Class 12 Optional English Note || Summary of A Deal in Wheat by Frank Norris || Fiction || Short Story

Lesson 9

A Deal in Wheat by Frank Norris

Summary

Frank Norris' naturalist story, "A Deal in Wheat," portrays the corrupt and greedy business monopoly of the wheat market in Chicago, the scapegoating and victimization of the poor class, and the power of nature over man. The story follows Sam Lewiston, a wheat farmer, and his wife Emma as they struggle to make ends meet after the price of wheat falls in Chicago.

In the first part, Sam travels to Chicago to sell his wheat and meets Bridges, the owner of Bridges & Co., Grain Dealers, who offers to buy Sam's wheat for only 62 cents a bushel. Bridges blames the fall in prices on Truslow, a trader who profits from the falling market, leaving Sam disheartened and forcing him to give up wheat farming.

In the second part, the story jumps ahead a few months and reveals that Truslow and Hornung control the wheat market in Chicago. Hornung agrees to sell 100,000 bushels of wheat to Truslow at $1.10 per bushel, on the condition that the wheat is exported and not sold inside the USA and Canada.

The third part takes place at the pit where Hornung and other bulls sell wheat to get profit. Hornung thinks he has the upper hand in the market, but his men find a mysterious man, Kennedy, selling wheat at the same price. Hornung orders his men to buy wheat from Kennedy to prevent the bears from controlling the market.

In the fourth part, Hornung's broker Billy and detective Cyrus Ryder reveal that the 80,000 bushels of wheat Hornung recently bought were the same that Truslow had purchased from Hornung to export. Ryder discovers this while disguised as a hobo and traveling on the Belt Line Road that circles around Chicago.

In the final part, Sam stands in line at Vienna bakery at 1 am, hoping to get a loaf of bread. However, a placard announces that there will be no bread distribution due to the increase in wheat prices. Sam had already lost everything due to his failed wheat farming, but eventually becomes a street cleaner and works his way up the ranks. Despite his success, he still despises the wheat business and its operators.