Deal in Wheat and Other Stories of the New and Old West

by Frank Norris

Frank Norris was a late 19th century American novelist writing in the naturalist genre. His most famous works include McTeague (1899), The Octopus: A California Story (1901), and The Pit (1903). His works show socialistic tendencies and were influenced by Darwin and Huxley. His work often includes depictions of suffering caused by corrupt and greedy turn-of-the-century corporate monopolies.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Read For School

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

Naturalistic novels of noted American writer Benjamin Franklin Norris, Junior, brother of Charles Gilman Norris and sister-in-law of Kathleen Thompson Norris, about American life include McTeague in 1899.

This novelist during the Progressive era predominantly authored works that include The Octopus: A California Story (1901) and The Pit (1903). Although he not openly supported socialism as a political system, his work nevertheless evinces a socialist mentality and influenced socialist-progressive writers, such as Upton Beall Sinclair. Philosophical defense of Thomas Henry Huxley of the advent of Darwinism profoundly influenced him like many of his contemporaries. Norris studied under Joseph LeConte, who at the University of California, Berkeley, taught an optimistic strand of Darwinist philosophy that particularly influenced him. Through many of his novels, notably McTeague, runs a preoccupation with the notion of the civilized man overcoming the inner "brute," his animalistic tendencies. His peculiar and often confused brand of social Darwinism also bears the influence of the early criminologist Cesare Lombroso and the French naturalist Émile Zola.

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tales of the West. Sadly, many owe more to Poe than Zola. Better ones: Wheat, Sudden Death.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the ending of this short story. :)

[Julie Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!

[Christina (TinyTinaTales) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 Stars

This was an interesting one. The use of the bear and the bull to give meaning to the kind of cut throat nature that businesses and the economy can play in people’s lives was done really well. However, that was the only thing that interested me about it, and there wasn’t much there. I am just personally not a huge fan of reading about how one business does something and then impacts everything else. Some people may love that, and that’s great. I just don’t have any interest in it. When I read stories that are only focused on that, I get really bored. That’s because I don’t have any reason to care. Sure, the impacts can be sad sometimes, but that’s not enough of a reason for me to get invested in the story. It’s just too bland for my reading tastes.

[Don Teeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack London Lite

I like Norris' voice. He uses slang and jargon a bit, which lend verisimilitude. I really love that these are, to me, local stories. Because they were written so long ago they're kind of like historical fiction. Since my reviews are for my own reference, note there are good plot elements to borrow from.

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

God that was a great short story. Granted, I'm biased towards financial fiction myself, but even the theme of "the rich play with money while the poor suffer" worms its way to the wheat market as well. The farmer and the speculator meet at either end of the fulcrum.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this twice to comprehend it. The broken up story confused me a bit at first but after dissection, I see that an interesting naturalist shirt story that follows a man and his journey from farmer to beggar to success.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story of wheat dealers.

This one had a great lesson. What happens when greed and trickery happens. Great story

[Freddie the Know-it-all · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Norris is great.

[WJEP · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Memorandum of Sudden Death blew me away, but I didn't hit it off with other short stories in this compilation.

[Marguerite Gratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories are quite dated but still Frank Norris manages to keep the feel of the period in the content, subjects of his stories. The best Norris book is still McTeague.

[Dimitri Bartels · Rating 1 out of 5]

Big no from me.