A Thousand Acres: The Danger of Temptation and Unnatural Behavior Zoe Tierney 12th Grade

Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres follows the novel’s narrator, Ginny Smith, as she struggles with temptation and the mental and physical repercussions of being a victim of unnatural behavior. Larry, Ginny’s father, practices chemical-based farming and breaks the natural bonds with his family by raping both his daughters, disrupting natural order. Biblical imagery and symbols such as contaminated water, Jess Clark’s Christ and Devil allegory, and a dump mirroring the Garden of Eden enhance this theme of sexual enticement, and the consequences that result from opposing natural order. Tainted water transforms a natural element intended to baptize and help life flourish into a life-threatening element. Jess Clark and the aftermath of the dump that he brings Ginny to mirror the Garden of Eden, and the loss of self and loved ones that comes from succumbing to temptation. Through character’s mental and physical responses to these symbols and their negative impact on their lives, Smiley suggests that giving in to unnatural behavior and temptation is easily done, but destructive.

Natural water that has been tampered with and contained by man with the intention of benefiting themselves transforms from a source of life to a poison. When...