The Winter of Our Discontent (Penguin Classics)
by John Steinbeck
List Price:
Our Price: $9.06
You Save: $6.94 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.80 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: John SteinbeckEditor: Susan Shillinglaw
Introduction: Susan Shillinglaw
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-26
ISBN: 0143039482
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Product features:
- The Winter of Our Discontent
- (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]
- by Steinbeck, John
Book Reviews of The Winter of Our Discontent (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: "Man is our greatest hazard and our only hope"
Summary: 4 Stars
"In business and politics a man must carve and maul his way through men to get to be King of the Mountain. Once there, he can be great and kind - but he must get there first."
The title of this book is a link to Shakespeare's Richard III - which opens with "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York; and all the clouds that lowered upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried." This is (future king) Richard celebrating an upturn in his family's fortunes - basically saying that our dark days are behind us (winter) and the future is now turning bright. It begins his accession to the throne, which he briefly attains, through murder, manipulation, and treachery.
The Winter of Our Discontent's main character, Ethan Allen Hawley, makes a similar shift to achieve material desires. At the start of the novel, Ethan is a moralistic, but ordinary, man. Like his father and grandfather before him, Ethan is fair and honest in a world that has increasingly become materialistic and corrupt. He is married with two kids, working as a clerk at a grocery store his family used to own. He failed early at business - losing the grocery store and what was left of his family's land in the town (except his house) - which created a chip on his shoulder that everyone in town seems to want to wedge deeper. His family harps on him about their lack of money and status in the town. The town banker questions what Ethan is doing working as a clerk. Ethan's boss stresses business prowess and the need to "look after number one." A local vender even offers a bribe and kickback to Ethan for some business, as "everybody's got a right to make a buck." Ethan is an outlier in the town his family essentially founded - as the old is constantly being moved out for the new, and Ethan is stuck looking into the past.
Ethan begins to tire of being the town doormat - and like most of the town before him, begins to break down and rationalize that morality is relative. He asks if "the eaters (are) more immoral than the eaten? In the end all are eaten - all - gobbled up by the earth, even the fiercest and the most crafty." He questions what one gains by being a moral individual, when we all share the same fate. With the help of an opportunistic amateur fortune-teller, Ethan rebuilds himself in efforts to capture the respect of and successes of those around him - like a snake "changing its skin, part dusty and ragged and part fresh and new." He falls in line with those around him - letting his animalistic nature control his behavior.
He is able to make this change naturally, and he gains success and wealth outwardly but finds that he has morally depleted himself in the process. He manipulates his childhood friend, now a drunk, into giving Ethan his (very valuable) land in exchange for enough money to drink himself to death. He reports his boss (the grocery store owner) to the government as an illegal immigrant, so he can take back ownership of the store. He even contemplates robbing a bank before fate intercedes. All these actions are rationalized by Ethan, as "all men are moral, only their neighbors are not." These actions let him achieve the wealth and status that he feels he's been missing, but he finds it unsatisfying given what he had to give up. Ethan realizes that even in a relative world, there are still acceptable and unacceptable moral standards for oneself.
Ethan is finally both taken over the edge and then brought back by the future - his children. His son, Allen, has inherited the same moral standards of those around him, having plagiarized his essay in an essay contest. Ethan is disgusted - and at this point realizes his hypocrisy - that while he has justified immorality within himself (due to relative moralism), he finds the same behavior in others detestable. His daughter, Ellen, saves Ethan by representing moralistic hope in the future - a light that has not gone out, and in the end, Ethan puts his own needs aside in order to provide hope for the next generation.
A good story that underlines what Steinbeck considered the "moral flabbiness" spreading from corporate America to everyday American life during the 50s (and 60s). Through Ethan we experience the collapsing of a moral man into the relative morals that has overtaken everyday life. The message Steinbeck is sending is a relevant one - that no matter what relevant morals are prevalent in society, it is up to the individual not to fall into a relative moral trap, but to be guided by a constant set of absolute morals.
The weakness of the novel is in its characters and relationships, which are lacking in my opinion. The novel's characters, beyond Ethan, are trivial and not well developed - seeming to only be there to prove a certain point. Part of this probably stems from the fact that most of the book is told from Ethan's point of view - but even he appears to be lacking something, specifically in his relationships. His only connection is with his past - he has no connection with his wife or his kids - their interactions seem contrived. The only connection he makes is at the end - through the talisman, with his daughter - but it seems like a reach given their prior lack of depth. The relationships lacked to me - maybe this was how Steinbeck envisioned Ethan, but I thought his character (and others) could have been filled out better.
A lot of criticism of this book also stems from comparing it to his other works (mainly Grapes of Wrath) - which I have not read, but now plan to. I think that is a little unfair though - this book stands on its own, depicting its period with universal moral themes, and delivers its intended message.
Summary of The Winter of Our Discontent (Penguin Classics)
From a swashbuckling pirate fantasy to a meditation on American morality?two classic Steinbeck novels make their black spine debutsIN AWARDING John Steinbeck the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel committee stated that with The Winter of Our Discontent, he had ?resumed his position as an independent expounder of the truth, with an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely American.?
Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of the novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With the decline in their status, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards.
Classics Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Classics Books
Native sonby Richard Wright
Perennial Library; Published: 1987; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Native Son: And How Bigger Was Bornby Richard Wright
Perennial; Published: 1993-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.82
Raphael and the Noble Taskby Catherine Salton
Harper; Published: 2000-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.73
Price in other shops:
The Great Divorce CDby C. S. Lewis
HarperAudio; Published: 2003-11-25; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $12.64
Price in other shops:
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Black Coffee (Poirot)by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-12-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $68.32
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1960s)by Joan Didion
Flamingo; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.25
Similar Books and other products
The Moon Is Downby John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 1995-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.79
Price in other shops:
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)by John Steinbeck
Penguin; Published: 2002-01-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.87
Price in other shops:
To a God Unknown (Penguin Classics)by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 1995-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
In Dubious Battle (Penguin Classics)by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-05-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.06
Price in other shops:
The Grapes of Wrathby John Steinbeck
Penguin Group USA; Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-03-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.14
Price in other shops:
Sweet Thursday (Penguin Classics)by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 2008-07-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Tortilla Flat (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 1997-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.27
Price in other shops:
Cannery Row: (Centennial Edition)by John Steinbeck
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.85
Price in other shops:
East of Edenby John Steinbeck
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.87
Price in other shops:
Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Centennial Edition)by John Steinbeck
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops: