Download The Pit by Frank Norris. Available in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats. Enjoy a summary, excerpt, and related recommendations.
The Pit Summary
The Pit by Frank Norris is a novel set in the wheat speculation trading pits at the Chicago Board of Trade Building. It explores the impact of greed and obsession on personal relationships, focusing on Curtis Jadwin's venture into wheat speculation and its effects on his marriage to Laura Dearborn.
The Pit Excerpt
Short Summary: Curtis Jadwin's obsession with wheat speculation leads to a devastating impact on his marriage to Laura Dearborn. As fortunes are made and lost in the chaotic trading pit, the novel explores themes of ambition, greed, and the human cost of relentless pursuit of wealth.
"Curtis Jadwin stood at the edge of the trading pit, the cacophony of shouting traders enveloping him. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and anticipation, the very atmosphere pulsating with the frenzy of commerce. His eyes, sharp and calculating, scanned the tumult below, where fortunes were made and lost in the blink of an eye. This was his arena, the place where his ambitions took flight.
Laura Dearborn, his wife, sat alone in their expansive home, the silence of the rooms pressing down upon her. She had married Jadwin for his vigor, his unyielding drive, but now she found herself a widow to his obsession with the market. The man she had hoped to share her life with was consumed by the relentless pursuit of wealth, leaving her to navigate the emptiness that filled their home.
As Jadwin delved deeper into the world of wheat speculation, the chasm between them widened. He became a phantom in their marriage, present in body but absent in spirit. Laura's loneliness drove her to the company of others, seeking solace in the attentions of Sheldon Corthell, an artist who offered the sensitivity and understanding that Jadwin no longer could.
The market, indifferent to the lives it touched, continued its merciless cycle. Jadwin's fortunes soared and plummeted with the volatility of wheat prices, his identity entwined with the success and failure of his ventures. The pit was not just a marketplace; it was a crucible that tested the very essence of those who dared to enter.
In the end, the relentless pursuit of wealth exacted its toll. Jadwin's empire crumbled, and with it, the illusions that had sustained their marriage. It was in the ashes of his ambition that he and Laura found a semblance of truth, a realization of the hollow nature of their desires. Together, they faced the daunting task of rebuilding not just their fortunes, but their very selves."
