Analysis: The Winter Of Our Discontent

Consuelo Garcia
English 103
Professor Leduc
May 13, 2015
Discontent
The process of doing something, typically to achieve a goal, represents individual’s own self-interest, and throughout The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck examines how morals are undercut, as American’s become more concerned with material wealth, than the wellbeing of their loved ones. Steinbeck explores the negative aspects of American’s monetary gain and how in society the acquisition of wealth does not always lead to happiness. To initiate, morals are beliefs that a person or a society has concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do. Sometimes, the morals of an individual and the society they live in will clash, and so begins the struggle to survive with

Honesty was taken away by all his influences and it’s an example of post-hoc-fallacy. In his small town, he is surrounded by moneygrubbers and they are more interested in obtaining money than the wellbeing of each other. Alfio Marullo his employer, who influenced Ethan to exploit customers as a good business. Marullo believes that “business is money” (21) and that “money is not friendly” (23), when employers should care for the customers’ wellbeing. Marullo immoral business skills are very common still in today’s date and it’s acceptable. Ethan tries to fight against all his influences and to keep his core values. However, Ethan cannot easily escape from it, for he cannot comfort his own home. He is living a modest live, he has two children and a wife and his happy. He has not complained, but his family pushes his feeling of discontent on him and it makes him questioned because a lot of people where telling him that he can’t get success in life without breaking the rules and he hasn’t done that. Ethan’s wife and children who also yearned for money and the status that accompanies it, which Ethan’s clerk salary cannot provided. Ethan trying to keep his values reminds his family that “money does not change the sickness, only change the symptoms” (101), which still applies now in days with many diseases that do not have a cure, but expensive treatments may prolong the