The Winter Of Our Discontent Analysis

Does the extent of a person’s success justify the terrible means in which it is achieved? Do all people have an innate conscience that dictates what is right and what is wrong? Society has lowered their moral code thus oppressing the consciousness that is instilled in all humans. The answer to these questions can be found in John Steinbeck’s novel The Winter of Our Discontent. The moral slide of Ethan Hawley’s character is a clear representation of the moral downfall of man. The pressure put on Ethan by his family to be wealthy causes his immorality and corruption to come out. At one point Ethan argues “Strength and success-they are above morality” (Steinbeck 187) and goes on to explain that the ends justify the means which highlights the novel’s theme that any man can fall victim to corruption. Ethan’s actions make it hard to argue that there is hope in modern society’s declining morals. Ethan’s moral decline begins with the immense pressure put on him by his loved ones. His wife, Mary, yearns for wealth and a high status. She admits to Ethan that she wants a life in which she could”[hold] her head a little higher and,face it, [be] proud rather than a little ashamed of [him]”(Steinbeck 45). In her eyes, money symbolises success and security. Mary wants things that Ethan cannot provide causing him to experience masculine guilt. This guilt builds up inside of
The colossal amount of pressure put on Ethan drove him to embrace his covetous nature. This greed led to the corruption of a man and eventually to the demise of said man. The justification of his terrible choices only prolonged the inevitable. By telling himself that his actions were justified, he ignores his conscience and slides further down the slide of morality. The only hope that remains after his reputation and character has been tarnished is within his