The Octopus is the story of the socio-economic conflict that culminates in a shoot-out in the latter half of the 1880s between the railroad representatives and the ranchers who worked the land surrounding and owned by the railroad. The term "octopus" refers to the tentacled reach of the railroad into the lives of all who depended on it for the economic subsistence. But the story is also a moral tale about the corruption of greed. Norris indicts not just the railroad workers, but also the ranchers, who adopt the same harsh economic immorality towards their workers as does the railroad toward the ranchers. The Octopus is a story about its time. Its characters are intended to represent the competing social and economic interests of the Progressive Era. In addition, its setting, and its complicated portrayal in the story, is Norris' attempt to draw clear parallels between the sprawling railroad and the vast wheat fields to support his exploration of the immorality of greed in a land of plenty.
Henrietta, Brody, Dumenil & Ware (1988) describe this period in American history as one characterized by the growth of the railroad system and immigrants. Settlers began moving West in the 1840s and railroad companies recognized that rail transportation could provide the basis for the economic exploitation of the Great Plains and the West (Henrietta et. al., chapter 16). Railroad companies had access to substantial capital from heavy government subsidies as well as the ability to organize as corporations and thereby borrow money through low risk investments (Henrietta et. al., chapter 17). The railroads used these advantages ruthlessly against the people who moved to the West, which resulted in a backlash from the people. But Norris' story demonstrates the moral failures of an era characterized primarily by economic greed.
In the story, Behrman is the local railroad representative and Magnus Derrick and son Harran are tenant ranchers o...