A Thousand Acres:
King Lear in a Cornfield
"A family portrait that is also a nearepic investigation into the broad
landscape, the thousand dark acres of
the human heart. . . . The book has all
the stark brutality of a Shakespearean
tragedy."
—The Washington Post Book World
Basic Information
 Author—Jane
Smiley
 Published in 1991; won Pulitzer Prize
in 1992
 Writes frequently about family
dysfunction
 Widespread critical acclaim upon
publication
Plot
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A Thousand Acres
Larry, the father, decides to retire
from farming and divide land
among daughters
Caroline objects and family
argues over their inheritance,
destroying sibling relationships
Eventually the hidden family
conflict surrounding the father’s
past emerges and further shakes
up the family
Side plot of Ginny and her marital
and childbearing issues
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King Lear
Lear wishes to retire from power
and divide his kingdom among
daughters
Cordelia objects and is disowned
The family argues about rightful
ownership of the kingdom,
resulting in fighting and
bloodshed
Sisters duke it out in the end
Everyone dies
Characters
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A Thousand Acres
Farmer Larry in Iowa
3 daughters-Rose,
Ginny, Caroline
Husbands-Pete, Ty
Ginny’s love interestJess
Farm setting is also a
character that drives
action
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King Lear
King Lear in Great
Britain
3 daughters—Regan,
Goneril, and Cordelia
Suitors-various Dukes
Goneril’s love interestEdmund
Kingdom is also a
character that drives
passions and action
Themes for Both Novels
 Father-daughter
relationships
 Appearance vs. reality
 The power of nature
 Order vs. disorder
 Generational divides
 Fate vs. free will
Important Quotations
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“I always think that things have to happen the
way they do happen, that there are so many
inner and outer forces joining at every event that
it becomes a kind of fate.” (22)
“This isn’t a question of right or wrong, it’s a
question of what he wants to do.”
“I feel like there’s treacherous undercurrents all
the time. I think I’m standing on solid ground,
but then I discover that there’s something
moving underneath it, shifting from place to
place. There’s always some mystery.” (104)
Important Quotations
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“I don’t know why I was surprised to discover everything
changed, since it was obvious in retrospect that I had sought to
change it.” (172)
“When my father asserted his point of view, mine vanished. Not
even I could remember it.” (176)
“Most issues on a farm return to the issue of keeping up
appearances….What his farm looks like boils down to questions of
character.” (199)
“…a destiny that we never asked for, that was our father’s gift to
us.” (220)
“In the face of that, if there aren’t some rules, then what is there?
There’s got to be something, order, rightness. Justice, for God’s
sake.” (235)
Important Quotations
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“People keep secrets when other people don’t
want to hear the truth.” (258)
“So all I have is the knowledge that I saw! That I
saw without being afraid and without turning
away, and that I didn’t forgive the unforgivable.
Forgiveness is a reflex for when you can’t stand
what you know. I resisted that reflex. That’s my
sole, solitary, lonely accomplishment.” (356)
“Rose left me a riddle I haven’t solved, of how we
judge those who have hurt us when they have
shown no remorse or even understanding.” (370)
Correlation to AP Questions
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Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For
example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and
ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role.
Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the
work as a whole. (2006)
One definition of madness is "mental delusion or the eccentric behavior arising from
it." But Emily Dickinson wrote “Much madness is divinest Sense-To a discerning Eye-”
Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a "discerning Eye." Select a
novel or play in which a character's apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an
important role. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain what this
delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable.
Explain the significance of the "madness" to the work as a whole. Do not merely
summarize the plot. (2001)
Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure)
and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the
conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid
plot summary. (1990)