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A Thousand Acres, Minor Characters (Frank Rasmussin, Henry Dodge, Ken La…
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Main Characters
Ginny Cook Smith
Protagonist, narrator of the novel, daughter of Larry, and wife of Tyler
Rose Cook Lewis
Breast Cancer (ends up dying), had five miscarriages, daughter of Larry
Caroline Cook
Went to college, Larry's "favorite" daughter
Laurence Cook
Otherwise known as Larry, a proud farmer that is also a drunk, father of the three girls and raped Ginny and Rose, main antagonist, later dies in the novel
Harold Clark
Larry Cook’s neighbor, father to Loren and Jess
Jess Clark
Son of Harold Clark, most ambiguous character
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Mrs. Cook
Diseased, yet, her presence stays with the characters
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Pete Lewis
Husband of Rose Cook Lewis, like Larry, he is a drunk, drives into quarry and drowns (suicide)
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Theme
Family matters no matter the event. This is evident whenever the daughters try to stand up for themselves but fail because they believe their father is still a good, hard-working man
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Sexual Abuse has an effect on those involved as well those around them by shadowing the pain. This could range anywhere from physically to emotionally among the ones being involved.
Revenge in the novel was displayed whenever the girls tried to get back at their dad for his drunk actions but later find out that Larry's will is at question
In the story A Thousand Acres, the materialistic view on land and its worth is not worth splitting up a family through a lawsuit
After examining the story of "A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley, it is evident that the sexual abuse is closely related to the carelessness of alcoholism--ranging anywhere from physically to emotionally.
Author's Purpose
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About Jane Smiley
Born in Los Angeles, California but grew up in Webster Groves Missouri. She got her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and later received awards for her works
Dialogue
Smiley's diction made it seem as if the daughters were helpless at times. Whenever she mentioned Larry of Pete, she usually heightened their amount of violence to ensure the reader knew that alcohol made a difference in their lives as well as their relationships
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Jane Smiley's purpose in writing this novel was to modernize a retelling of the Shakespeare "King Lear"
Figurative Language
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Symbolism: plants such as the tomato plant showed Ginny that there was still hope left in a world where it seemed to be slipping away. Another symbol would be the acreage itself serving as division among the Cook family
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Setting
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Cook Farm (1000 acres), including the three sisters' houses
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Historic Significance
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The main one coming from Shakespeare's "King Lear" and how Smiley tried to retell his story through her characters and their decisions but this was not very successful