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title: "The Winter of Our Discontent (Penguin Classics)"
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# The Winter of Our Discontent (Penguin Classics)

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## Description

The final novel of one of America’s most beloved writers—a tale of degeneration, corruption, and spiritual crisis A Penguin Classic In 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 Steinbeck’s last novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With Ethan no longer a member of Long Island’s aristocratic class, 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. Set in Steinbeck’s contemporary 1960 America, the novel explores the tenuous line between private and public honesty, and today ranks alongside his most acclaimed works of penetrating insight into the American condition. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction and notes by leading Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Review: A conflict without resolution - I have read most of Steinbeck’s novels and this is, without a doubt, one of my favorites. It is bleak, but so is the world today at many levels. What I like most, however, is the literary honesty of not attempting to reconcile the conflicting narratives of who we are and who we want to be (or pretend to be). It is noted in the introduction that Carlos Baker’s review for “The New York Times” noted with dissatisfaction that “This is a problem novel whose central problem is never fully solved, an internal conflict novel in which the central issue between nobility and expediency, while it is joined, is never satisfactorily resolved.” Expediency, you will find, is really a euphemism for immorality and dishonesty. Not the immorality that rises to the level of murder perhaps, but a willingness to bend the rules of fairness and personal obligation to society at large in the interest of naked self-interest. The whole point of the novel, as I read it, is that the conflict between nobility and the pursuit of self-interest at any cost can never be resolved. Or will never, depending on the generosity of your judgment. And history has certainly proven that to be true. The New Baytown of 1960 lives on today, the only difference being that no one today is making any attempt to hide the conflict. Self-interest is no longer to be suspected or hidden, it is to be celebrated as the most noble of human attributes. Certainly it is to be worn on the sleeve as a badge of strength, ingenuity, and cunning. As the author himself notes prior to the book’s opening paragraph, “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.” For Steinbeck, the introduction goes on to say, in reference to the Cold War, raging at the time, “his real fear for his country centered not on Sputnik and Russian armament but on a ‘creeping, all-pervading, nerve gas of immorality which starts in the nursery and does not stop before it reaches the highest offices, both corporate and governmental.’ “ Is this the America of 1960 or 2021? If I sound morally indignant or attempting to claim some higher moral ground, I am not. Like Hawley, in the end, I have settled into a kind of acceptance. I do what I can but accept what I can’t. Life, like the universe, always has two sides and is optimized when it is in balance. It is a short distance from one end of the spectrum to the other, as so many self-proclaimed paragons of nobility and morality have demonstrated through the centuries. The unending conflict, as it were, is as fixed as the Law of Entropy. In the right hands, however, as is the case here, its study can be enlightening. And enlightenment is almost always entertaining and educational. For this work Steinbeck certainly deserved the 1962 Nobel Prize for Literature he received.
Review: "Man is our greatest hazard and our only hope" - "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.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #90,136 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #158 in Teen & Young Adult Classic Literature #176 in Literary Satire Fiction #187 in Classic American Fiction |

## Images

![The Winter of Our Discontent (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/712+OB4V4GL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A conflict without resolution
*by G***R on December 19, 2021*

I have read most of Steinbeck’s novels and this is, without a doubt, one of my favorites. It is bleak, but so is the world today at many levels. What I like most, however, is the literary honesty of not attempting to reconcile the conflicting narratives of who we are and who we want to be (or pretend to be). It is noted in the introduction that Carlos Baker’s review for “The New York Times” noted with dissatisfaction that “This is a problem novel whose central problem is never fully solved, an internal conflict novel in which the central issue between nobility and expediency, while it is joined, is never satisfactorily resolved.” Expediency, you will find, is really a euphemism for immorality and dishonesty. Not the immorality that rises to the level of murder perhaps, but a willingness to bend the rules of fairness and personal obligation to society at large in the interest of naked self-interest. The whole point of the novel, as I read it, is that the conflict between nobility and the pursuit of self-interest at any cost can never be resolved. Or will never, depending on the generosity of your judgment. And history has certainly proven that to be true. The New Baytown of 1960 lives on today, the only difference being that no one today is making any attempt to hide the conflict. Self-interest is no longer to be suspected or hidden, it is to be celebrated as the most noble of human attributes. Certainly it is to be worn on the sleeve as a badge of strength, ingenuity, and cunning. As the author himself notes prior to the book’s opening paragraph, “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.” For Steinbeck, the introduction goes on to say, in reference to the Cold War, raging at the time, “his real fear for his country centered not on Sputnik and Russian armament but on a ‘creeping, all-pervading, nerve gas of immorality which starts in the nursery and does not stop before it reaches the highest offices, both corporate and governmental.’ “ Is this the America of 1960 or 2021? If I sound morally indignant or attempting to claim some higher moral ground, I am not. Like Hawley, in the end, I have settled into a kind of acceptance. I do what I can but accept what I can’t. Life, like the universe, always has two sides and is optimized when it is in balance. It is a short distance from one end of the spectrum to the other, as so many self-proclaimed paragons of nobility and morality have demonstrated through the centuries. The unending conflict, as it were, is as fixed as the Law of Entropy. In the right hands, however, as is the case here, its study can be enlightening. And enlightenment is almost always entertaining and educational. For this work Steinbeck certainly deserved the 1962 Nobel Prize for Literature he received.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Man is our greatest hazard and our only hope"
*by K***N on May 2, 2009*

"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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent
*by J***Y on July 1, 2026*

Interesting take on how one’s values often clash with the moral disregard and lack of trust/empathy it can take to obtain high financial status. Ending was very well written. One of my favorite Steinbeck books I’ve read so far (I’ve read quite a few). Still incredibly relevant like most great books.

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*Last updated: 2026-10-03*