The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck connects explicitly to those in the 1950’s and 60’s. “Novels by Steinbeck communicate differently to different eras” meaning the culture that is represented is appropriate for the time frame it is supposed to take place in (Steinbeck, Steinbecknow.com). The Winter of Our Discontent explores the life of Ethan Hawley as he struggles with his lifestyle that he desperately wishes to change and follows him as he creates a plan to resolve his problems. Steinbeck reflects the culture of the 1950’s and 60’s through his characters, plot and outcomes by utilizing the Common Themes Theory to address the money problems, cunning solutions and varying effects. The patterns that appear throughout the history …show more content…
of humans can be analyzed by the Common Themes Theory which is a method “of contemplating the development of culture and the record of history” (Detrick, “Western Culture: Why? What? And How?”). The first part of the Common Themes Theory concerns the difficulties of life and “while the problems can vary in severity, there are two common categories of problems found in all civilizations” and those are economic and human rights issues (Detrick, “Western Culture: Why? What? And How?”). Steinbeck makes it very clear that Ethan Hawley and his family encounter economic problems and gives realistic concerns centered around the fifties. Hawley often complains that he wants his family to feel secure and says “I’d like to be able to hold up my head in this town. I don’t like the children to be hang-dog because they can’t dress as good-as well- as some others. I’d love to hold up my head” (Steinbeck, 34). Financial safety and his identity within his culture is very important to him because Ethan comes from a long line of wealthy whalers and pirates but is unable to show anything for it. In order to secure safety, people must be willing to give up a certain level of personal dignity to preserve their well-being and Ethan does this by working as a grocery store clerk (Detrick, “Western Culture: Why? What? And How?”). However, it is evident later on that Eth lacks a moral conscience which proves beneficial to him in finding a solution to his financial struggles. There are five solutions when it comes to the Common Themes Theory. These include, moving, inventing, dominating, accommodating and tolerating but they all have their rises and downfalls (Detrick, “Western Culture: Why? What? And How?). In a world where someone feels stuck and unable to solve their problems, it may seem impossible to find an escape route. This seems to be the case for Ethan until his acquaintances persuade him otherwise. “Ethan decides to gain back his family’s riches by turning over his boss to the Immigration Service, obtaining a large plot of land from his best friend, and robbing a bank” (sits.sjsu.edu). First and foremost, Mr. Hawley worked for Mr. Marullo at the grocery store, the one his family once owned. Once it had been proven that Mr. Marullo came to America from Sicily illegally, Ethan devised a devious plan. As stated earlier, Ethan turned his boss over to the Immigration Service, getting him deported and granting ownership of the store to himself. When the devastating news became talk of the town, Mr. Hawley acted clueless and asked “Can he make a fight? Can I help him?”, leaving him appearing as the good honest man Marullo thought he was (Steinbeck, 225). Gaining ownership to the grocery store guaranteed financial security for Ethan and his family because all profits would go back to them and the good Hawley name was restored. Ethan’s second solution comes thanks to his ex-best friend named Danny Taylor, the town drunk. Danny owned a large flat of land that was highly sought after in their hill ridden town because it was the perfect place for a small airport. In an attempt to ‘help’ Danny get sober, Ethan gave him his wife’s fortune of $1000 to go to rehab, all while knowing that he would use it to buy more alcohol. Authorities found Danny’s body next to a “case of whisky, only two empties, and a bottle of sleeping pills”, exactly what Ethan knew would happen (Steinbeck 256). Before his death, Danny signed over his property to Mr. Hawley, which he later sold to the bank for 51% of the airport profits (Steinbeck, 260). By getting money through trickery and deception Steinbeck shows that a part of the culture in the 1950’s and 60’s lacks a moral conscience when desperation strikes. Finally, a third means of getting money for his family is by robbing the bank that is across the street from the grocery store. His banker friend, Joey Morphy, started a conversation with Ethan one morning giving him detailed instructions on how to get away with robbery. Ethan designed his plan around Joey’s tips of not speaking or showing his face during the robbery and slowly spending it after he acquires it, that way no one suspects anything (Steinbeck, 9). The only problem to his solution was that he was interrupted by the officer who gave news of Mr. Marullo being deported so he could not actually complete his mission. While the plan that would add to his riches was not followed through, the idea of such solution reveals who Eth really is as a character. “Steinbeck’s story of greed, delusion, and dishonesty” layers multiple schemes to reveal the intellectual achievements of some immoral people surrounding the culture of this time (Steinbeck, Steinbecknow.com). When creating so called ‘solutions’ to one problem, further complications for other people may occur (Detrick, “Western Culture: Why?
What? And How?”). This was especially true for the characters in The Winter of Our Discontent who experienced life altering complications. Obviously for Mr. Marullo deportation was his fate, he had built a life in America and had given Ethan his job, “offer[ing] Ethan advice on how to run the store” which was a grand part of the solution (www.enotes.com). As for Marullo he would have to start over in his homeland, which he has not been to in years and knows no relatives. Even as he faced the unknown, he plead guilty and took his punishment with dignity (Steinbeck, 225). As for Danny Taylor, his fate was more drastic as he lost his life. This consequence went beyond pushing someone out of the way in order to gain back financial status but that is something Ethan will have to carry with him forever, so in a way he was punished too as a result. Thankfully Ethan did not rob the bank otherwise there would be more negative consequences that outweighed the positives. The odds of Eth actually getting away with a robbery in a small town were not likely, and had he been caught, his family would forever be in economic danger. The overall effects of the devious plan that Ethan constructed and carried out had devastating consequences for the victims
involved. In conclusion, the problem, solution and effect method stemming from the Common Themes Theory addresses the money problems, dishonest solutions and consequential effects that played out in The Winter of Our Discontent. The author, John Steinbeck, utilized the book as a medium to reflect the culture that some people displayed during the 1950’s and 60’s in times of desperation. By using the plot of a man desperately trying to reinstate the power to his name, characters that represent a normal nuclear family and outcomes that surprise the reader, the author created a riveting and relatable story. Although there have been slight changes in the American culture in the last fifty years, this book still describes the actions and motives of a select population of people from around the world that have fallen into economic despair.
The Grapes of Wrath explicates on the Dust Bowl era as the reader follows the story of the Joads in the narrative chapters, and the migrants in expository chapters. Steinbeck creates an urgent tone by using repetition many times throughout the book. He also tries to focus readers on how the Dust Bowl threatened migrant dreams using powerful imagery. As well as that, he creates symbols to teach the upper class how the Dust Bowl crushed the people’s goals. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck utilizes imagery, symbolism, and repetition to demonstrate how the Dust Bowl threatened the “American Dream.”
A Fierce Discontent by Michael McGerr delves into the revolution of values from the victorian era to the progressive within the late nineteen century to the early twentieth century. McGerr’s major argument is the contrast between this set of values. The gilded age which McGerr focuses is the period where progressive values begin to take form and societal change ensues. The victorian values are values which epitomizes the British culture as just the name of the era is derived from queen Victoria. Alternatively the progressive era was a political reform focusing on anti corruption, women suffrage, and fixing the social problems plaguing society. McGerr argues that the victorian era and progressive era strikes few similarities within the
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel that mimics life and offers social commentary too. It offers many windows on real life in midwest America in the 1930s. But it also offers a powerful social commentary, directly in the intercalary chapters and indirectly in the places and people it portrays. Typical of very many, the Joads are driven off the land by far away banks and set out on a journey to California to find a better life. However the journey breaks up the family, their dreams are not realized and their fortunes disappear. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes. The hopes and dreams of a generation turned to wrath. Steinbeck opens up this catastrophe for public scrutiny.
“Everybody wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head. They're all the time talkin' about it, but its jus' in their head.” (Steinbeck) The Grapes of Wrath is most often categorized as an American Realist novel. It was written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. As a result of this novel, Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and prominently cited the novel when he won the Nobel Prize a little over twenty years after the text’s publication. This text follows the Joad family through the Great Depression. It begins in Oklahoma, watching as the family is driven from their home by drought and economic changes. Within the introduction of the novel the living conditions is described, “Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: The walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops and an automobile boiled a cloud behind it.” (Grapes, 1) This novel is and will remain one of the most significant novels of the Great Depression. Despite its controversial nature it is timeless. In fact, the ending of this text is one of the most controversial pieces of literature written during the time period, and has never accurately made its way into film. The ending to John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath is the most significant portion of the novel due to its historical accuracy as well as its message about the American spirit.
The social setting of the novel is also important, as it could later explain characters attitudes towards other people. It is set in the U.S. in the 1930s; this is the time of the Great Depression. This was a result of the First World War. It affected the rich and poor alike, factory workers and farmers, bankers and stockbrokers. In short, it affected everyone; no one was left untouched. But of all the people hurt, farmers were the worst off. John Steinbeck chose to write about farmers hoping that Americans would recognize their troubles and correct the situation. The great depression is known to be the worst economic disaster in the U.S history. For this reason the depression caused many people to change their ideas about the government and economy.
Throughout the course of history there have been many events up to the independence of America. Some of them were small, where others were much more significant. One of the more important events was the Boston tea party. When the Boston tea party comes to mind, many people think of the ship and the tea and patriotism in the 18th century. Let’s talk about what actually is the Boston tea party.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's live under. The novel tells of one families migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930's. The Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California. How they survive the cruelty of the land owners that take advantage of them, their poverty and willingness to work.
The 1930’s were a decade of great change politically, economically, and socially. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl wore raw the nerves of the people, and our true strength was shown. From it arose John Steinbeck, a storyteller of the Okies and their hardships. His books, especially The Grapes of Wrath, are reflections of what really went on in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck did not write about what he had previously read, he instead wrote what he experienced through his travels with the migrant workers. “His method was not to present himself notebook in hand and interview people. Instead he worked and traveled with the migrants as one of them, living as they did and arousing no suspicion from employers militantly alert against “agitators” of any kind.” (Lisca 14) John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath was derived from his personal experiences and his journeys with the migrant workers.
In John Steinbeck’s classic novel The Winter of Our Discontent, one can find many general truths and principles, also known as aphorisms. Ethan Allen Hawley, the main character, seems to gift the reader with another aphorism at the turn of every page, but some of these sayings may be considered more remarkable than others. One of the more noteworthy aphorisms is a statement made by Ethan at the end of chapter 6: “To be alive at all is to have scars”.
The northern areas of America may have been known as a retreat for free slaves; however, in early and mid 18th century slaves received treatment which could be compared to those enslaved in the southern regions of America.
The French and Indian war had left the British economy in ruins. The secretary of state William Pitt had spent copious money on the war. In order to accommodate for the massive debt they had, the British thought it reasonable to tax the colonist on certain goods to help. Considering the British had fought for them, they saw no reason the colonist would oppose. Some of these taxes were the Townshend acts, the Sugar act, which was the tax on sugar and allowed conviction for smuggling without a court case. The stamp act, which was a tax on anything paper, and the Currency act. Some acts were added in hopes of bringing in money, others were not. There were the Writs of Assistance which allowed them to search cargo without a warrant, there was the
John Beckett mentions that the Glorious Revolution has been considered a historical event related to the political issues. The main target of this historical event was to create a commercial freedom in Europe. After this revolution was done, trade relations in Europe went up, and the Bill of Rights was also created in 1689. Today, the Bill of Rights is shown and known that it was the first building stone for the British constitution because it limited the monarchic power. During the eighteenth century, the period of the Age of Enlightenment is considered between 1713 and 1789 because Anthony Pagden states that Europe was like a republic of states, and it was like a union acting together and talking with one voice. The Age of Enlightenment
To what extent was the discontentment of the industrial workers the main cause of the 1905 revolution in Russia?
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a rebellion of the Russian people against the rule of the Russian Empire. Russia was a country full of many unsatisfied people; the nation experienced a series of changes in the late 19th and 20th century that would ultimately bring about revolution. The Russian people were starving, industrialization was emerging and the middle class was asking to be a part of the ruling of the country. As a result of the revolution, Russia saw its withdrawal from World War I, major industrial growth and ultimately the spread Communism throughout the world. The inevitable causes of the Russian Revolution were the weaknesses of the Russian Empire, World War I and the collapse of the Tsar’s regime. The nation now began its path towards emerging as a world power following the revolution.
Even though that most many citizens wanted a revolution, nobody actually expected the revolution to take place, especially the way the revolution ended up starting. “On February 23, 1917, the Petrograd’s women workers left their factories and into the streets they went protesting.” The women of Russia were ready to be heard for it was International Women’s Day and the women had had enough.1