The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck: Behind The Discontent

When reading The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck, several of the themes, motives, and characters spark an interest in the story’s background. The novel, concerned with the struggle between man and morals, constantly refers to the corruptness of American society, which is precisely indicative of the author’s actual experiences. In fact, Steinbeck’s epigraph states, “Readers seeking to identify the fictional people and places here described would do better to inspect their own communities and search their own hearts, for this book is about a large part of America today.” This statement suggests a degree of disapproval, which is also pointed out by the title, itself a reference to a line in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Richard III: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York” (264). This feeling is especially reflected through the central character of the book, Ethan Allen Hawley, who is discontent with the shame brought upon his family by his lowly job in the town grocery store. No longer appreciating the integrity he tries his best to uphold, society pushes Ethan into psychological turmoil. Similarly, the consciousness of Steinbeck himself was also fraught with discontent. In his lifetime, desolation was brought about by the Cold War, several failed friendships, and the general dishonesty of society. These elements can be seen throughout the novel as a stark reminder of the author’s hardships and a denouncement of immorality as a method for attaining success.

Throughout the nineteen fifties and sixties, Steinbeck professed a disconcerting nervousness with Cold War America, fearing not the Soviet weapons build-up or the space race, but “a creep...

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