Alienation of the Individuals: Representing the Outcasts:
"If you're in trouble, or hurt or need, go to the poor people. They are the only ones that'll help — the only ones."
John Steinbeck.
This part of the first chapter studies the reasons behind people’s alienation and what can possibly hinder proper interaction with the other. After that, I will examine the struggles in which the characters are included and additionally those reasons for these struggles, that is, those inner and/or outer agents which decide those characters’ social defeat or accomplishment. I will also review the dominant narratives of the American Dream. This work targets the ethical decadence of the American populace, as it is shown is the novel, and the reasons behind the development of such a phenomenon. In effect, it puts a greater emphasis on the logic of gain and profit.
First of all, and in order to understand Steinbeck’s works, it is of great importance to be acquainted with the set of values he is advocating; Steinbeck believes in the significance of loyalty as a major value in a person’s life; loyalty to family, to society, and to one’s country. Hence, he asserts the necessity of land and home in achieving the success of the individual, as they provide protection as well as a meaning of fellowship and affiliation. This shows that human beings need something to identify themselves with, and maybe to die for. On the other hand, however, Steinbeck despises sameness and conformity; he disrespects people who worship money. Being humans invites us to be selflessly devoted to others; many of Steinbeck’s novels, therefore, defend the theme of family unity. He mentions instances of characters that blindly chase their ambitions and forgot to seek love and real happiness. For Steinbeck, sincerity is an important element in life, but having a truthful mind and a friendly attitude do not always guarantee an easy communication with others. Steinbeck argues that a sincere person, though having a distinguished personality, will always suffer from solitude, feeling like an outcast in a corrupt society.
New Bay Town, as depicted in the novel, is full of heartless people as they pay too much attention to appearances and pecuniary gain. This town, like any group of people, rejects and isolates its revolutionary members who try to break with its status quo. These members are seen as traitors and, therefore, as a threat that needs to be caste out from New Bay Town. Sometimes, however, it is not the differences in ideologies or views that lead to this rupture in relations; a person or even a group may be rejected because of skin color, [ethnicity or religiosity]. Also, they might be discriminated against because of their lower social ranking. In this logic, I believe that the greatest satisfaction for man is to attain his socially-oriented definition and his social acknowledgment. Yet, we notice that for one reason or another, people tend to reject each other more than pleasantly co-exist. I suppose that it is the prioritizing of business interests over human relations that create very weak social bonds. Strongly desiring man's happiness, John Steinbeck is pre-occupied with the factors that prevent this interpersonal communication, factors that cause alienation among human beings. He feels that every person has a capacity for affection, and it is only through a love-based communication that men would ward off troubles. Instead, men often reject each other for reasons that originate from three major causes: first human nature, then the lack of communication skills, and finally the fierce longing for success.
Some of Steinbeck’s characters, who resort to alienation due to their feeling of guilt. In The Winter of Our Discontent Ethan is the first character who willingly alienates himself. He is seeking peace, which shows that he laments over his future, having lost his ancestors’ wealth and the respect of his friends. As a grocery man, people who once knew him, turn a blind eye to his presence and disregard him. Ethan’s soul is indeed empty. Thus, he finds solace in his work as a grocery man. By the same token, Ethan appears to need some space and time for himself. He needs to be honest with himself and to have some profound existential moments before he carries on with his life. His crowded life isn’t giving him enough room for himself and to be capable of differentiating between rightfulness and wrongfulness. In one of his statements, he even appears doubtful:
A clerk in a grocery store—Marullo’s grocery store—a man with a wife and
two darling children. When is he alone, when can he be alone? Customers in
the day time, wife and kiddies in the evening; wife at night, customers in the day
time, wife and kiddies in the evening. “Bathroom—that’s when,” Ethan said
loudly, and right now, before I open the sluice. (9)
Another reason for alienation is the inability to communicate accurately with others, either because we have difficulties accepting their differences or because we are afraid that they might not accept ours. In the novel, Ethan takes a long time before admitting that he is unable to communicate with his son, Allen, and this shows the impact of generation gap on this relation. Understanding the requirements of time and lifestyles of children will help to evaluate children and take the right decisions. We can cope with the generation gap by learning these feelings and requirements. The novel suggests that bridging the generation gap between parents and children is essential and that parents often contribute their share in the failure of their kids by pushing them beyond their limits.
If we would like deal with the issue of alienation in The Winter of Our Discontent from a sociological point of view, we would realize that chasing success is a fundamental element; characters always expect others to be jealous of their achievements, which is not always true. A few characters, for example, Mr. Bigger, can just deal with others by being frigid, far-off, and at times forceful and offending to the degree that when they arrive at the peak of their prosperity, they are forsaken. This category of people can sacrifice anything to pursue greatness and uniqueness. They disregard people’s love and companionship for the sake of achieving their dreams. Some people feel that being in touch with others, whom they generally consider as boundaries to their way of success, is a waste of time and vigor. People who think this way tend to do whatever action serves their self-interest, be pitiless or callous with respect to others; they believe it is the morally suitable behavior that heightens their social status. In other words, what is good for them is what begets extra profit. Following this idea, Mary displays an immense concern for the Hawley’s status in New Bay Town and amplifies Ethan’s obsession with obtaining a great fortune for her own satisfaction.
Society is distracted by maintaining order and protecting the status quo. Steinbeck condemns the way society forces individuals to change their perspectives and values. By so doing, Steinbeck urges people to challenge society’s restraints in order to restore their happiness through disobeying and resisting any type of oppression. In the light of what has been said, we may study the evolution that our protagonist goes through. This change is intended to break the restraints established by society and aims at reaching a better understanding of the self and of the emblem of the communal bond. On his way to rediscovering the external world, Ethan puts aside all pre-assumptions and stops looking at things from a perspective that is not his own, and tries to build and put into practice his own set of social values. Ethan is unmindful of this delusion as per which he seeks lavish belongings, he is unable to realize that funds cannot procure adoration or felicity. He also has romantic view of wealth which does not prepare him for the selfish, snobbish, and corrupt people with which he comes to associate. Steinbeck demonstrates how an ambition can get to be defiled by one’s concern for obtaining fortune, influence and extravagant objects. In the previous century, the American Dream continuously centered on material things as a sign of achieving opulence Nevertheless, we notice that although Ethan has become immersed in an increasingly materialistic and perverted world, he is still at heart a humane person. Ethan notices the situation of poor people who suffer at the periphery of life, and he understands the refined social world represented by society. For this reason, all of his responses involve his conscious ambivalence about class differences. Ethan feels responsible for the other.
The concept of “Otherness” is very important in Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent; it is highly useful to the construction of one’s identity or rather what one wishes not to be. However, as I have stated previously, it is crucial for the novel’s dramatic construction that the Other turns into an enemy. Steinbeck uses the category of morality to divide his characters into good and evil. In some cases even Ethan participates in wrongdoings; still, he and Mr. Baker are on the opposite sides of the moral scale in Steinbeck’s plot. Appearances also play a part in the construction of Otherness. As I have shown, clothing, cleanliness and physical appearance can all be used to create an idea of the other, and furthermore, the enemy. Once social obedience is added to this list, Steinbeck already has quite enough means to depict his characters in the manner he wishes and to represent them either as good guys, us, or as unwanted and frightening, the enemy. This being said shows that building Otherness is not limited to the characters of the novel, but it extends to the reader as well. With different methods the reader is lured to include him or herself with the ‘us’ group, Ethan’s group. Ethan is the only character whose thoughts always prevail; acting alone as he does is a powerful way for Steinbeck to gain sympathy for the character. Nonetheless, Otherness is built in the novel through the characters, and even if the construction is sometimes presented as one sided, it is not. Steinbeck argues that we cannot define ourselves without knowing who we are not and where we do not belong. We cannot define ourselves only through positive identifications and, because of this the contrary Other is necessary as well. Thus, identity is built between the relationship of the Self and the Other, and identity, therefore, is a feature of ‘me’ and ‘them’.
It could also be argued that The Winter of Our Discontent is a depiction of human nature and the status of society through the eyes of one person, who has experienced the wickedness individuals, can do. Otherness, therefore, is never born in a vacuum; it needs social interaction to survive, and, on this particular subject, the interaction happens in a residential area. Ethan perceives the same things in a different manner. He is trying to show that he refuses imposed conventions; therefore he wants to see a world free from the absurd concepts he embraced beforehand .Ethan’s revolutionary thinking leads him to question religious certainties; he believes that religion obliges people to do selfish and cruel things in the name of God. For him, religion is used to enslave people and to justify [ the abuse of others. ] . This is clearly shown in Ethan’s mockery about “Good Friday” when he says “Why do they call it Good Friday? What’s good about it?” (41) For these reasons he doubts the credibility and truthfulness of religion. This mirrors Steinbeck’s views as he does not trust religious truths; to Steinbeck, it is the life of any human being itself that is a miracle. Steinbeck does not explain death from a religious perspective; he rather adverts that death is an appeasement from the daily problems and agonies experienced by people.
The dialogue between Ethan and his daughter, Ellen, is not only entertaining and real; it also provides an excellent contrast to his conversation with Ellen .Ellen says
Take me with you.”
Silly, I can’t. But if you’ll come in the kitchen, I’ll wash your face.”
Take me with you. You’re not coming back.”
What do you mean skookum? Of course I’m coming back. I’m always
coming back. You go up to bed and rest. Then you’ll feel better.”
You won’t take me?”
Where I’m going they wouldn’t let you in. Do you want to stand outside
in your nightgown?”
Don’t you want your stick?”
No, Ellen. Not tonight. Go to bed, darling. Go to bed.” (297)
Ethan can be himself with Ellen, which means that she represents an alternative for her brother and a new hope for her father. Ethan can see further because he is intellectually and spiritually at a higher awareness than his surroundings, and the fact that he is not understood by others frustrates him. Essentially Ethan desires to be at peace and avoid the inner conflicts and entanglements that culminate in the war in his mind. Therefore, we deduce that the hero does not fit and he is unable to find channels of communication with his surroundings.
Ethan’s reaction to Danny’s tragic death proves that he is a humanitarian character who believes that the real value lies in the individual and not in the things he owns. We may consider this type of novel as a revolution against the mainstream ideas that divide people according to their properties and not to their contribution to humanity and human beings. Classifications made by society are therefore wrong and must be challenged and even reversed since the real value lies in the individual and not in the things he owns. This experience paves the way for Ethan to gain a new insight into people and to get in touch with his true self, his undiscovered essence. Ethan finds himself in a more uncertain position than ever before. He is trapped among many unanswered questions about life, but after going through many tough circumstances he is now able to notice that only the world outside can help him comprehend that sadness and happiness, ugliness and beauty coexist in life as inseparable halves of a whole.
This novel aims at bridging the division between morals and the world of business and attempts to change the established status quo by building a morally-conscious society. Steinbeck advocates that human beings must fight their selfishness. He suggests that the problems created by aggression and greed such as alienation, isolation, and social injustice can be transformed by individual and collective efforts to avoid inner confusion. It is only through these efforts of understanding, changing beliefs, and reducing fear and defensiveness that these people can work toward developing an efficacious and constructive communal life.
Critics notice that the category of people Steinbeck loves are most often found in the lower strata of society where people lack possessions that make them selfish and where they are open and plain in their lifestyle Samuel Levenson says: “The single emotion which dominates Steinbeck is compassion, a deep and abiding sympathy for the homeless, the hungry, the vagrant and the sick” . Mr. Anders Österling, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy states;
“His sympathies always go out to the oppressed, to the misfits and the distressed; he likes to contrast the simple joy of life with the brutal and cynical craving for money. But in him we find the American temperament also in his great feeling for nature, for the tilled soil, the wasteland, the mountains, and the ocean coasts, all an inexhaustible source of inspiration to Steinbeck in the midst of, and beyond, the world of human beings”
After becoming intimately acquainted with many of Steinbeck's people, one quickly realizes that John Steinbeck respected, loved, and enjoyed the company of the masses paying no heed to their stature in life. He loathes class disparities. It is evident that Steinbeck tends to favor the use of strange and bizarre characters. Many critics have pointed out that he has a greatly small number of common people in his narratives. It is true also that John Steinbeck has the unique ability, through description and dialogue, to create heroes or heroines even of abnormal people. John Steinbeck has gone far toward being the voice of the underdog or the underprivileged calling out in the dark jungle of our society. There is a line of similarity threading through his books; yet every single chef-d’oeuvre has a distinguished touch as regards Steinbeck’s style of writing and artistry.
This is to say that Steinbeck exalts characters who reject [the fundamentals of capitalism in New Bay Town] . Using characters that occupy the bottom tiers of the social ladder, Steinbeck deconstructs the literary archetypes of immigrants and females through adopting a forgiving tone toward them. Women, for example, have been, generally, misrepresented and their roles in society have not been recognized as essential because of the common belief that [man’s upward social and political mobility is favored by the societal forces over that of woman]. Male writers therefore, negatively depict female characters. John Steinbeck [has also been blamed for ] having a lack of respect and appreciation for women in his works. Peter Lisca for example suggests that in Steinbeck’s works male relationships and not women are the main focus: "Steinbeck's women's allurements are overshadowed by the more solid attraction of male companionship!” . In this logic, he adverts that “In all of Steinbeck's works there were only a half dozen unmarried women who were not professional whores: In the world of his fiction women do have a place. But they seem compelled to choose between home-making and whoredom” (Lisca207)
The above argument appears correct, but there is a serious defect in this reasoning. I believe that in The Winter of Our Discontent, John Steinbeck adopts a retrospective technique to discuss the present-day issue of gender public policy in the United States. He indeed proves his mastery of masking his critique of recent ways of life, which renders his narrative more convenient to contemporaneous readers. The investigation of Mary, Margie Young, and Ellen displays social strains and cultural mobility along with how these specific strains and mobility influenced women of the post-Depression period . While Mary stands for the epitome of the established domesticity, Margie Young embodies the image of the unsubordinated and unconventional woman who rejects the tasks of a mother and a wife. Instead of elaborating on the point that women who deviate from their conventional roles need to shoulder the results , Steinbeck presents the character of Mary as an alternatively different female figure who foregrounds an innovative concept of femininity . Despite the fact that Mary fully embraces her conventional domestic tasks and sustains a housewifely profile, she is firm as regards her femininity and she refuses to let it be determined by domesticity .
In the novel, Mary is depicted as a very real person. She is pictured in her state of poverty and at the same time pictured in her state of dignity. She realizes her power to sway the family and an equal power to sway other families. She urges more from those that are capable and she shields those that are needy and powerless. Praising her faithfulness Ethan says
She has not wavered, not in the transplanting from Boston Irish
tenancy to the old Hawley house on Elm Street. And she never
wavered in the slow despondency of my failing business, in the birth
of our children, or in the paralysis of my long clerkship. She is a
waiter—I can see that now. And I guess she had at lengthy last grown
weary of waiting. Never before had the iron of her wishes showed
through, for my Mary is no mocker and contempt is not her tool. She
has been too busy making the best of too many situations. (80)
Mary knows people as few psychologists know them and understands them. Marry retains her faith in herself, in people, and in God. She faces all situations with a prayer on her lips. Through the character of Mary, Steinbeck explains the complex problems of the ignorant or simple minded people. He reveals their struggle against the business vultures of the world. Ethan, as the man of the house, must face the problems, but somehow it is through Mary's eyes that the reader really realizes the obstacles that they try to overcome.
In the course of The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck attempts to unveil the hidden inequalities among men and women to his contemporary readers as well as the constraints imposed upon women of the 1960s. Through his characterization of Mary, Steinbeck cautions his contemporary readers. Mary’s behavior exemplifies the effects of the limitations society imposes upon women, forcing them into domesticity. Margie Young, who is an unlikable woman, proves that society’s idea of the domestic woman is only a façade. Through Margie Young’s emancipation, Steinbeck reveals the importance of equality among men and women and urges postwar society to review the domestic politics in place and remove the constraints placed upon women. By examining the lives of two women who are victims of oppression, Steinbeck reinforces the idea that the patriarchal society in which he is writing is guilty of oppressing women, thus making his readers aware that they are entertaining false images of femininity. Also, by making Mary and Margie Young of different ages, Steinbeck emphasizes that women of all ages can be victims of oppression. In contrast to the confining relationship Mary experiences with Ethan, Margie and her boyfriend form a relationship of equality, in which they have an understanding and appreciation of the importance of each other’s manlike and womanlike attributes. Unlike Ethan, who will accept Mary only if she conforms to his notion of the ideal woman, Margie’s boyfriend does not try to impose a false identity on her.
Through his depiction of Mary, Margie Young, and Ellen in The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck not only reveals, but also explores the restrictions imposed upon women by the society of which his contemporary readers were a part. According to Lorelei Cederstrom “Steinbeck’s novels reveal his deep respect for the balance between masculine and feminine upon which not only every man/woman relationship but also the health of the earth itself depends. Thus, even if Steinbeck was requesting that his contemporary society become aware of the severity of the restrictions it had imposed upon women and that this society establishes a new, less oppressive idea of femininity that would allow for equality among men and women, one must wonder if his readers regarded his appeal. The audience does not perceive that the domestic figure is an unlikable woman, but rather that the woman who rebels from conformity and domesticity is despicable and rejected.
When we undertake the issue of America and its history of immigration, the American cultural milieu strongly encourages or compels newcomers to abandon their past for successful assimilation into the community. The migrant families were denied any reasonable opportunity to climb the social ladder and were isolated from the rest of society. But, they found a way to rely on each other and formed a bond of community among themselves. The economic situation was oppressing them, but they sought to create a sense of community and family values wherever they went. The migrants were a fitting subject for Steinbeck to use as his metaphor for the struggle between dislocation and community. Most of the nineteenth and early twentieth century attempts to portray the living conditions of the poor but honest workers failed to convince, because the writers themselves were culturally and even geographically too far from the proletarian world. This novel however, is not simply about Marullo as an immigrant, but about the treatment of one group of humans by another. Steinbeck was one of the leftist authors that would not sacrifice aesthetic considerations for didacticism; The Winter of Our Discontent is a novel that Steinbeck designed from the inception to be a social commentary, meant to convey Steinbeck’s own moral and political philosophy to the reader. This is not to imply that Steinbeck is reproducing Marx, but rather that there is a basic harmony between the philosophy of Marx and that of Steinbeck. This latter rather focuses on the depiction of agrarian life, most importantly to portray an image of group-man’s ability to exist without being reliant on the capitalist system.
The main assertion is that human nature is common to everyone regardless of the reality of cultural multiplicity. Nevertheless, people from different cultures may not have a similar appreciation of the world as it is or may not embrace the morals in the same manner as the others do. Analogically a person’s understanding can be compared to a pair of glasses; it becomes difficult, therefore, to determine what type of interpretation can be trusted. In this regard culture marks a people’s total way of life. It is the epitome of their convictions, beliefs, norms, and intellectual dispositions. It is easy to come to quick conclusions, either blaming the immigrants for their own difficulties because they were unable to embrace the changes in technology, or blaming the landowners and farmers' associations for trying to use technology to increase their profits. The economic situation in the 1930s was very complex and Steinbeck introduces to the forefront an equitable point of view. Steinbeck's viewpoint documents what was happening without placing blame on a single person or a group of people.
Although Steinbeck’s works provide a wide range of topics, illustrating social readings, he basically focuses on the treatment of the American scene. He bridges the gap between the American individuals and the imagined communities in his stories to show the potential for reform on the societal level through the lessons learned by his characters. If this novel indeed he deals, as I suggest that it is a division not between hope and materialistic despair but between the smallness and futility of man to bring about social reform and the potential to take strides in that direction through the power of example and the bonds of community. On the surface, Steinbeck’s novel may appear to be just a shallow novel about a traditional family that experiences financial hardships during the Depression. Upon a closer examination, however, it is apparent that The Winter of Our Discontent is a profound social commentary on the degenerate and illusory impacts that materialism can have on the populace of New Bay Town.
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