
transformation.AshepedalshiswaypastCaraher’ssaloon,“Presleywassuddenlyawareofthe
faintandprolongedblowingofasteamwhistlethatheknewmustcomefromtherailroadshops
nearthedepotatBonneville”(3).Ramblingoverthedusty,roughroadonhisbicycle,Presley’s
attentionisdrawntothesubtleyetpersistentsoundofthetrain’swhistlethatinterruptshis
errand,aforeshadowingofthecontinuousinterferencethattherailroadwillperforminthetext.
HavingstoppedattheHomeRanchtodelivertheDerrick’stheirmail,Presleyconverseswith
HarranDerrickaboutgrainratesandtheincreaseintariffsimposedbytherailroad.Condemning
S.Behrman,theBonnevillebankerandrailroadagentforTulareCounty,andtheriseinshipping
rates,Harranremarks,“whynotholdusupwithaguninourfaces,andsay‘handsup,’andbe
donewithit?”(11).Notwishingtogetcaughtupinthegrowingstrugglebetweenthefarmers
andtherailroad,PresleyleavesHarrantofumeovertherailroad’sdecisionwhilehelightsout
againacrosstheranches.PresleythenmeetsDyke,oneoftherailroadengineers,whoexplains
howhehasbeenrecentlyfiredbytherailroaddespitehiswillingnesstoworkforitduringastrike.
Atthispointinthechapter,Presleyhasencounteredthetrainonthreedifferentoccasions,either
throughhearingithimself,orhearingaboutitfromothers;everywherehegoeshesensesthe
railroad’spresence.Butnotuntilhisownencounterwiththetraindoesitsoverwhelmingand
extensivepowerbecomeunmistakablyclear.
MakinghiswaybacktotheLosMuertosRanchoafteralongdayinthesaddle,Presleycomes
uponthePacificandSouthwesterntracks.Together,thebikeandthetrainreflecttheperiod’s
technologicaladvancements,andallowNorristoplayfullycommentontheromanceoftheWest
asitswide-openspacesarenowtraversedbytwo-wheelsandanironhorseratherthanatrusty
steed.Andasoursupposedheroramblesdownthecountyroad,awashinhisownidyllicthoughts
inspiredbythevast,serenelandscape,heisrudelybroughtbacktoreality.Amidthecacophony
causedbythepassingofthe“crackpassengerengineofwhichDykehadtoldhim”(49),Presley
hears the sickening bleats from a flock of sheep as they are struck by the speeding train.
Overwhelmedbythebrutalityofthescene,hequicklymakeshiswaybacktotheranch“almost
running,evenputtinghishandsoverhisearstillhewasoutofhearingdistanceofthatallbut
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6
humandistress”(50).Whenhefinallyfeelsoutofrangefromtheanimals’horriblecriesofagony,
heuncovershisearstofindtheworldturnedtosilenceonceagain.Andyet,thesilenceisbroken
asithadbeenearlierinthedaywhenthetrain’swhistlecallstohimfromafar:“Then,faintand
prolonged, across the levels of the ranch, he heard the engine whistling for Bonneville” (51).
Whereasthewhistlehadawokenhimearlierfromhispastoralrevelry,itnowresoundedwith
“ominousnotes,hoarse,bellowing,ringingwiththeaccentsofmenaceanddefiance”totakeon
theformof“thegallopingmonster...shootingfromhorizontohorizon...flingingtheechoof
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,themonster,theColossus,theOctopus”(51).Whatwasonceasimplereminderofhis
morning’serrandhadtransformedbyday’sendintoanightmare.Thepiercingwhistle,the“echo
of its thunder,” and its path “shooting from horizon to horizon” symbolize the railroad’s
pervadinginfluenceintheSanJoaquinValley,punctuatingthenovelwithitspresencetoremind
thereaderofitsdominanceoverthetext’sothercharacters.
Asperhapsthenovel’smosticonicscene,numerouscriticshavecommentedonthefunctionof
therailroadthroughoutthetextanditssudden,violentappearanceinthisbucolicsetting.11What
thesereadingssuggestisthatnotonlyistherailroadanintrusivepowertobereckonedwith,it
ismoresignificantlyarepresentationofmaleaggressiontowardthelandandpeople.Likewiseit
reflectsSeltzer’sattentiontoproductionandreproductionasacentralmotifinthenaturalist
novel since the railroad operates to further economic productivity of California’s agricultural
markets. Yet as the railroad represents a force of masculine, economic, and technological
potency, it also becomes the totalizing force, the dominant cultural form, dictating all other
subjects and residual and emergent practices within the novel. As Mrozowski observes, the
railroadisthemeansbywhichPresleyisbrought“backintothesocialtruthofthevalleyandits
regimented timetables set by the powerful Pacific and Southwestern” (167). This particular
“social truth” is rooted in the “immense empiric power now situated around him,” which he
cannotinitiallyseebecauseheis“sodazzledbytheruinsofpastempires”(167).AsPresleymakes
theroundsthroughoutthevalleyinthefirstchapterandisrepeatedlyremindedoftherailroad’s
presenceinthedailyaffairsofwhatheattemptstoenvisionasanidyllicpastoralspace,hecomes
tounderstandjusthowentrenchedtherailroad’spoweriswithintheregion.With“tentaclesof
steelclutchingintothesoil,”Norrissuggeststhatthisdominantimperialistforcepervadesevery
aspectofthevalley’sculture,therebydictatinghowoneenvisionsitspast,present,andfuture.
One of the “ruins of past empires” that captures Presley’s attention is that of the SpanishMexicanranchosystemthatoncedominatedCalifornia’sagriculturaleconomy.Thisaspectof
thevalley’sresidualculturechangeddramaticallyinthewakeoftheMexican-AmericanWarand
the impact that Anglo-American legal and economic systems would have on California’s land.
Following the war, an event historian Patricia Limerick calls “a shameless land grab and an
aggressiveattackonMexicansovereignty”(232),the1848TreatyofGuadalupeHidalgosigned
overMexico’snorthernterritoriestotheUnitedStates.Althoughthislandtransferopenedup
this vast region to Anglo development, the United States and those who migrated westward
faced the challenge of actually securing the land from those who had lived there before
Guadalupe-Hidalgo since the 1848 treaty had protected Californio land ownership rights. Yet,
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
7
theserich,productivelandsprovedtoovaluabletobeleftinthehandsofaconqueredpeople,
andsoavarietyofmeasureswereenactedtomakea“legal”shiftinownership.In1851,asnoted
CaliforniahistorianKevinStarrexplains,theBoardofLandCommissionersconvenedtooversee
thisprocess,“assess[ing]titlebytitle,thevalidityofallSpanishandMexicanland-grantclaims”
(California 104). Not surprisingly, the Californios saw this act as “a betrayal of the Treaty of
GuadalupeHidalgoandalegalizedformoftheft”(104-05).AndasStarrfurthersuggests,“the
question of land grants . . . would be compounded when the railroad became the largest
landownerinthestate”(105)asCaliforniawaseagertobolsteritseconomicpositionratherthan
supportthepracticesofwhatamountedtoaforeignculture.12
AsoneofthelargestlandholdersinCalifornia,therailroadplayedacrucialroleindictatingthe
state’s agricultural development. In his extensive study of the Central and Southern Pacific
railroadsandtheirinfluenceonthedevelopmentofCaliforniaintoaneconomicmachine,Richard
Orsi traces the railroad’s origins to California’s gold rush and the intervening years when
Californians, challenged by their geographical isolation, looked to make their mark on the
national stage. Eventually, a number of railroad companies emerged to improve California’s
economicstature,butitwasnotuntilthequestionofCalifornia’spositionasafreeorslavestate,
theoutbreakoftheCivilWar,and,ultimately,thefederalgovernment’sdecisiontoconstructa
transcontinentalrailwaythattherailroadbecametheconsummatepowerwhichwoulddevelop
thestateinsubsequentyears(Orsi3).WiththeCentralPacificacquiringhugelandholdingsfrom
thefederalgovernmenttobuildeastfromtheWestCoastwhereitwouldeventuallyjointhe
UnionPacificin1869,therailroadopenedthelandsadjacenttoitstracksforsettlement,ushering
in the dawn of California’s agricultural might and a lasting transformation from the SpanishMexicanlandgrantsystem.13AmidtheseshiftingculturaltidesPresleyentersGuadalajara,arundown relic of California’s past and a prime example of William’s residual culture which the
railroadwouldbothappropriateandreplace.
As Presley wheels his way into Guadalajara with the intent to “have a Spanish dinner at
Solotari’s,”Norrisunmasksthevalley’shistoricpastanditsSpanish-Mexicanheritage(Norris,The
Octopus 4). Here, the narrator wastes no time in describing the dilapidated state of this
communitywhich“hadenjoyedafierceandbrilliantlife”when“theraisingofcattlewasthe
greatindustryofthecountry”(20).Butthenarratorfurtherobservesthatthesehalcyondayshad
alloccurred“beforetherailroadcame...Nowitwasmoribund”(20).Astherailroadshiftedthe
economic base of the valley from ranching to wheat and influenced Bonneville’s growth,
Guadalajarahadbecomea“decayedanddyingMexicantown,”survivingsolelyonthebusinesses
thatcateredto“thoseoccasionalEasterntouristswhocametovisittheMissionofSanJuan”
(20). Reduced to little more than a tourist destination, Guadalajara’s inhabitants lament the
town’s transformation from its heyday under the Californio land grant system to a relic of
nostalgiaasanewregimerises.
However, when Presley finally enters Solotari’s and joins its patrons for a meal, this
transformationandthereactionoftheresidualculturetothedominantenterprisebecomeseven
more apparent. In Solotari’s, one of the few businesses still in operation, Presley shares the
restaurant with “two young Mexicans (one of whom was astonishingly handsome, after the
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
8
melodramatic fashion of his race) and an old fellow . . . decrepit beyond belief” (20). The
descriptionsthatfollowdepicttheMexicans,theirsong,andtheireventualconversationthat
capitalizeontheromanceofthebygoneSpanish-Mexicanempireandtheirtraditionallanduse
practices.Thenarratordescribesthesemenas“decayed,picturesque,vicious,andromantic...
relics of a former generation, standing for a different order of things” (20). Where these
individualsandtheirlandholdingsatonetimeprovedanobstaclefortherailroad’sdominance
andtheopeningupofthevalleytothearrivalofthousandsoffarmers,their“differentorderof
things”—emblematicofWilliams’sresidualculture—isnowonlyaremindertoPresleyofapast
largelyextinct,ahistorytocommemoratenostalgically.Heeavesdropsontheconversationof
theoldmanwhoreminiscesaboutthevalleyinthedaysofbandits,explorers,andgrandmenof
theSpanish-Mexicansystem.Eventuallyjoiningthemanforadrink,Presleylearnshowmuchof
the valley was once part of a feudal-like system where “Los Muertos was a Spanish grant, a
veritableprincipality”(20-1).Theoldmanlongsforthesedayswhenthevalleyboastedavariety
ofindustries,when“therewasalwaysplentytoeat,andclothesenoughforall”(21),suggesting
thatundertherailroad’sdominionconditionshadgreatlydeteriorated.
Missingtheolddays,themanalsoscornsthealterationstothevalley’sagriculturalbase.He
exclaims,“whatwouldFatherUlivarrihavesaidtosuchacropasSeñorDerrickplantsthesedays?
Tenthousandacresofwheat!”(21).Withfurthermemorializationoftheresidualculturethrough
tales of the nobles who once ruled the valley and their loves and losses, the man eventually
concludeshistalesighing,“Ah,thosewerethedays.Thatwasagaylife.This,”referringtowhat
had replaced those times, “this is stupid” (22). Speaking on behalf of a displaced and
disenfranchised people, the centenarian condemns the imperial presence of the railroad, its
Anglo-backedfinanciers,andeventhewheatbaronswhohavetransformedthevalleyfroma
bucolicfiefdomtoaone-crop,cashmachine.Caughtupinthetale,Presley,too,sharestheold
man’ssorrow.Butasanoutsider,hislongingrepresentstheend-of-centuryromanticizationof
the now exotic Mission system, a shift indicative of how the dominant culture appropriates
throughforcethatwhichithadwrestledawayfromtheresidual.
Later in the chapter, as Presley peddles his way back to the Home ranch, he passes the old,
dilapidatedSanJuanmission“whereswungthethreecrackedbells,thegiftoftheKingofSpain”
(42).14WhilethemissionanditsCatholicbackingonceresistedAngloaspirations,ithadnowbeen
appropriated by the dominant socio-economic matrix. Whereas this foreign religion, its
practitioners, and their particular method of colonizing and cultivating the region once
threatened the United States’ sense of Manifest Destiny, they now symbolize, under the
dominantsystemcharacterizedbytherailroadtrustandthetouristeconomy,quaintrelicsofan
idyllic past to which tourists can escape and forget modern-day pressures.15 The irony of this
appropriation,ofcourse,isthatitreliesontheremovaloftheHispanolandownerasanintegral
player in the region’s actual affaires. This commodification of California’s past is indicative of
“imperialist nostalgia” which Renato Rosaldo defines as “a particular kind of nostalgia, often
found under imperialism, where people mourn the passing of what they themselves have
transformed”(108).Onlyoncethoseofaparticularcomplexionandheritagearedeemedunfit
toownandcultivatethelandcanthecelebrationoftheirreligiousandagriculturalpracticesby
AngloAmericabegin.16
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
9
Presley’svisittoSolotari’soccupiesakeymomentintheopeningchapterandanticipatestherest
of the text’s imperialist focus. This scene underscores the long history of empire in California
whichtransitionsfromtheSpanish-Mexicanlandowners’relianceonnativepeoplestosupport
theireconomytotherailroad’scontroloftheland-grantsystemforitssupremacy.Italsospeaks
totheflowofforceNorristracesbetweenCalifornia’swheatempireandthenewwheatmarkets
inIndiareferencedattheendofthenovel.Nevertheless,thisimportantpauseinPresley’sride
speaks to another empire—one which would make this imperial shift eastward possible. As
Presley’srideacrosstheranchesinthefirstchapterrevealsthedominantandresidualcultures
ofcentralCalifornia,hisjourneyalsorevealsthoseculturesjustemerging,those“newmeanings
andvalues,newpractices,newrelationshipsandkindsofrelationship[that]arecontinuallybeing
created”(Williams123).UnderscoringthesignificanceofthesemomentsinPresley’sjourney,
NicolasWitschicontendsthatthisnovel“offerssomethingnotyetseeninanywidelycirculated
literaryprosefromCalifornia,forinhisfirstchapterNorrisoffersavisionofanemergingworld
inwhicheconomic,political,andsocialrelationshipsaredeterminednotbyminingbutratherby
water” (109). As perhaps the first critic to note Norris’s attention to this emerging industry,
Witschiastutelyobservesthatthischapteris“unmistakablymarkedateachofitsdramaticbeats
withwater”(110).Buildingonhisobservations,IturntohowNorris’sreferencestowater,aridity,
andtheinfrastructurenecessarytosupportagricultureinthisregionunderscorethecompeting
claimsforthisresourcethatbeardirectimpactonCalifornia’sfutureasanagriculturalpower.
ItisspecificallyinPresley’spausessurroundingHooven’splacewherethesenewpracticesand
relationships regarding irrigation and agriculture emerge. Before Presley stops to chat with
Hooven,aGermantenantoftheDerrick’s,thenarratordescribestheregion’saridconditions
thatplaguetheranchesandcomplicatePresley’sjourney:
duringthedryseasonofthepastfewmonths,thelayerofdusthaddeepenedand
thickenedtosuchanextentthatmorethanoncePresleywasobligedtodismount
andtrudgealongonfoot,pushinghisbicycleinfrontofhim....allthevastreaches
of the San Joaquin Valley—in fact all South Central California, was bone dry,
parched,andbakedandcrispedafterfourmonthsofcloudlessweather,whenthe
dayseemedalwaysatnoon,andthesunblazedwhitehotoverthevalleyfromthe
CoastRangeinthewesttothefoothillsoftheSierrasintheeast.(4)
Because most of the Valley’s rainfall occurs in the winter months, such dry spells during the
growingseasonaretypical.Despitetheseconditions,wheatwasthecropofchoiceintheSan
Joaquinbecauseofitshardinessindryclimatesandbecausefarmerscouldrelyondryfarming
techniqueswhichusesonlywhateverrainfallstoturnaprofit(HundleyJr.90).Butwithdrought
conditions like those that hit the region throughout the 1860s and 1870s, “even scrupulously
practiceddryfarmingcouldnotpreventtotalcroplossformany,especiallyinthesouthernSan
JoaquinValley”(90).Inlightoftheserepeateddroughts,thedryfarmersandwheatbaronsbegan
tolooktoirrigationasapanacea.
ContemplatinghisaridsurroundingsasheapproachestheLowerRoad,Presleyencountersone
of the county’s water tanks, which “was a landmark” (4). Often covered by advertisements
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
10
paintedonbythelocalcitizenry,these“couldbereadformiles”(4).Andbecause“hewasvery
thirsty,Presleyresolvedtostopforamomenttogetadrink”(4).Abouttoslakehisthirst,he
noticesmenpaintingoverapreviousadonthewatertank,whichnowannouncesS.Behrman’s
business services (5). Similar to Presley’s observation at the ditch, these references seem
insignificantexceptfortheirpurposetoorientthereadertothetext’ssettinganditsprinciple
characters.YetasGeorgeHendersonpositsinhistreatmentofthestate’scomplexrelationship
tocapitalismandagricultureinthelate-nineteenth-century,“theverywaythatNorrisstructures
thischapter,socialandeconomicspaceismadeparamount”(140).Theparchedranch,Presley’s
thirst,andtheloomingwatertowerwhichstandsabovealltheotherlandmarksinthevicinity
symbolize the power of water in this text. And the fact that Behrman’s name and economic
prowessarescrawledonthewatertowercommunicatestheideologyofmonopolisticcapitalism
whichwilldefinethewaterindustrybythenovel’send.
The significance of water for the region and as a theme within this chapter culminates when
PresleystopsatHooven’s.Here,henoticesonceagainthat“therewasnothinggreeninsight.
The wheat stubble was of dirty yellow; the ground, parched, cracked, and dry, of a cheerless
brown”(Norris,TheOctopus13).WithHoovenawayfromhishome,Presleytakesamomentto
surveythesurroundings,focusingonanareaoftheranchthatheldparticularsignificance.“What
gavespecialinteresttoHooven’s,”thenarratorexplains,
wasthefactthatherewastheintersectionoftheLowerRoadandDerrick’smain
irrigatingditch,avasttrenchnotyetcompleted,whichheandAnnixter...were
jointlyconstructing.Itrandirectlyacrosstheroadandatrightanglestoit,andlay
adeepgrooveinthefieldbetweenHooven’sandthetownofGuadalajara,some
threemilesfurtheron.Besidesthis,theditchwasanaturalboundarybetween
twodivisionsoftheLosMuertosranch,thefirstandthefourth.(14)
Outsideofthepreviousreferencestowater,whatthispauserevealshaslittleimportanceother
thantosignifyavariationinthelandscapeandtoallowPresleytimetodecidewhichpathtotake
toGuadalajara.However,theattentiontowatergiveninthenovel’sopeningpagessuggeststhat
thereismuchmoregoingonherethanmereplotdevelopment.
Indeed, as we consider the irrigation ditch in light of these other references to water and its
placement on the map, which is part of the novel’s prefatory material, the ditch becomes a
powerful ideological symbol that extends its significance far beyond its obvious role as the
location for the shootout between the ranchers and the railroad men.17 Although Henderson
observes that this map “graphically illustrates the forces that intersect at the ranch and its
environs” (140), Leigh Ann Litwiller Berte further elaborates on the map’s representation of
power,suggestingthat
whileNorrisincludessometopographicalandnaturalfeaturesonthemap...far
greateremphasisisgiventoroads...railroutes,andtelephonelines—thelinesof
communication and transportation through which economic force flows . . .
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
11
Norris’smaprepresentsmorethanamaterialgeographyofthenovel:itmakes
visiblethecirculationofforce.(203-04)
IndeedthesemanmadedevelopmentscaptureanimportantmomentintheValley’smarchto
modernization as faster and more reliable means of communication and transportation will
improve the region’s access to future markets. However, what Berte neglects to note is that
although the features above are potent conveyers of economic might, so too is the irrigation
ditch.Notonlywillitcarrythepreciouswaterthatwillbringmorelandundercultivationand
yieldgreaterharvests,buttheditchalsocarriestheimperialdreamsandeventualrealitiesof
reclamationonanindustrialscalethatwillforeveralterCalifornia’secology,economy,andsocial
makeup.
Theditchissuchapowerfulsymbolofforcewithinthenovelbecausewhilemarkingthespace
forthenovel’sviolentclimaxitalsorepresentsatrajectoryofforcewithintheAmericanWest
thatinvolvesallthemajorgroupsrepresentedinthenovel—theSpanish-Mexicans,thewheat
barons,andtherailroadmonopoly—alongwiththeregion’searliestirrigatorswhoareentirely
ignored within the novel. Tracing California’s earliest water development schemes to the
indigenouspeopleswhoinhabitedpresent-dayCalifornia,HundleyJr.showshowtribessuchas
the Paiute manipulated water systems in the Owen’s Valley, a region just east of the Central
ValleyandacrosstheSierraNevadas.Theretheybuiltdamsandcanalshundredsofyearsbefore
the Spanish implemented their own forms of irrigation (21). When the Spanish arrived in the
sixteenth-century,theytooattemptedtoharnesstheregion’swatertosupporttheirmissions—
effortsWorsterdubsas“meansofpowerovertheaboriginalpeoples”(Rivers75).Inthe1800s
Anglo settlers in the West drew on these previous models to irrigate on a much larger scale.
AnnixterandtheDerrick’sconstructtheditchtoimprovetheircropsandultimatelyfollowinthis
tradition, supplanting the Californios before them who stand in their way of divine right to
California’s promising lands. Described in imperialist language, Magnus Derrick’s vision is
grandioseinitsscope:
Hesawonlythegrandcoup,thehugeresults,theEastconquered,themarchof
empirerollingwestward,finallyarrivingatitsstartingpoint,thevague,mysterious
Orient.Hesawhiswheat,likeacrestofanadvancingbillowcrossingthePacific,
burstinguponAsia,floodingtheOrientinagoldentorrent.Itwasthenewera.He
hadlivedtoseethedeathoftheoldandthebirthofthenew;firstthemine,now
theranch;firstgold,nowwheat.(320-21)
Derrick’svisionreliesonthedemiseofearlierresidualculturalformswhoselandpracticeshave
been replaced by the new empire of wheat. Nevertheless, to realize his own dreams, Derrick
mustpartnerwiththerailroadtomovehisgoodstomarket,arelationshipensuringthata“more
persistent pattern emerged: corporate agriculture” (Starr, Inventing 131). No longer isolated
from the world’s markets, wheat barons like Derrick could potentially make huge profits. Of
course,asPresley’sjourneyreveals,droughtalwaysloomsonthehorizon.ForMagnusandhis
fellow wheat farmers to achieve their dream, they begin to work collectively to harness the
valley’sriversandstreamstobringmorereliablewatertotheareainordertomakecropsmore
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
12
productive.Indoingso,theyrespondtotheprofitableeconomicconditionstherailroadhelped
create. However, this partnership also opens the door for the railroad to acknowledge the
possibilities of western water development and to seek control over the region’s water
resources.
Justasthewheatbaronsexploitedtheregion’svastnaturalresourcestoextendtheirprofits,the
railroads equally sought new opportunities to spread their influence. In the case of the San
JoaquinValley,Orsihighlightshowastherailroadplayedacrucialroleintransformingthisregion
into a grower’s paradise and how it became an immensely powerful voice in respect to the
valley’swateruse.Becausetherailroadhadtonavigateextremelyaridexpanses,itcarriedwater
toitsbackcountryoutposts,andasaresult,therailroadbecameoneoftheearliestproponents
anddevelopersofthisfiniteresource(Orsi173).Eventually,therailroadbegantobuilditsown
waterprojectstoencourageagriculture,andultimatelydevelopitslandholdings.Andthe1870s
wereapivotaltimefortherailroadintheCentralValley:“bythemid-1870s,therailroadhad
successfully discovered local supplies throughout the valley and had drilled wells or tapped
streams and had installed steam pumps or gravity-flow systems” (175).18 Therefore, like the
wheatfarmers,therailroadsawthepotentialformanipulatingtheregion’swaterresourcesfor
profit.
However,tofullytakeadvantageoftheavailablewater,theseirrigationprojectsnecessitated
immensecapitalthatthelocallandownerscouldnevergeneratealone.Thus,weseeMagnusand
Annixter,likethefarmerswhoperishedintheBattleofMusselSlough,pooltheirfinancesto
constructaditchonlytobedefeatedbecauseofsoaringlandprices.AsStarrnotes,“thetenant
ranchersoftheMusselSlougharea...hadimprovedtheirrentalpropertieswithaself-financed
irrigationdistrictonthepromisethattheywouldbeabletobuytheirranchesat$2.50peracre”
(California156).Yet,whentheseearlyirrigationentrepreneurssawthosepricesskyrocketto$40
anacrebecauseoftheimprovementstheymadetotheland,theyfelttheyhadlittlechoicebut
tomakeastandandresist(156).Thisemergingindustryofsmall-scale,locallycontrolledwater
developmentcameinresponsetothepossibilitiesthattherailroadofferedthroughaccessto
newmarkets.However,theattemptstocontrolthewaterandthelandprovedtooenticingfor
theincomparabledominanceoftheCentralandSouthernPacificRailroad,whichacknowledged
thewheatfarmers’effortstodolikewisebutwhichsteppedintocontroltheextentofresource
development. For as the reasoning went, “[if] profits could be safely made on small irrigated
plots,thenbigprofitscouldsurelybemadeonbigacreage”(HundleyJr.91).AlthoughMagnus’s
acreageisfarfromthatofasmall-timewheatfarmer,itisnothingcomparedtotherailroadwhich
eventuallyowneduptoten-percentofallofCalifornia’slandduringthisperiodandsoughtto
developtheseholdingsthroughirrigatedagriculture(Worster101).Insodoing,itdidnottake
longfortherailroadtobecomethelargestwaterdeveloperinthestate,onlytobeeclipsedby
thefederalgovernmentandpublicutilitiesinthetwentiethcentury(Orsi186-8).
Thesymboloftheuncompletedditchatthebeginningofthenovelissignificantinlightofthe
trajectoryofforcethatNorrisoutlinesthroughoutthetext.Whileitstandsasamonumenttothe
valley’sburgeoningwheatempirewhichreplacedtheindigenousandSpanish-Mexicanmodesof
agriculturalproduction,italsobecomesarelicofthesmall-scale,locallyownedandcontrolled
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
13
waterworkswhichtherailroadwouldeventuallydominate.Thus,wecanreadNorris’sditchas
a significant marker encapsulating the naturalistic program to articulate those forces—social,
economic, scientific, environmental—as they are expressed through dominant, residual, and
emergentculturalformswithinlate-nineteenth-centuryCalifornia.
Nevertheless,foralltheattentiongiventothesevariousforceswhichbringdownthefarmer’s
collectiveknownastheLeague,thenovelisneitherentirelyaccurateinitsportrayaloftheMussel
Slough incident nor is it solely a reflection of pessimistic determinism. “[D]espite Norris’s
researchandtheundeniableaccuracyofcertainaspectsofthenovel,”AdamWoodarguesthat
“TheOctopusisnotanhistoricalnovel”(110).Woodsupportshisassertionthrough“[Norris’s]
simplificationofhistoryinhisreassigningoftheclasspositionofthefarmers...whoactually
resisted and ultimately lost to the railroad [since they] were predominantly working-class
individuals—mostlyimmigrantswhostruckoutWestseekingtosupportthemselvesandtheir
families” (111). This elision of race and class within the novel’s protagonists couples with the
overtRomanticismthroughoutthetextevidentinsuchaspectsasthenoblestrugglebetween
thefarmersandtherailroad,Presley’sadmirationofepiclandscapesandbygonecultures,and
thefinalconclusionwhichseesthewheatonanoblejourneytofeedtheworld.19Together,they
suggestthatNorris’staleismorethananaccurateretellingofadarkpartofCaliforniahistory.
Rather,hismanipulationoftheeventtocreatehisepicreflectstheauthor’sgrapplingbetween
theprogramofforce-theoryheeagerlyembracedandtheromanceandpromisesoftheWest
whichhecouldnotignore.
At the beginning of this article I noted that California provides an ideal setting for American
literarynaturaliststoapplytheircraftbecauseoftheuniquenessoftheland,itshistory,andthe
ideologiesthathaveshapedboth.ThesupposedclosingoftheAmericanFrontierarticulatedby
Turner’sFrontierThesisplaysacrucialroleinthedevelopmentofAmericannaturalismandthose
textslocatedintheWest.Theimplicationsofaclosedfrontiersuggest,accordingtoLawlor,that
“thelargenessoftheWestwasreconstitutedasapotentiallyclaustrophobic,totallysocialized
space”(58).WhileNorris’sSanJoaquinValleymightnotseemcrowdedbytoday’sstandards,the
historyofthisareasuggeststhatmanycompetinginterestsandideologiesexistedamongvarying
groupseachvyingforcontroloverwhatwasrelatively“open”land.Withthelocalespermeated
by various ideological factors, Lawlor notes that “even the most wild-seeming element of
Western landscape or character is accounted for in advance by the legal, commercial, and
scientific codes that had comprehensively mapped the continent” (58). The foundation upon
which all of these codes exist is encapsulated in force-theory as this accounts for humans’
relationshipwiththenaturalworldwhichtheyseektoown,buy,andtransformandthehuman
communitiestheydesiretocontrol.InthecaseofNorris’sCalifornia,thisperspectiveisevident
astheranchersandrailroadbattleoverlandjurisdiction,cropprices,andbyextension,western
waterrightsattheexpenseofthepriorinhabitantsoftheland.
WhileNorrismayhavelookedtootherWesternenvironsandeventstodevelopthesethemes,
hechoseasettingwhichembodiedtheAmericanDreamlikenootherplaceinthenationasits
promises of health and prosperity were unparalleled, thereby attracting thousands to its
hallowedgrounds.IncludedintheranksofthoseinfluencedbytheallureofCalifornia’sdreams
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
14
wasNorriswhowrotewhen“apassionforbeautifulCaliforniafilledthesoulsoftheartistsand
intellectuals” (Starr, Americans 417-8). Inspired by the state’s varied geography, agricultural
productivity, and competing economic interests, Norris creates a work that challenges
California’s idyllic image as an ecological and social paradise to suggest how violence and
conquest—expressed through the interactions between dominant, residual, and emergent
cultures—go hand in hand with the state’s economic development. As he distills such issues
through the ubiquitous discourse of determinism circulating during his day, Norris blurs the
boundariesbetweenpessimisticandoptimisticversionsofnaturalismthroughhisrepresentation
ofturn-of-the-centuryCaliforniatoshowhowthesiteofsomeofthenation’smostcherished
idealsisnonethelesssowninforce.
Endnotes
1
ThenovelportraysthedemiseofDonMariano,hisfamily,andhisestatetothehordesofAnglosquatters,
corruptpoliticiansinWashington,railroadmagnateswhoallclamoredfortherich,expansiveacreagetiedupin
Mexican/Spanishlandgrants.
2
ThischallengetothemythicWestisvaluableasitprefiguresbynearlyacenturytheadventofNewWestern
Historyinthe1980swhicharguedthattheWestshouldbereadasaprocessofongoingconquestofmarginalized
groupsratherthananentranceintoanemptylandwaitingtobecultivated.SeePatriciaLimerick’sTheLegacyof
Conquest:TheUnbrokenPastoftheAmericanWestandDonaldWorster’sUnderWesternSkies:Natureand
HistoryintheAmericanWestforexcellenttreatmentsofthistopic.
3
InAmericanLiteraryNaturalism,ADividedStream(1956),Walcuttarguesthatnaturalistliteratureembodied
eitherapessimisticoroptimisticview,onebasedonhuman’sinabilitytocontroltheirfateandanotherthatledto
empowermentandsocialreform(23).Norris’sworkhastypicallybeenviewedasembracingthemorenegative
sideofthiscoinwhilethewritingofothernaturalistssuchasCharlottePerkinsGilman’spresentsamorepositive
viewofthehumanexperience.SeeGaryScharnhorst’sCharlottePerkinsGilmanforaconsiderationofher“reform
naturalism.”
4
LawlordescribesNaturalistWesternfictionasthosetextssetintheAmericanWestwhichembodyboththe
“romanticconstructionsofselfandnation”and“determinism’srivalideologies”(3).
5
ForconsistencyIwilltheterm‘force-theory’torefertothisgoverningparadigmofpower,order,andconflict
duringthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcentury.
6
ThenotionoftheGreatAmericanDesert,whichoncedefinedAmericawestoftheMississippiandinitially
rebuffedlarge-scaleimmigrationtotheregion,eventuallygavewaytothefaithexpressedinthebiblical
injunction:“thedesertshallrejoice,andblossomastherose”(Isaiah35:1).Thisbeliefwasaguidingprinciplein
reclaimingtheWest’saridlands,andjoinedwiththeadvancementsinagriculturalscienceandhydrological
engineering,madethedreamarealityinmanycases.
7
Seltzer’sargumenthingesonwhathecontendsisAmerica’ssharedloveofnatureandtechnology,arelationship
whichhedubsthe“Americanbody-machinecomplex”(3).Hisattentiontonaturefocusesonpeopleandtheways
inwhichtechnologyshapesbodies.Myinteresthere,ontheotherhand,ishowthenaturalworldintersectswith
technology/scienceinthenaturalisttext,andhowquestionsaboutCalifornia’snaturalresourcedevelopmentare
attheheartofTheOctopus.
8
WolfLarsen,London’sirascibleseacaptain,preciselycapturesSocialDarwinismwhenstating:“Ibelievelifeisa
mess...Itislikeyeast,ferment,athingthatmovesandmaymove...Thebigeatthelittlethattheymaycontinue
tomove,thestrongeattheweakthattheymayretaintheirstrength.Theluckyeatthemostandmovethe
longest,thatisall”(40).
9
TheSouthernPacificiscalledthePacificandSouthwesterninthenovel.
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
15
10
InNorris’sessay“TheFrontierGoneAtLast,”heenvisionstheprogressofWesternempireeventuallyturning
backonitselfandmovingeast.Heargues,“becausethereisnolongeraFrontiertoabsorbouroverplusofenergy,
becausethereisnolongerawildernesstoconquerandbecausewestillmustmarch,stillmustconquer,we
remembertheolddayswhenourancestorsbeforeusfoundtheoutletfortheiractivitycheckedand,rebounding,
turnedtheirfacesEastward...sowe.NosoonerhavewefoundthatourpathtoWestwardhasendedthan,
reactingEastward,weareattheOldWorldagain,marchingagainstit,invadingit,devotingouroverplusofenergy
toitssubjugation”(Responsibilities73-74).FormoreonNorrisandimperialismseeRussCastronovo’s“GeoAesthetics:Fascism,Globalism,andFrankNorris.”
11
Forexample,seeLeoMarx’sTheMachineintheGarden:TechnologyandthePastoralIdeainAmerica(1964),
DonaldPizer’sRealismandNaturalisminNineteenth-CenturyAmericanLiterature(1966),andZena
Meadowsong’s“RomancingtheMachine:AmericanNaturalisminTransatlanticContext”(2011).ForLeoMarxthe
railroadrepresentsthecomplexpastoralismillustratedbythe“machineinthegarden”motifthatheregardsasa
definingcharacteristicofAmericanpastoralism.Ontheotherhand,DonaldPizerhassuggestedthattherailroad’s
appearanceislessatensionbetweentechnologyandthenaturalworldthana“particularrailroadcompanywhose
monopolisticpracticesareantitheticaltoaparticularnaturallaw”(138).Thatis,theproblemisnottherailroadper
se,butthewaythatitisusedbythosewhocontrolit:theTrust(139).Morerecently,ZenaMeadowsongargues
thattherailroad’sprevalenceandpowerisindicativeofAmericanNaturalism’slinktoZolaandhis“monster
machine”whichforNorris“captures,withfigurativeauthority,thehorroroftheman-madeworld”(30).
12
LandgrantswereanintegralpartofHispanosettlementintheNewWorld.TheSpanishmonarchyownedall
landsbutdeededouthugeterritoriestomissionsandsettlerstocolonizetheselands.UnderMexicanrule,land
grantsweregivenasranchoswhereextendedfamiliescultivatedvasttracksofthecentralandsouthernportions
ofthestate.SeeStarr’sCaliforniaandHundley’sGreatThirstforabriefoverviewofCalifornia’slandgrants.See
alsoJuanEstevanArellano’s“LaCuencaylaQuerencia”foramoredetaileddiscussionofthelandandwaterlaws
governinglandgrantsparticularlyinNewMexico.
13
Itisworthnotingthatdespitethepassingofthelandgrantsystem,Californiacontinuedtomaintainland
ownershiponahugescale.“MuchofCaliforniawouldremainresistanttosmallfarming,”asStarrobserves
(California105).
14
VariousscholarshavenotedthatnomissionactuallyexistedintheSanJoaquinValley.Thenovel’sSanJuande
GuadalajaraMissionisbasedonSanJuanBautistanearHollister,CA.Forexample,seeWyattpp.96-97.
15
KevinStarrpointstoHelenHuntJackson’sRamona(1884)as“thecentralformulationofthemythofOld
California”(MaterialDreams252).Henotes,however,thatthereexistedother“symbolicappropriationsof
HispanicCalifornia”decadesbeforeJackson’snovelappeared.Seehischapter“TheSantaBarbaraHeritage”fora
lengthierdiscussiononthistopic.
16
NotwithstandingthetransferaloflandownershipbetweentheCaliforniosandtheAnglos,NorrisHundleyJr.
suggeststhatthis“didnotmeanachangeinlanduse”(89).Henoteshowcattleranchingcontinuedtoflourish
althoughwheatproductionbecametheprimaryagriculturalinterestbecauseofthe“vagariesofweatherand
market”(89).Thus,weseeTheOctopus’slandownersperpetuatethefeudal-likesettingtheoldMexicanadmired
fromhisowndaywhentheCaliforniodonsruledthevalleywhilealsoembracingtheopportunitieswheatfarming
provided.
17
ThiscartographicrepresentationofpowerisalsoreflectedinLymanDerrick’sconsiderationofamapdepicting
thestateofCalifornia’srailroadsystem.Uponthismap“rantheplexusofred,averitablesystemofblood
circulation...thatshotoutformthemainjugularandwenttwistingupintosomeremotecountry,layinghold
uponsomeforgottenvillageortown...agiganticparasitefatteninguponthelife-bloodofanentire
commonwealth”(289).
18
Notonlydidtherailroadcometocontroltheirrigationinfrastructureinthearea,italsooversawall
transportationontheSanJoaquinandSacramentoRivers(Starr,“Introduction,”TheOctopusxiv).
19
Norris’sRomanticstrain,evidentinhisdepictionsofthelandandthemissionsystem,isfurtheredbythe
VanameeandAngélestory.Themysticvagabondlongsforhislostlovewhohadbeenbrutallyrapedandlefttodie
atthemission.Returningtothesiteofthecrimeeacheveninginanattempttosummonher,heseemsto
telepathicallycallherfromdeath:“aVisionrealized—adreamcometrue”(391).Norrisdescribesthissupposed
reincarnation—whomVanameelearnsisactuallyAngéle’sdaughterofthesamename—andalignsitwiththe
CultivatingCalifornia(1-18)
16
miraculousgrowthofthewheat,whichlikeAngéle’sdaughter“calledforthfromoutthedarkness,fromoutthe
gripoftheearth,ofthegrave,fromoutcorruption,rosetriumphantintolightandlife”(393).
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