Morality Within Discontent

The Winter of Our Discontent, by John Steinbeck, 1996 ed.

Within each action, man places his own self-interest. The morals of this are continuously questioned, and throughout The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck explores both the traditional, Christian view and the natural view of the world and its corruption. He shows how Ethan Allen's life was that of a Christian, when he followed his morals, was very passive and generous, and even suffered and was a victim of betrayal. However, Steinbeck also shows that nature can take hold of a man, when Ethan's animalistic instincts and moral conflicts arise. With these, I feel Steinbeck is saying that although Christianity is the traditional way of moral thought, the natural processes come first in allowing Ethan and every human to make the proper decisions necessary for survival. Both views, the moral and amoral ways of thought, work inside of each person to control their actions and behaviors.

To understand the views Steinbeck explores, we must first understand morality. Morals are beliefs that a person or a society has on the difference between right and wrong. Sometimes, the morals of an individual and the society they live in will clash, and so begins a struggle to survive with an internal conflict. With this in mind, it could be said that morals are simply a belief in an opinion, which leads to a battle of the weak versus the strong. Those with stronger moral judgments or even that of a larger population will most likely win against the beliefs of a smaller group or individual. In cases like these, some people will change their morals to fit those of the majority, or the society. Ethan questions this, and the motives behind each acceptance of a wrongful action. He found that "to most of the world success is never bad...Strength and success - they are above morality, above criticism" (187). If this is the case, then morals could change based upon the need to be a part of the winning side. The question then arises, whether morality is truly a battle of beliefs, such as with Christianity, or just of weak versus strong, winner versus loser, with an animalistic approach.

The traditional view of morality comes from Christianity. It focuses on a person's ideals, the idea of a selfless sacrifice, and community. There is a will for people to acknowledge their connection with those that surround them, and realize that by helping their community, the person will in turn be able to help themselves. Doing so would not cause a person to be considered selfish; rather, it would be considered an act of self-interest, which is important for a person to have in order to survive. Having self-interest, even in an act of generosity, allows the person to decide what is right or wrong based upon how it could help them prosper.

Generosity almost always has a bit of self-interest in it, because helping the community one lives in survive means that each person has a better chance of survival within it. In such a way, community plays a large part in the Christian view. Many would believe that doing things according to and in favor of the community rather than the self would limit free will, but in reality it simply changes how the free will is to be seen. Each individual is free to break away from the role he must play, but then he must suffer the repercussions of his actions. The entire community around him would fall apart, and his own survival could be threatened. When Ethan began to allow the corruption of the town to enter into his own actions, he started to realize the danger he was in of having his son follow in his deceptive footsteps. In this way, many choose to stay in the community out of self-interest. Whether the morality seen in the community conflicts with or compliments the morals of the individual, an acceptance of the new morals is necessary for everyone to succeed and survive.

You also see throughout the novel how Steinbeck portrays betrayal. Just as Christ was betrayed by Judas, as well as Peter later on, you see similar betrayals in Ethan's life. His father had been betrayed by his friend, Mr. Baker's father, with an incident in the whaling business that caused Ethan's family to lose their status. This betrayal of a friend was repeated in Ethan's life, when he gave Danny money to get him institutionalized for his own self-interest in the land that he had owned. However, in Ethan's case, he continuously tried to justify his actions of giving Danny the money. He felt that Danny wanted to die, and rather than having him be a drunkard for years to come, Ethan wanted to help his brother out. Ethan was able to rationalize his action of betrayal of a brother by fitting it to his morals, and in the end gained a large reward for such a generous act.

In Christian views, moral acts of kindness are rewarded. Through Karma, one can acknowledge that there is an order to the world, but it leaves it up to each person whether to exploit it or accept it as the order of life; it can be seen as a natural order, or it could also be seen as a spiritual order. Christ's sacrifice cannot relate to reality, and can solely be explained in a spiritual fashion, and because of this many people try to dismiss it. The reason behind this is that what cannot be understood stands as a threat to overcoming one's power. In Ethan's case, the morals taught by Christianity in his youth stand in his way of regaining his social status, and so he tries to change them to his needs. What he doesn't realize, however, is that both a natural view and a Christian view of morals work together to create the perception and recognition of right and wrong.

Although Steinbeck shows that he acknowledges the traditional Christian view of morality and corruption, the first scene in which Christianity is introduced portrays it in a negative light. It introduces an alternative side of Christianity, which mirrors the duality of mankind. Just as man has both an outward self, the part that he shows the world, and an inner self, a part that he keeps bottled inside, Christianity can be seen as following a moral savior, yet it can also be seen as following an amoral disturbance. Although there is no right way to look at the situation, it is clear that Steinbeck acknowledges that what is seen as a good action can be seen from a viewpoint which makes it amoral. Suicide and sacrifice is another major difference in the Christian and Roman views. Christians believe that suicide is simply the weakened, defeated way out. It occurs when one loses faith, or refuses to bear life and its hardships. To the Romans,