would be in the area working on the mine near Sellanraa (Isak's farm). His place was named Storborg. Seeing that there was no more business as they were leaving due to a failure of yield, Aronsen sold his place to Eleseus, Isak's son. Major themes Hamsun's protagonists were often outcasts and vagabonds that opposed civilization, industrialization, and modernisation. These rootless individuals who distrusted organized society were a reflection of Hamsun himself. The novel “Growth of the Soil” expresses back-to-nature, old-school philosophies, and peasant life. His works set simple agrarian values against those of industrial society, showing a deep aversion to civilization proving that people's fulfillment lies with the soil. The novel showed Hamsun's favour of primitivism and aversion to modernity. He opposed naturalism and realism and wanted “modern literature to represent the complex intricacies of human mind”. Hamsun believed that the true nature of an individual could only be revealed through a subjective and irrational approach. Hamsun's political beliefs and ideologies were often expressed in his books, especially Growth of the Soil. The character Isak conforms to Hamsun's vision of an ideal individual. He has little connection with industrialized society or modernity, and when he does, it usually is in a negative light. For example, when he was informed that he was needing to purchase the farms land from the State, Isak was confused as this had never crossed his mind. Luckily for him, the cost was mild thanks to Lensmand Geissler's generosity. Isak was a pioneer of the soil, he started with nothing and built a great farm out of it. The theme of hard work yielding results was evident throughout the book with Isak as an example. Style The novel is written in the style of Norwegian new realism, a literary movement which was used in Hamsun's later novels. This style was common during the first half of the 20th century in Norwegian literature. Hamsun utilized techniques fairly new to the time such as stream of consciousness or interior monologue. Reception Growth of the Soil is regarded as a historical classic. It has been acclaimed by many and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. Hamsun's support of the German occupation of Norway has drawn a lot controversy and many refuse to acknowledge his success as a writer in light of that. William Worster, in an afterword to his 1920 translation of Growth of the Soil, describes