Influence Of Culture In The Winter Of Our Discontent By John Steinbeck

A culture is created on whatever idea of reality is held by the majority of the people over a long period of time. These ideas are shaped based on the Commons theme theory and/or the Epoch theory. People and events directly influence the culture of an area and everywhere experiences this cycle of problems, solutions and effects. Utilizing problem, solution & effect the following discusses how the author reflects the culture in his book, The Winter of Our Discontent.
John Steinbeck shows many problems in the book that influence the culture of New Baytown in 1961. One big problem that the main character of the book, Ethan Allen Hawley, a former member of Long Island's aristocratic class, faces is his father losing the family fortune, and thus
Ethan works as a grocery store clerk. Ethan struggles with being a clerk and so does his wife and two kids.
He feels he is unsuccessful and failed at life because he is not wealthy with a high status in town. This is visible on page thirty-four in the book where Ethan and Mary are arguing about money and Mary states, “No, I don't love money. But I don’t love worry either. 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” (Steinbeck,34). She continues, “It would wipe the sneers off people's faces of your holy la-de-das” (Steinbeck,34) Ethan replies, “No one sneers at Hawley” (Steinbeck,34). Mary says, “That’s what you think! You just don't see it” (Steinbeck,34). Ethan asks, “Do you blame me for my failure?” (Steinbeck,34). Mary replies, “No, of course I don’t. But I do blame you for sitting wallowing in it. You could climb out of it if you didn’t have your old-fashioned fancy-pants ideas. Everybody’s laughing at you. A grand gentleman without money is a bum” (Steinbeck,34). His wife Mary and their children
resent their mediocre social and economic status, and do not value the honesty and integrity that Ethan struggles to maintain amidst in a corrupt society (Wikipedia). Some other problems Ethan faces in the book include others urging him to accept bribes, debating on infidelity with Mary's best friend Margie Young-Hunt, struggling with his relationship with Danny Taylor who is Ethan's childhood friend and town drunk, the plagiarism of his son’s essay and his depression. The book catches sight of solutions to these problems Ethan is battling. For instance, Ethan was tired of being a grocery clerk as shown in the book, “Would my great ancestors be proud to know they produce a goddam grocery clerk in a goddam wop store in a town they used to own” (Steinbeck,4). On discovering that the current store owner, Italian immigrant Alfio Marullo, may be an illegal immigrant, Ethan makes an anonymous tip to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Wikipedia). Ethan was approached with a bribe to take 5% of the earning for himself but for whatever reason he did not. Maybe he thought he was being honest and loyal, that's what his boss Marullo thought, according to the book he said, “I heard how that fella offered you a kickback, I heard how you threw him out. You’re a good fella. That's all. You're a good fella” (Steinbeck,96). Also, Ethan wants to help his friend Danny with treatment for his alcoholism, his solution is to lend him 1,000 dollars, which was part of money Mary inherited from her brother who had recently died a horrid death. Ethan also considers, plans, and mentally rehearses a bank robbery as a solution to his problem of not being wealthy. He fails to perform the robbery only because of external circumstances. Ethan has a secret quiet place that he calls, The Place, by the harbor, a tide pool. This is where he goes as an outlet to his depression to think, meditate.
These solutions had an effect on Ethan’s life and many others.
Ethan realizes that to survive himself he must change and adapt to the ruthless, heartless society around him (San Jose). He succeeds in having his boss deported back to Italy. After Marullo is taken into custody, he transfers ownership of the store to Ethan through the actions of the very government agent that caught him. Marullo gives Ethan the store because he believes Ethan is an honest and deserving worker who has worked for him for so many years (San Jose). Ethan also obtains the plot of land that his ex-childhood best friend owned. Danny wills him the land, slipped it under the door of the store. The will was drawn without any spoken agreement sometime after Ethan gave Danny the 1,00 dollars making it look like he was trying to get Danny sober. However, Danny uses the money to drink himself to death. Ethan become powerful in the town by taking possession of this strip of land that is needed by local businessmen to build an airport. Danny assures him that drunks are liars and that he will just drink the money away, and this is indeed confirmed when Danny is found dead with empty bottles of whiskey and sleeping pills (Wikipedia). Unfortunately, Ethan knew that this is what his friend would do with the money, and, therefore, knew he was going to cause Danny’s death (San Jose). The last blow hits when Ethan finds out that his son plagiarized the essay he submitted to the contest (San Jose). Ethan is badly
affected when he hears this news and on top of his guilt with Marullo and Danny he leaves the house and tries to kill himself. But before he does, he notices that his daughter left the family talisman in his pocket (San Jose). He realizes that the only hope in the future rests in his daughter, Mary Ellen, now the only untainted member of the Hawley family (San Jose). He returns home to pass the talisman off to her, “Else another light might go out” (Steinbeck,279).
The author, John Steinbeck, displayed evidence of the commons theory throughout the book. To summarize the book experiences Ethan struggling with these problems in his life. He then finds solutions to solve the problems and Ethan witnesses the effect the solution made on his and many others lives.