Beginning of Essay
Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, encompasses the farm life and hardships of a wealthy retiring Iowa farmer, Larry Cook and his family. For his daughters Ginny and Rose, the farm and life on the farm was all they ever knew. The youngest daughter, Caroline, broke ....

Middle of Essay
.... two weeks for a couple of hours each night, it didn't stop them from playing in spite of all the work that had to be done (81). The tournament is significant to the book in that it illustrates the another aspect of their lives that Smiley left out. The infamous monopoly tournament between Ginny, Ty, Rose, Pete, and Jess went beyond a mere harmless board game played to pass the time and fill pages of the book. Beneath the seemingly innocent game lays the symbolism and significance Smiley used to describe the characters in a different light and to tie the tournament to the rest of the novel. Within these few scenes the reader acquires a wider visi ....