'' The Octopus : A Story of California '' is a 1901 novel by Frank Norris and was the first part of an uncompleted trilogy , '' The Epic of the Wheat '' . It describes the wheat industry in California , and the conflicts between wheat growers and a railway company . Norris was inspired to write the novel by the Mussel Slough Tragedy involving the Central Pacific Railroad . In the novel he depicts the tensions between the railroad , the ranchers and the ranchers ' League . The book emphasized the control of " forces " — such as the power of railroad monopolies — over individuals . Some editions of the work give the subtitle as alternatively , '' A California Story ''
Mussel Slough Tragedy
Mussel Slough Tragedy
The Octopus: A Story of California