A Thousand Acres Lit Reduction
Title: A Thousand Acres
Author: Jane Smiley
Date of Publication: 1991
Point of view: The novel is told in first-person from Ginny’s perspective. The readers follow Ginny’s trails of thought as she wanders into her own troubled past. She wants to figure out why she has become a placid, non-confrontational woman, so her thoughts revolve around her struggles to contain her own opinions.
Genre: Tragedy
Writing Style: Narrative. Modern rendition of King Lear. More plot based than style based.
Setting/Atmosphere: Set in Iowa farm country
Plot Development: Larry Cook's two eldest daughter, Ginny and Rose, have been waiting on him hand and foot since the death of their mother, cooking every meal and washing every stitch of clothing as their husbands, Ty and Pete, dutifully assist their father-in-law in the daily operations of the farm. Larry’s youngest daughter, Caroline, escapes the farm with the support of her sisters. She plans to become a successful lawyer. Caroline marries another lawyer and lives a sophisticated life in Des Moines. A Thousand Acres begins at a pig roasting party hosted by neighbor Harold Clark. One of his sons, Jess, has returned after dodging the draft for thirteen years. At the party, Harold begins bragging about a new tractor he bought. The bragging infuriates a slightly drunk Larry Cook. He brags he is going to give his one-thousand acre farm to his three daughters and let them run the family business. The younger daughter, Caroline, is upset by the transaction, so Larry cuts her out of the deal. Over the course of the next few days, Larry grows extremely erratic; while he was always an angry man, his temper is even more difficult to maintain. He is more distant with his daughters and sons-in-law, and he questions their every choice regarding the farm. He buys expensive furniture and leaves it out in the rain. He also wrecks his pickup truck after being extremely inebriated. His oldest daughters, Ginny and Rose, decide they have to be
Author: Jane Smiley
Date of Publication: 1991
Point of view: The novel is told in first-person from Ginny’s perspective. The readers follow Ginny’s trails of thought as she wanders into her own troubled past. She wants to figure out why she has become a placid, non-confrontational woman, so her thoughts revolve around her struggles to contain her own opinions.
Genre: Tragedy
Writing Style: Narrative. Modern rendition of King Lear. More plot based than style based.
Setting/Atmosphere: Set in Iowa farm country
Plot Development: Larry Cook's two eldest daughter, Ginny and Rose, have been waiting on him hand and foot since the death of their mother, cooking every meal and washing every stitch of clothing as their husbands, Ty and Pete, dutifully assist their father-in-law in the daily operations of the farm. Larry’s youngest daughter, Caroline, escapes the farm with the support of her sisters. She plans to become a successful lawyer. Caroline marries another lawyer and lives a sophisticated life in Des Moines. A Thousand Acres begins at a pig roasting party hosted by neighbor Harold Clark. One of his sons, Jess, has returned after dodging the draft for thirteen years. At the party, Harold begins bragging about a new tractor he bought. The bragging infuriates a slightly drunk Larry Cook. He brags he is going to give his one-thousand acre farm to his three daughters and let them run the family business. The younger daughter, Caroline, is upset by the transaction, so Larry cuts her out of the deal. Over the course of the next few days, Larry grows extremely erratic; while he was always an angry man, his temper is even more difficult to maintain. He is more distant with his daughters and sons-in-law, and he questions their every choice regarding the farm. He buys expensive furniture and leaves it out in the rain. He also wrecks his pickup truck after being extremely inebriated. His oldest daughters, Ginny and Rose, decide they have to be