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卮鬲丕亍 丕賱爻禺胤
"賳丨爻 賮賶 乇賵丕賷丞 ""卮鬲丕亍 丕賱爻禺胤"" 胤丕亘毓賸丕 噩丿賷丿賸丕 賲鬲賲賷夭丕 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賱乇賵丕卅賷 丕賱賰亘賷乇 噩賵賳 卮鬲丕賷賳亘賷賰貙 賳丨爻 賮賷賴丕 丕賱鬲丨賰賲 丕賱禺賱丕賯 賮賷 丕賱卮賰賱 丕賱賮賳賷 廿賱賶 噩丕賳亘 乇氐丕賳丞 丕賱兀爻賱賵亘 賵毓賲賯 丕賱賮賰乇丞.
鬲丿賵乇 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丨賵賱 兀夭賲丞 賲孬賯賮 鬲胤丨賳賴 丕賱兀賵囟丕毓 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 丕賱賲丨賷胤丞 亘賴. 廿賳 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賱兀賵賱 賲乇丞 賷噩毓賱 亘胤賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 禺乇賷噩 噩丕賲毓丞 賴丕乇賮丕乇丿貙 賵賷噩毓賱 賲賳 鬲兀夭賲賴 丕賱賳賮爻賷 丕賱賲丨乇賰 丕賱兀賵賱 賱丕乇鬲亘丕胤賴 亘丕賱兀丨丿丕孬.
賷鬲毓乇囟 亘胤賱 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賮賷 兀賵賱 鬲毓乇賮賳丕 亘賴 廿賱賶 孬賱丕孬丞 兀丨丿丕孬 鬲夭賱夭賱 賰賷丕賳 丕賱賰丕卅賳 丕賱毓丕丿卅貙 賮賲丕 亘丕賱賰 亘賲賳 賴賵 賲賴賷兀 賮毓賱丕 賱賱鬲賲乇丿. 賷鬲毓乇囟 丕賱亘胤賱 賮賷 賷賵賲 賵丕丨丿 賱廿睾乇丕亍 毓丕賴乇丞 丕賱亘賱丿丞貙 孬賲 賷毓乇囟 毓賱賷賴 丕賱賯賷丕賲 亘毓賲賱賷丞 爻胤賵貙 賵賷兀禺匕 兀賵賱 丿乇爻 毓賲賱賶 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賴 毓賳 賲賲丕乇爻丞 丕賱鬲噩丕乇丞貙 賵鬲毓乇囟 毓賱賷賴 兀賵賱 乇卮賵丞. 賵賷噩爻賲 丕賱乇賵丕卅賷 毓賵丕賲賱 丕賱囟睾胤 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷 毓賱賶 亘胤賱賴 賵賷夭賷丿 賲賳 賯爻賵鬲賴丕 賱賷賴賷卅賴 賱賱賯賷丕賲 亘兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 爻鬲鬲賵丕賱賶."
鬲丿賵乇 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丨賵賱 兀夭賲丞 賲孬賯賮 鬲胤丨賳賴 丕賱兀賵囟丕毓 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 丕賱賲丨賷胤丞 亘賴. 廿賳 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賱兀賵賱 賲乇丞 賷噩毓賱 亘胤賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 禺乇賷噩 噩丕賲毓丞 賴丕乇賮丕乇丿貙 賵賷噩毓賱 賲賳 鬲兀夭賲賴 丕賱賳賮爻賷 丕賱賲丨乇賰 丕賱兀賵賱 賱丕乇鬲亘丕胤賴 亘丕賱兀丨丿丕孬.
賷鬲毓乇囟 亘胤賱 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賮賷 兀賵賱 鬲毓乇賮賳丕 亘賴 廿賱賶 孬賱丕孬丞 兀丨丿丕孬 鬲夭賱夭賱 賰賷丕賳 丕賱賰丕卅賳 丕賱毓丕丿卅貙 賮賲丕 亘丕賱賰 亘賲賳 賴賵 賲賴賷兀 賮毓賱丕 賱賱鬲賲乇丿. 賷鬲毓乇囟 丕賱亘胤賱 賮賷 賷賵賲 賵丕丨丿 賱廿睾乇丕亍 毓丕賴乇丞 丕賱亘賱丿丞貙 孬賲 賷毓乇囟 毓賱賷賴 丕賱賯賷丕賲 亘毓賲賱賷丞 爻胤賵貙 賵賷兀禺匕 兀賵賱 丿乇爻 毓賲賱賶 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賴 毓賳 賲賲丕乇爻丞 丕賱鬲噩丕乇丞貙 賵鬲毓乇囟 毓賱賷賴 兀賵賱 乇卮賵丞. 賵賷噩爻賲 丕賱乇賵丕卅賷 毓賵丕賲賱 丕賱囟睾胤 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷 毓賱賶 亘胤賱賴 賵賷夭賷丿 賲賳 賯爻賵鬲賴丕 賱賷賴賷卅賴 賱賱賯賷丕賲 亘兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 爻鬲鬲賵丕賱賶."
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1961
3,092 people are currently reading
52.7k people want to read
About the author
John Steinbeck
976听books25k听followersJohn Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters."
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,355 reviews
December 29, 2018
Steinbeck鈥檚 The Winter of Our Discontent was first published in 1961 and was his last novel.
It was also the latest book published prior to his winning the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature. Interestingly, when asked if he felt that he deserved the award, this 鈥済iant of American letters鈥� said: 鈥淔rankly, no.鈥� Further, recent archives revealed that Steinbeck was a 鈥渃ompromise choice鈥� for the award amidst a group described as 鈥渁 bad lot鈥�. Although the committee believed Steinbeck's best work was behind him by 1962, committee member Anders 脰sterling believed the release of his novel The Winter of Our Discontent in 1961 showed that "after some signs of slowing down in recent years, [Steinbeck has] regained his position as a social truth-teller [and is an] authentic realist fully equal to his predecessors Sinclair Lewis and Ernest Hemingway." 鈥� Wikipedia.
I read several of his works in HS, many moons ago, and last year returned to his canon with his short, brilliant work . Steinbeck is to me, the quintessential twentieth century American writer. Hemingway and Faulkner were bridges to an older time, almost lost in mythic dreams of the past. Steinbeck is forward looking, one who chronicles our struggles, reveals our sins and comments upon the path we are on now.
It is in this last endeavor where The Winter of Our Discontent fits. Steinbeck tells the tale of Ethan Allen Hawley, a tragic and lost son of old New England wealth, his connections to the Pilgrim / Pirate heroes of his old family all but lost after the money is gone, but the old house and the family name remain. The reader finds Ethan working as a grocery clerk, in a town his family once all but owned, and working for an Italian immigrant.
In this setting, Steinbeck goes on to describe a modern American morality play. From the town manager, to the judges, to the banker, and all the way to the fortune telling divorcee the town is corrupt and self-serving, but retaining the outward mask and appearance of civility and propriety. Ethan鈥檚 dilemma, in the post World War II era, is one that still resonates today, but in amplified and exponential terms.
Now, I鈥檒l go out on a limb and compare Steinbeck鈥檚 New Baytown to two unlikely later artists. I have noticed, especially in Philip K. Dick鈥檚 that his descriptions of later 50s northern California was Steinbeckesque. I鈥檓 not sure that Steinbeck ever heard of Philip K. Dick, much less ever read his work, but a fan of Steinbeck鈥檚 writing may be pleasantly surprised to visit PKD鈥檚 short list of non science fiction works.
Also, and this likeness is more obscure 鈥� Peter Benchley鈥檚 is the literary descendant of Steinbeck鈥檚 east coast morality play. True, Steinbeck does not illustrate the killing rampage of a prehistoric predator on a summer hamlet 鈥� or does he? Steinbeck鈥檚 monster is, like Benchley鈥檚 (and more obscurely Melville鈥檚) really the elitist fa莽ade of correctness amidst a society being consumed from within.
It was also the latest book published prior to his winning the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature. Interestingly, when asked if he felt that he deserved the award, this 鈥済iant of American letters鈥� said: 鈥淔rankly, no.鈥� Further, recent archives revealed that Steinbeck was a 鈥渃ompromise choice鈥� for the award amidst a group described as 鈥渁 bad lot鈥�. Although the committee believed Steinbeck's best work was behind him by 1962, committee member Anders 脰sterling believed the release of his novel The Winter of Our Discontent in 1961 showed that "after some signs of slowing down in recent years, [Steinbeck has] regained his position as a social truth-teller [and is an] authentic realist fully equal to his predecessors Sinclair Lewis and Ernest Hemingway." 鈥� Wikipedia.
I read several of his works in HS, many moons ago, and last year returned to his canon with his short, brilliant work . Steinbeck is to me, the quintessential twentieth century American writer. Hemingway and Faulkner were bridges to an older time, almost lost in mythic dreams of the past. Steinbeck is forward looking, one who chronicles our struggles, reveals our sins and comments upon the path we are on now.
It is in this last endeavor where The Winter of Our Discontent fits. Steinbeck tells the tale of Ethan Allen Hawley, a tragic and lost son of old New England wealth, his connections to the Pilgrim / Pirate heroes of his old family all but lost after the money is gone, but the old house and the family name remain. The reader finds Ethan working as a grocery clerk, in a town his family once all but owned, and working for an Italian immigrant.
In this setting, Steinbeck goes on to describe a modern American morality play. From the town manager, to the judges, to the banker, and all the way to the fortune telling divorcee the town is corrupt and self-serving, but retaining the outward mask and appearance of civility and propriety. Ethan鈥檚 dilemma, in the post World War II era, is one that still resonates today, but in amplified and exponential terms.
Now, I鈥檒l go out on a limb and compare Steinbeck鈥檚 New Baytown to two unlikely later artists. I have noticed, especially in Philip K. Dick鈥檚 that his descriptions of later 50s northern California was Steinbeckesque. I鈥檓 not sure that Steinbeck ever heard of Philip K. Dick, much less ever read his work, but a fan of Steinbeck鈥檚 writing may be pleasantly surprised to visit PKD鈥檚 short list of non science fiction works.
Also, and this likeness is more obscure 鈥� Peter Benchley鈥檚 is the literary descendant of Steinbeck鈥檚 east coast morality play. True, Steinbeck does not illustrate the killing rampage of a prehistoric predator on a summer hamlet 鈥� or does he? Steinbeck鈥檚 monster is, like Benchley鈥檚 (and more obscurely Melville鈥檚) really the elitist fa莽ade of correctness amidst a society being consumed from within.
April 30, 2025
鈥�Money is not nice. Money got no friends but more money.鈥�
Every year in late winter, when profoundly discontent with the snow that keeps falling, I find myself thinking of this book, the final novel of the great American novelist John Steinbeck. The Winter of our Discontent, the title from Shakespeare鈥檚 , is a moral allegory with Steinbeck questioning if personal ethics are valued on the grand scale of society, and if the American dream with its offer of prosperity and property becomes a gateway drug for abandoning your ethics in the name of ever more revenue and riches. This is the story of Ethan Allen Hawley, an everyman with a family name known to the locals, as well as a Revolutionary War namesake, , to connect readers minds to ideas of American legacy. His father鈥檚 fortune gone, Ethan is mostly content providing for his family working for the local grocer, something that locals remind him he should feel ashamed of. Winter of our Disconent faces everyman Ethan with a series of temptations to rise to wealth and power and Steinbeck shows how moral good is increasingly shucked off for success.
鈥�Where money is concerned, the ordinary rules of conduct take a holiday.鈥�
As someone that spent much of my 20s told working retail was something to be ashamed of, the opening of this book connects pretty well. There is also the racism element going on here as his boss, Marullo, is Italian and Steinbeck toys with the disconcerting notion of how immigrants are seen as lesser than and to be an 鈥渁merican鈥� working for one is somehow shameful. Steinbeck brings criticism after criticism of the idea of polite melting pot society. Faced with multiple avenues towards financial stability, such as a bank robbing plot and investment scheme, we see Ethan having a moral meltdown inside and Steinbeck does well to emphasize his Puritan heritage to comment upon the maelstrom of morality he is grappling with. To take action would be to reclaim the honor of his family name, to provide for his kids who are nearing college age, and to have the life he was promised basically for being a white male american with a family name.
Ethan muses on the questions of power and morality saying 鈥�in business and in 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鈥攂ut he must get there first.鈥� However, to get there first has a person sacrificed too much? His quest for power begins on Easter Sunday, a clever death and rebirth symbolism added in, and as the novel progresses we watch Ethan fall from his moral pedestal as he swindles, steals and scams his way up. Most notably is the betrayal of his best friend, Danny, the town drunk. He gives Danny money to clean up his life in exchange for his property deeds. He knows full well Danny won鈥檛 get clean and in the aftermath Ethan is faced with what he has done, what he has become, and what he has sacrificed morally to get there. No King of the Mountain but a man responsible for death.
鈥�I guess I'm trying to say, Grab anything that goes by. It may not come around again.鈥�
Ending on the 4th of July is a curious choice, one meant to represent a sort of rebirth.With a near-suicide avoided through his daughter, Ethan hopefully has a new commitment to morality, though we see his son representing the idea that this American amorality is passing onto another generation. While not my favorite Steinbeck, this is one I think about more than others as the years have gone by. It is a dark little allegory and shows Steinbeck鈥檚 dissatisfaction with American society, one with much less charm than his younger novels. There is a distinct disillusionment at play, though Steinbeck leaves the ending a bit open in order for possible hope. However, it is certain that in the end we learn that 鈥�intention, good or bad, is not enough,鈥� and an affirmation that personal ethics should, and do, matter.
3.75/5
Every year in late winter, when profoundly discontent with the snow that keeps falling, I find myself thinking of this book, the final novel of the great American novelist John Steinbeck. The Winter of our Discontent, the title from Shakespeare鈥檚 , is a moral allegory with Steinbeck questioning if personal ethics are valued on the grand scale of society, and if the American dream with its offer of prosperity and property becomes a gateway drug for abandoning your ethics in the name of ever more revenue and riches. This is the story of Ethan Allen Hawley, an everyman with a family name known to the locals, as well as a Revolutionary War namesake, , to connect readers minds to ideas of American legacy. His father鈥檚 fortune gone, Ethan is mostly content providing for his family working for the local grocer, something that locals remind him he should feel ashamed of. Winter of our Disconent faces everyman Ethan with a series of temptations to rise to wealth and power and Steinbeck shows how moral good is increasingly shucked off for success.
鈥�Where money is concerned, the ordinary rules of conduct take a holiday.鈥�
As someone that spent much of my 20s told working retail was something to be ashamed of, the opening of this book connects pretty well. There is also the racism element going on here as his boss, Marullo, is Italian and Steinbeck toys with the disconcerting notion of how immigrants are seen as lesser than and to be an 鈥渁merican鈥� working for one is somehow shameful. Steinbeck brings criticism after criticism of the idea of polite melting pot society. Faced with multiple avenues towards financial stability, such as a bank robbing plot and investment scheme, we see Ethan having a moral meltdown inside and Steinbeck does well to emphasize his Puritan heritage to comment upon the maelstrom of morality he is grappling with. To take action would be to reclaim the honor of his family name, to provide for his kids who are nearing college age, and to have the life he was promised basically for being a white male american with a family name.
Ethan muses on the questions of power and morality saying 鈥�in business and in 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鈥攂ut he must get there first.鈥� However, to get there first has a person sacrificed too much? His quest for power begins on Easter Sunday, a clever death and rebirth symbolism added in, and as the novel progresses we watch Ethan fall from his moral pedestal as he swindles, steals and scams his way up. Most notably is the betrayal of his best friend, Danny, the town drunk. He gives Danny money to clean up his life in exchange for his property deeds. He knows full well Danny won鈥檛 get clean and in the aftermath Ethan is faced with what he has done, what he has become, and what he has sacrificed morally to get there. No King of the Mountain but a man responsible for death.
鈥�I guess I'm trying to say, Grab anything that goes by. It may not come around again.鈥�
Ending on the 4th of July is a curious choice, one meant to represent a sort of rebirth.With a near-suicide avoided through his daughter, Ethan hopefully has a new commitment to morality, though we see his son representing the idea that this American amorality is passing onto another generation. While not my favorite Steinbeck, this is one I think about more than others as the years have gone by. It is a dark little allegory and shows Steinbeck鈥檚 dissatisfaction with American society, one with much less charm than his younger novels. There is a distinct disillusionment at play, though Steinbeck leaves the ending a bit open in order for possible hope. However, it is certain that in the end we learn that 鈥�intention, good or bad, is not enough,鈥� and an affirmation that personal ethics should, and do, matter.
3.75/5
May 21, 2021
John Steinbeck's last novel and it shows when an author pontificates his views to the readers he becomes not a writer anymore but a preacher. Disappointed in life Steinbeck tries to convey his dark feelings to the rest of the world even if they aren't too interested...there are many others, nevertheless a great novel which few scribblers could match. Ethan Allen Hawley (named after famous Revolutionary War hero) has a comfortable but ordinary existence a loving , loyal , pretty wife Mary two troublesome teenagers Allen and Ellen yet quite normal. His problem the family background, coming from an old aristocratic clan and Ethan just a grocery clerk, the store owned by an Italian immigrant the strict, secretive Marullo. All the Long Island town of New Baytown reiterates his background and he should take a prominent position in the city, worst his wife is tired of being poor and puts substantial pressure on Ethan. Only by devious means can the honest man achieve this success, he has too often seen it happen in the corrupt settlement. Danny Taylor his boyhood best friend now the town drunk , has valuable land where an airport would fit there very nicely. Can he trick the poor pathetic man by stealing it? He is deeply wounded by the decline of Danny so much promise ending up in misery and despair, unable to help the troubled inebriate. His boss maybe isn't legally in America...easily rectified by a phone call. Nothing really bad everyone else does these trivial things...right? The sticky problem is Ethan has a conscious, he knows good from evil, the World War 2 veteran doesn't lack courage in combat however civilians must behave differently no license to kill here . Margie Young -Hunt is very fetching his wife Mary's best friend, searching for a mate had already two before, a tasty morsel if he can cross the forbidden line she seems willing . Mr. Baker the unethical, greedy president of the bank and only one in town wants Danny Taylor's land an airport would be good business, everyone could benefit handsomely especially Mr. Baker. Ethan needs to make choices...still how will the man live with himself if wrong, all people are in the same boat floating or sinking those who are good navigators and manage well will reach the magical shore the others ... descend to the murky bottom.
August 5, 2017
Rating: 6* of five
The Publisher Says: Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of Steinbeck鈥檚 last novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With Ethan no longer a member of Long Island鈥檚 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鈥檚 contemporary 1960 America, the novel explores the tenuous line between private and public honesty that today ranks it alongside his most acclaimed works of penetrating insight into the American condition. This edition features an introduction and notes by Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.
My Review: This is a wonderful short novel by a master of his craft at the peak of his form. It is also his last novel.
Some people at the time it was published felt it was a wrong turning for Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat) to abandon both the west coast that had made him famous and brought his considerable social conscience to the world's attention for an east coast grifter's POV. The Winter of Our Discontent is a story that has nothing but shades of gray. Everyone in it is shady somehow. That is, I think, what verschmeckled the reviewers and made the public angry. Up until then, there were clear-cut Good Guys and Bad Guys in every Steinbeck tale. Here...no, no one qualifies as all good or all bad.
The POV is of Ethan, a man who is the degenerate scion of a venerable family. He is married with teenaged kids, and he will do anything to support his family. Including, to their horror, work for an Italian grocer as his clerk. The nerve of the man, a son of the founder of his town, working for someone who *should* be his gardener, according to his friends and his kids.
Well, he thinks, how can I help it, we all gotta eat. So he hatches a plot that will restore the family "honor" by swindling a friend. He goes through with it. He gets what he wants. And, frankly, so does the "swindled" friend, an alcoholic prowling for his next few thousand drinks.
This isn't really Steinbecky stuff, it's too hard to pin down from a moral standpoint. On the other hand, it's superbly told, and it's amazingly well crafted, and it's undoubtedly the best thing Steinbeck wrote after 1950. Reviews were harsh, sales were poor, and Steinbeck lost heart for fiction after that. He published two travel books before his death in 1968, a mere 30 years after "The Grapes of Wrath" burst on the scene. Imagine the wonders he could have produced had he lived to an Updikey 80-plus.
What a wonderful read, and so overlooked...please don't overlook it any longer!
The Publisher Says: Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of Steinbeck鈥檚 last novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With Ethan no longer a member of Long Island鈥檚 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鈥檚 contemporary 1960 America, the novel explores the tenuous line between private and public honesty that today ranks it alongside his most acclaimed works of penetrating insight into the American condition. This edition features an introduction and notes by Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.
My Review: This is a wonderful short novel by a master of his craft at the peak of his form. It is also his last novel.
Some people at the time it was published felt it was a wrong turning for Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat) to abandon both the west coast that had made him famous and brought his considerable social conscience to the world's attention for an east coast grifter's POV. The Winter of Our Discontent is a story that has nothing but shades of gray. Everyone in it is shady somehow. That is, I think, what verschmeckled the reviewers and made the public angry. Up until then, there were clear-cut Good Guys and Bad Guys in every Steinbeck tale. Here...no, no one qualifies as all good or all bad.
The POV is of Ethan, a man who is the degenerate scion of a venerable family. He is married with teenaged kids, and he will do anything to support his family. Including, to their horror, work for an Italian grocer as his clerk. The nerve of the man, a son of the founder of his town, working for someone who *should* be his gardener, according to his friends and his kids.
Well, he thinks, how can I help it, we all gotta eat. So he hatches a plot that will restore the family "honor" by swindling a friend. He goes through with it. He gets what he wants. And, frankly, so does the "swindled" friend, an alcoholic prowling for his next few thousand drinks.
This isn't really Steinbecky stuff, it's too hard to pin down from a moral standpoint. On the other hand, it's superbly told, and it's amazingly well crafted, and it's undoubtedly the best thing Steinbeck wrote after 1950. Reviews were harsh, sales were poor, and Steinbeck lost heart for fiction after that. He published two travel books before his death in 1968, a mere 30 years after "The Grapes of Wrath" burst on the scene. Imagine the wonders he could have produced had he lived to an Updikey 80-plus.
What a wonderful read, and so overlooked...please don't overlook it any longer!
November 5, 2016
The brilliance of John Steinbeck intimidates me. I spend a great deal of my time while reading his books nodding my head in agreement and gasping in awe at how he tackles the profound and the everyday with the same amount of elan.
First off, I enjoyed this story. I cared about Ethan Allen Hawley, and not just his person but his soul. I wanted him to emerge unscathed even though I knew he could not, because no one can compromise his own morality and remain unsoiled. I cried for what I knew was his major loss and yet I ended still hoping he could find some way to live with what he had done without resorting to lying to himself, which would only deepen the corruption.
This is the world he lives in, and I dare say it is the world we live in as well:
The Town Manager sold equipment to the township, and the judges fixed traffic tickets as they had for so long that they did not remember it as illegal practice--at least the books said it was. Being normal men, they surely did not consider it immoral. All men are moral. Only their neighbors are not.
How much immorality is too much? Do the ends justify the means? Is your sin less egregious if you are sinning against a sinner? And, to quote Mark 8:36, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
There is a reason John Steinbeck is considered one of the great American authors. It has something to do with his ability to tell a fascinating tale and still pack so many unobtrusive, salient issues into its telling.
Just one more quote, because who wouldn't appreciate this kind of imagery: "The young boys, bleeding with sap, sit on the stools of Tanger's Drugstore ingesting future pimples through straws. They watch the girls with level goat-eyes and make disparaging remarks to one another while their insides whimper with longing." Digest that.
First off, I enjoyed this story. I cared about Ethan Allen Hawley, and not just his person but his soul. I wanted him to emerge unscathed even though I knew he could not, because no one can compromise his own morality and remain unsoiled. I cried for what I knew was his major loss and yet I ended still hoping he could find some way to live with what he had done without resorting to lying to himself, which would only deepen the corruption.
This is the world he lives in, and I dare say it is the world we live in as well:
The Town Manager sold equipment to the township, and the judges fixed traffic tickets as they had for so long that they did not remember it as illegal practice--at least the books said it was. Being normal men, they surely did not consider it immoral. All men are moral. Only their neighbors are not.
How much immorality is too much? Do the ends justify the means? Is your sin less egregious if you are sinning against a sinner? And, to quote Mark 8:36, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
There is a reason John Steinbeck is considered one of the great American authors. It has something to do with his ability to tell a fascinating tale and still pack so many unobtrusive, salient issues into its telling.
Just one more quote, because who wouldn't appreciate this kind of imagery: "The young boys, bleeding with sap, sit on the stools of Tanger's Drugstore ingesting future pimples through straws. They watch the girls with level goat-eyes and make disparaging remarks to one another while their insides whimper with longing." Digest that.
January 31, 2020
鈥淎nd when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!鈥� Matthew 27:29
A man will rise鈥� A man will fall鈥�
The Winter of Our Discontent is about guilty conscience.
The Winter of Our Discontent is about the nature of fortune and misfortune.
Dishonesty is a foundation of prosperity鈥� And honesty leads to discontent.
A man will rise鈥� A man will fall鈥�
The Winter of Our Discontent is about guilty conscience.
The Winter of Our Discontent is about the nature of fortune and misfortune.
Now I was on the edge of the minefield. My heart hardened against my selfless benefactor. I felt it harden and grow wary and dangerous. And with its direction came the feeling of combat, and the laws of controlled savagery, and the first law is: Let even your defense have the appearance of attack.
Dishonesty is a foundation of prosperity鈥� And honesty leads to discontent.
January 7, 2023
The Winter of Our Discontent is the grand finale of John Steinbeck's fictitious creations. Deriving the title from William Shakespeare's Richard III opening lines "Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York", the story is somewhat a psychological analysis into a man's moral dilemma of doing what is right and doing whatever it takes for him to become successful.
As Gloucester in Richard III, Ethan Allen Hawley in Steinbeck's novel hopes for better times, as he has reached the height of his discontent. Coming from once a wealthy and influential family, the reduced circumstances to which he has fallen, plodding through his life as a mere grocery clerk is quite displeasing to him. The Hawleys once carried their head high, and now, though he is still respected for his ancestry and lineage, he doesn't know how long the water will hold. He is sure it won't pass to the next generation, unless he, Ethan Hawley, does something about it. He no longer can avoid the growing restlessness in his family, living in reduced conditions. But what can he possibly do? If he treads on a high moral path, nothing. But avenues may open to him if he wouldn't mind deviating lawfully from such high grounds. What ground should he tread on? Success or righteous? Here is then the dilemma for Ethan. And Steinbeck takes us through his quandary with his powerful prose.
This final novel by Steinbeck is quite different from his early works, both in style and theme. The Steinbeck who wrote this wasn't the same Steinbeck who was influenced by his native Salinas Valley. Here he has moved from his comfort zone and adjusted himself to a geographical and cultural change. He had also to adjust to the changing times, the need to address the prevailing issues in American society. There is a mature growth in his writing here. It is rich, deep and, demanding. Steinbeck plays well with his pen. He paints a vivid picture of his story which strongly connects the readers to the characters and settings. His deep but subtle penetration into the mind of the protagonist shows the inner struggle of a man who chooses success above morality. I've never felt Steinbeck to be a demanding writer. But he has presented the story in such a subtle manner that you need the focus of all your faculties to fully appreciate it.
I read that the reception of this novel was mixed and that there were some severe criticisms made against it which silenced Steinbeck's creative fiction. But from the perspective of a devoted fan, this is one of Steinbeck's best.
As Gloucester in Richard III, Ethan Allen Hawley in Steinbeck's novel hopes for better times, as he has reached the height of his discontent. Coming from once a wealthy and influential family, the reduced circumstances to which he has fallen, plodding through his life as a mere grocery clerk is quite displeasing to him. The Hawleys once carried their head high, and now, though he is still respected for his ancestry and lineage, he doesn't know how long the water will hold. He is sure it won't pass to the next generation, unless he, Ethan Hawley, does something about it. He no longer can avoid the growing restlessness in his family, living in reduced conditions. But what can he possibly do? If he treads on a high moral path, nothing. But avenues may open to him if he wouldn't mind deviating lawfully from such high grounds. What ground should he tread on? Success or righteous? Here is then the dilemma for Ethan. And Steinbeck takes us through his quandary with his powerful prose.
This final novel by Steinbeck is quite different from his early works, both in style and theme. The Steinbeck who wrote this wasn't the same Steinbeck who was influenced by his native Salinas Valley. Here he has moved from his comfort zone and adjusted himself to a geographical and cultural change. He had also to adjust to the changing times, the need to address the prevailing issues in American society. There is a mature growth in his writing here. It is rich, deep and, demanding. Steinbeck plays well with his pen. He paints a vivid picture of his story which strongly connects the readers to the characters and settings. His deep but subtle penetration into the mind of the protagonist shows the inner struggle of a man who chooses success above morality. I've never felt Steinbeck to be a demanding writer. But he has presented the story in such a subtle manner that you need the focus of all your faculties to fully appreciate it.
I read that the reception of this novel was mixed and that there were some severe criticisms made against it which silenced Steinbeck's creative fiction. But from the perspective of a devoted fan, this is one of Steinbeck's best.
August 22, 2014
I was forwarded a blog post recently (written by someone much sharper than me) that asked where our contemporary John Steinbecks have gone. The masterful fiction dedicated to the minimum wage worker, the family displaced by the Great Recession living out of a motel room, or anyone living from paycheck to paycheck seems largely extinct from the bestseller lists.
Hard luck stories about average American families fill newspapers, while in fiction, it seems like world building, not world reporting, are what get traffic. Steinbeck didn't have to worry about launching his author platform or getting retweeted in 1961 when his nineteenth novel was published. His storytelling, his vibrant and passionate depictions of the American worker, and his wisdom, are needed now more than ever.
The Winter of Our Discontent takes place between Good Friday and the Fourth of July, 1960 (Steinbeck apparently wrote the first draft during that same stretch of time). Rather than the Salinas Valley, the story takes place in the fictional hamlet of New Baytown, in northern Maine. The novel is narrated by Ethan Allen Hawley, a grocery clerk whose ancestors made their fortune as privateers (a discreet way of saying "pirates") on the seas.
The empire built by the Hawleys was squandered by Ethan's father through bad investments, while Ethan returned from war to briefly own and operate a grocery store that couldn't stay open. Now a mere employee in a store run by a Sicilian immigrant named Marullo. Ethan's boss regards him with equal parts pride and pity, grateful at the straight line that Ethan walks (never cheating or stealing) while also trying to advise the "kid" on how to make a dollar and a cent in this country. The key to the latter seems to come back to cheating or stealing.
Well-liked in spite of the acidic wit he dispenses around his wife Mary and adolescent children Ellen and Allen, Ethan's fortunes begin to change when his wife's friend, a gold digging floozy with a flair for fortune telling named Margie Young-Hunt, forecasts that Ethan is destined to become one of the most important men in town. The news is met with elation by Ethan's family, tired of being poor. Ethan opts to play the game for a while, to prove how easy it is to become a financial success and how little it changes things once you become one.
Ethan ends up being right on one count, wrong on the other.
A series of seemingly unrelated events fall into place around Ethan, each expertly crafted by Steinbeck. There's Ethan's childhood friend Danny Taylor, a Naval Academy washout whose disappointment to his family transformed him into the town drunk, albeit, a drunk who owns the most valuable real estate around. There's bank teller Joey Brophy, a cad who explains to Ethan how he'd rob a bank if he wanted to get away with it. There's Mr. Baker, a banker dogging Ethan to invest money left to Mary by her brother. Ethan learns of big changes coming to New Baytown and by virtue of his family name, seems poised to benefit.
Ethan doesn't feel sorry for himself or blame anyone for his mistakes as much as he's resigned to watch life from the sidelines now, sick of the hypocrisy his wife and his quiz show obsessed son seem eager to engage in. Ethan isn't the most likable narrator, but I could identify with him. I liked the way that Steinbeck balanced the Way It Used To Be (Ethan holds conversations with both his late grandfather Cap'n, the last mariner in the Hawley line, and his late Aunt Deborah, who taught her nephew how to use his mind and his conscience) with the way things seem to be headed.
In addition to the central character, I had some misgivings about the ending, but I take this as a virtue of the author for investing me in characters I care about. Margie Young-Hunt is a terrific character, a sexually liberated sorceress of a sort who doesn't feel sorry for herself either, and like Ethan, can't seem to resist making waves in the pond. Steinbeck's dialogue is so good and in this novel, we again glimpse what seem like real adults working over what seem like insurmountable economic or social problems at the kitchen table. Steinbeck's gift is making something so mundane so riveting on the page.
Hard luck stories about average American families fill newspapers, while in fiction, it seems like world building, not world reporting, are what get traffic. Steinbeck didn't have to worry about launching his author platform or getting retweeted in 1961 when his nineteenth novel was published. His storytelling, his vibrant and passionate depictions of the American worker, and his wisdom, are needed now more than ever.
The Winter of Our Discontent takes place between Good Friday and the Fourth of July, 1960 (Steinbeck apparently wrote the first draft during that same stretch of time). Rather than the Salinas Valley, the story takes place in the fictional hamlet of New Baytown, in northern Maine. The novel is narrated by Ethan Allen Hawley, a grocery clerk whose ancestors made their fortune as privateers (a discreet way of saying "pirates") on the seas.
The empire built by the Hawleys was squandered by Ethan's father through bad investments, while Ethan returned from war to briefly own and operate a grocery store that couldn't stay open. Now a mere employee in a store run by a Sicilian immigrant named Marullo. Ethan's boss regards him with equal parts pride and pity, grateful at the straight line that Ethan walks (never cheating or stealing) while also trying to advise the "kid" on how to make a dollar and a cent in this country. The key to the latter seems to come back to cheating or stealing.
Well-liked in spite of the acidic wit he dispenses around his wife Mary and adolescent children Ellen and Allen, Ethan's fortunes begin to change when his wife's friend, a gold digging floozy with a flair for fortune telling named Margie Young-Hunt, forecasts that Ethan is destined to become one of the most important men in town. The news is met with elation by Ethan's family, tired of being poor. Ethan opts to play the game for a while, to prove how easy it is to become a financial success and how little it changes things once you become one.
Ethan ends up being right on one count, wrong on the other.
A series of seemingly unrelated events fall into place around Ethan, each expertly crafted by Steinbeck. There's Ethan's childhood friend Danny Taylor, a Naval Academy washout whose disappointment to his family transformed him into the town drunk, albeit, a drunk who owns the most valuable real estate around. There's bank teller Joey Brophy, a cad who explains to Ethan how he'd rob a bank if he wanted to get away with it. There's Mr. Baker, a banker dogging Ethan to invest money left to Mary by her brother. Ethan learns of big changes coming to New Baytown and by virtue of his family name, seems poised to benefit.
Ethan doesn't feel sorry for himself or blame anyone for his mistakes as much as he's resigned to watch life from the sidelines now, sick of the hypocrisy his wife and his quiz show obsessed son seem eager to engage in. Ethan isn't the most likable narrator, but I could identify with him. I liked the way that Steinbeck balanced the Way It Used To Be (Ethan holds conversations with both his late grandfather Cap'n, the last mariner in the Hawley line, and his late Aunt Deborah, who taught her nephew how to use his mind and his conscience) with the way things seem to be headed.
In addition to the central character, I had some misgivings about the ending, but I take this as a virtue of the author for investing me in characters I care about. Margie Young-Hunt is a terrific character, a sexually liberated sorceress of a sort who doesn't feel sorry for herself either, and like Ethan, can't seem to resist making waves in the pond. Steinbeck's dialogue is so good and in this novel, we again glimpse what seem like real adults working over what seem like insurmountable economic or social problems at the kitchen table. Steinbeck's gift is making something so mundane so riveting on the page.
March 13, 2025
Steinbeck has a recognisable style, often brutal in its reality as it relates to society and families. This novel is no exception and focuses heavily on the moral decline of the American culture in the mid-1900s, as Steinbeck addressed in letters to friends after publication. In this novel Steinbeck also examines the battles between integrity and greed.
I was challenged by the shifts in narratives - for example, from first to third person 鈥� but I worked through this with buddy reader Marge Moen.
Steinbeck鈥檚 use of intimate dialogue and the interactions between the protagonist and his family were excellent and often touching:
鈥楽he was laughing her lovely trill, something that raises goose lumps of pleasure on my soul.鈥�
鈥楾he Winter of our Discontent鈥� did not reach the 5-star high I got from 鈥楨ast of Eden鈥�, but a powerful read nonetheless.
I was challenged by the shifts in narratives - for example, from first to third person 鈥� but I worked through this with buddy reader Marge Moen.
Steinbeck鈥檚 use of intimate dialogue and the interactions between the protagonist and his family were excellent and often touching:
鈥楽he was laughing her lovely trill, something that raises goose lumps of pleasure on my soul.鈥�
鈥楾he Winter of our Discontent鈥� did not reach the 5-star high I got from 鈥楨ast of Eden鈥�, but a powerful read nonetheless.
September 30, 2021
I'm really at a loss as what to say about this incredible novel except that it is American storytelling at its best.
August 23, 2024
I continue to catch up with reviews for posting on 欧宝娱乐.
Our illustrious Steinbeck period with our Library Book Discussion group.
Steinbeck takes us to the East Coast for this setting, a small seaport which could be anywhere along the coast of New York and/or Boston.
His main character is Ethan, an unaggressive spirit working as a clerk for Alfio Marullo. What is sad about Ethan, is that he is Harvard educated, and a descendent of New England shipping captains. In years past, his family was one of the most important in town. His father lost the fortune, and Ethan has lost the family store, and now he is reduced to being a clerk, in the employ of an immigrant, Mr. Marullo. Ethan is married with two children.
This is the story of his moral descent into corruption and crime.
As Steinbeck notes in the novel鈥�
鈥淎 man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight. A story must have some points of contact with the reader to make him feel at home in it. Only then can he accept wonders.鈥�
So, what do we choose to accept as readers?
Ethan shapes his lies to get through what he believes will work best for him.
础苍诲鈥�
In so doing, he shapes his own son Allen鈥檚 behaviors, especially when Allen wins an essay cash award and we soon learn that he actually had plagiarized his essay.
Who is role modeling here?
What it comes down to is this鈥�
Steinbeck鈥檚 commentary on the hypocrisy of our social morality, where cutting corners, ruthless competition, under-cutting friends, and betraying loyalties are just the way the game is played and the main rule is not to get caught at it.
Hawley鈥檚 character serves as a mirror that exposes this in all its ugly detail in his honesty and lack of driving ambition, and then he carries the logic of betrayal and ruthlessness to its logical conclusion and鈥� (No spoilers from me!)
As always, Steinbeck鈥檚 dialogue is full of life. With obvious moral lessons here.
Which makes this鈥�
Such a great discussion book.
Our illustrious Steinbeck period with our Library Book Discussion group.
Steinbeck takes us to the East Coast for this setting, a small seaport which could be anywhere along the coast of New York and/or Boston.
His main character is Ethan, an unaggressive spirit working as a clerk for Alfio Marullo. What is sad about Ethan, is that he is Harvard educated, and a descendent of New England shipping captains. In years past, his family was one of the most important in town. His father lost the fortune, and Ethan has lost the family store, and now he is reduced to being a clerk, in the employ of an immigrant, Mr. Marullo. Ethan is married with two children.
This is the story of his moral descent into corruption and crime.
As Steinbeck notes in the novel鈥�
鈥淎 man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight. A story must have some points of contact with the reader to make him feel at home in it. Only then can he accept wonders.鈥�
So, what do we choose to accept as readers?
Ethan shapes his lies to get through what he believes will work best for him.
础苍诲鈥�
In so doing, he shapes his own son Allen鈥檚 behaviors, especially when Allen wins an essay cash award and we soon learn that he actually had plagiarized his essay.
Who is role modeling here?
What it comes down to is this鈥�
Steinbeck鈥檚 commentary on the hypocrisy of our social morality, where cutting corners, ruthless competition, under-cutting friends, and betraying loyalties are just the way the game is played and the main rule is not to get caught at it.
Hawley鈥檚 character serves as a mirror that exposes this in all its ugly detail in his honesty and lack of driving ambition, and then he carries the logic of betrayal and ruthlessness to its logical conclusion and鈥� (No spoilers from me!)
As always, Steinbeck鈥檚 dialogue is full of life. With obvious moral lessons here.
Which makes this鈥�
Such a great discussion book.
April 30, 2025
4.5 猸�
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鈥炐熜秆傂靶� 褋械 泻芯谢泻芯 谢懈 褏芯褉邪 褋褗屑 谐谢械写邪谢 锌褉械蟹 卸懈胁芯褌邪 褋懈, 斜械蟹 懈蟹芯斜褖芯 写邪 谐懈 胁懈卸写邪屑.鈥�
鈥炐澭徯夹把埿� 写邪 褋械 锌褉懈褌械褋薪褟胁邪褕 芯褌 褌芯胁邪, 泻邪泻胁芯 屑懈褋谢褟褌 锟斤拷芯褉邪褌邪 蟹邪 褌械斜, 邪泻芯 蟹薪邪械褕械 泻芯谢泻芯 褉褟写泻芯 谐芯 锌褉邪胁褟褌.鈥�
鈥炐椥感夹把傂� 薪邪 薪邪褕械褌芯 薪械写芯胁芯谢褋褌胁芯鈥� 械 屑薪芯谐芯 写芯斜褗褉 褉芯屑邪薪, 泻芯泄褌芯 褋褗写褗褉卸邪 褋懈谢薪懈 锌芯褋谢邪薪懈褟... 袧械 褍褋锌褟 写邪 屑懈 胁褗蟹写械泄褋褌胁邪 泻芯谢泻芯褌芯 写褉褍谐懈 胁械谢懈泻懈 泻薪懈谐懈 薪邪 袛卸芯薪 小褌邪泄薪斜械泻, 芯斜邪褔械 褋褗褋 褋懈谐褍褉薪芯褋褌 褋懈 蟹邪褋谢褍卸邪胁邪 胁薪懈屑邪薪懈械褌芯. 袩懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌 芯褔械胁懈写薪芯 褋械 械 胁写褗褏薪芯胁懈谢 蟹邪 褋褗蟹写邪胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈褟褌邪 芯褌 鈥炐犘秆囆把€写 孝褉械褌懈鈥�, 褌褗泄 泻邪褌芯 蟹邪谐谢邪胁懈械褌芯 械 锌褉械锌褉邪褌泻邪 泻褗屑 楔械泻褋锌懈褉芯胁邪褌邪 褌胁芯褉斜邪. 小褞卸械褌褗褌 褍胁谢械泻邪褌械谢薪芯 锌褉芯褋谢械写褟胁邪 屑芯褉邪谢薪懈褟 褍锌邪写褗泻 薪邪 袠褌褗薪, 泻芯泄褌芯 械 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪 懈 褔械褋褌械薪 锌褉芯写邪胁邪褔 胁 屑邪谢泻芯 邪屑械褉懈泻邪薪褋泻芯 谐褉邪写褔械 芯褌 褋褉械写邪褌邪 薪邪 20-褌懈 胁械泻, 薪芯 胁锌芯褋谢械写褋褌胁懈械 褉械褕邪胁邪 写邪 薪邪褌褉褍锌邪 斜芯谐邪褌褋褌胁芯 懈 胁谢邪褋褌...
鈥炐� 谐褉邪写褔械褌邪 泻邪褌芯 薪邪褕械褌芯 屑懈褌芯胁械褌械 褋 谢芯锌邪褌邪 写邪 谐懈 褉懈薪械褕.鈥�
鈥炐熜秆傂靶� 褋械 泻芯谢泻芯 谢懈 褏芯褉邪 褋褗屑 谐谢械写邪谢 锌褉械蟹 卸懈胁芯褌邪 褋懈, 斜械蟹 懈蟹芯斜褖芯 写邪 谐懈 胁懈卸写邪屑.鈥�
鈥炐澭徯夹把埿� 写邪 褋械 锌褉懈褌械褋薪褟胁邪褕 芯褌 褌芯胁邪, 泻邪泻胁芯 屑懈褋谢褟褌 锟斤拷芯褉邪褌邪 蟹邪 褌械斜, 邪泻芯 蟹薪邪械褕械 泻芯谢泻芯 褉褟写泻芯 谐芯 锌褉邪胁褟褌.鈥�
March 4, 2021
At this age, I am no longer acquisitive. I wander my house and wonder at all the things I have bought in the first half of my life, as it filling up my house would somehow validate my worth. Today, all these things that I don鈥檛 use in my daily life just seem like dust gatherers. Even the books that I read, I either give away or sell for some negligible coinage.
Not this book. I will keep this book because someday I will want to read it again.
The novel is about an unsuccessful man grappling with moral questions in his attempt to become successful, to please and provide for his family. Saying much more about the plot may be saying too much. For a while I was confused about what he was planning to do, didn鈥檛 comprehend what was happening, or why. And then when I thought I understood, I was wrong or thought so, but it was more complex than I had understood. In this sense, it was like a well written mystery with its mandatory twists and turns.
This is not a book for a young person. I would save it for middle age at least.
It is not an easy read. Although I was amused by the main character鈥檚 wit, it was slow moving in the first half. It was sometimes difficult to follow. Even the main character鈥檚 wife didn鈥檛 understand him much of the time. And, if you are ready to tackle it, you might want to have your mobile device in hand to look up words or phrases or what must be quotes, because you may not otherwise get all of the references. Or, just decide that you want to breeze past them on a first reading and then go back. Be prepared for introspection.
For the pure love of words, I defy anyone too write more beautiful prose than what I found between the first three to four pages of Chapter Fourteen. The first three sentences are, 鈥淛uly first. It parts the the year like the part in a head of hair. I had foreseen it as a boundary marker for me 鈥� yesterday one kind of me, tomorrow a different kind.鈥� There were too many sentences to transcribe here, but if you find yourself curious, pick up a copy and read the third paragraph on the third page of that Chapter where Steinbeck writes about the contrasts of June and July. That is as close to a perfect paragraph as one might ever write.
So I am going to put this book on the special shelf I have for the keepers. And some time in the future, even if I have to pack it away for a cross country move, I will reread this book, more slowly, the way it deserves to be read the second time.
Not this book. I will keep this book because someday I will want to read it again.
The novel is about an unsuccessful man grappling with moral questions in his attempt to become successful, to please and provide for his family. Saying much more about the plot may be saying too much. For a while I was confused about what he was planning to do, didn鈥檛 comprehend what was happening, or why. And then when I thought I understood, I was wrong or thought so, but it was more complex than I had understood. In this sense, it was like a well written mystery with its mandatory twists and turns.
This is not a book for a young person. I would save it for middle age at least.
It is not an easy read. Although I was amused by the main character鈥檚 wit, it was slow moving in the first half. It was sometimes difficult to follow. Even the main character鈥檚 wife didn鈥檛 understand him much of the time. And, if you are ready to tackle it, you might want to have your mobile device in hand to look up words or phrases or what must be quotes, because you may not otherwise get all of the references. Or, just decide that you want to breeze past them on a first reading and then go back. Be prepared for introspection.
For the pure love of words, I defy anyone too write more beautiful prose than what I found between the first three to four pages of Chapter Fourteen. The first three sentences are, 鈥淛uly first. It parts the the year like the part in a head of hair. I had foreseen it as a boundary marker for me 鈥� yesterday one kind of me, tomorrow a different kind.鈥� There were too many sentences to transcribe here, but if you find yourself curious, pick up a copy and read the third paragraph on the third page of that Chapter where Steinbeck writes about the contrasts of June and July. That is as close to a perfect paragraph as one might ever write.
So I am going to put this book on the special shelf I have for the keepers. And some time in the future, even if I have to pack it away for a cross country move, I will reread this book, more slowly, the way it deserves to be read the second time.
April 18, 2020
Sono forse io?
[Questo 猫 un romanzo da maneggiare con cura, perch茅 contiene materiale esplosivo.
A vent'anni non lo capisci.
A trenta ti insinua sotto la pelle un malessere strisciante.
Alla mia et脿 ti schianta.]
Se non avessi letto poco meno di un mese fa Viaggio con Charley, non avrei potuto immaginare quanto John Steinbeck amasse Sinclair Lewis.
Se non avessi saputo quanto John Steinbeck amasse Sinclair Lewis, forse non avrei colto sin dall'inizio le analogie con Babbitt, e non avrei riconosciuto in Ethan Hawley, il modesto commesso di New Baytown, l'evoluzione di George Babbitt, il mediocre agente immobiliare di Lewis.
Se non avessi letto precedentemente Al Dio sconosciuto, I pascoli del cielo e La Valle dell'Eden, non avrei saputo riconoscere, ancora una volta, lasciati come sassolini nel bosco, tutti quei riferimenti biblici che caratterizzano e permeano l'intera opera di Steinbeck, quell'eterno conflitto tra il bene e quel male che si affrontano senza risparmiare colpi, che si sfidano incessantemente, che convivono in ciascuno di noi.
Non avrei riconosciuto, in una storia che ha inizio in un Venerd矛 Santo del 1960, Ethan/Caino che abbandonando il suo fratello Danny/Abele si discolpa dicendo 'Sono forse io il custode di mio fratello?' e lo sacrifica all'altare della sua ambizione.
Cos矛 come non avrei riconosciuto la seducente, provocante Margie Young-Hunt/Eva avvolgere lentamente Ethan, sino a portarlo dalla sua parte per poi trasformarsi in una Margie/Maddalena.
Se io stessa non mi fossi trovata, non mi trovassi a volte, in un'et脿 in cui basta un nulla per affondare nell'inverno del proprio scontento, in cui decidere di abbandonare tutti i propri principi in virt霉 di una vita pi霉 semplice, di un successo conquistato con l'inganno e la mistificazione, se non sapessi che troppo spesso la realt脿 delle cose, la societ脿 che ci circonda ci promette La perla capace di mutare il corso della nostra esistenza, ci istiga a tradire noi stessi in cambio di un posto in prima fila, se non sapessi che alla fine dei conti l'uomo di Steinbeck chieder脿 sempre, prima che la luna sia tramontata rassicurazione sul fatto che il suo debito sar脿 pagato, e che gli sarebbe impossibile sfuggire da s茅 e dal proprio giudizio di s茅, se non sapessi tutto questo, se non avessi saputo tutto questo, avrei fatto fino alla fine il tifo per Ethan Hawley, modesto commesso nel negozio che fu della sua agiata famiglia, e per il suo rivoluzionario sogno americano, quello che proprio in quegli anni, da Revolutionary Road, Connecticut, a New Baytown, New England, lasciava credere a tutti di meritare di pi霉 di quello che possedevano, di essere destinati a qualcosa di grande, di poter allungare la mano fino a toccare le stelle.
Avrei fatto il tifo per lui, povero Ethan, se non avessi saputo che non c'猫 modo, secondo Steinbeck, di mutare il proprio destino, di prendere quello che non ci spetta, di scalare posizioni con l'imbroglio, di usare scorciatoie per poterle toccare davvero quelle stelle*.
Ma lo sapevo, lo sapevo che alla fine l'avrei riconosciuto, John Steinbeck, che l'avrei ritrovato anche nello Steinbeck che non mi aspettavo.
Quello che 猫 stato capace di trasportare e trasformare le rivalse sociali dei contadini, degli umili e dei diseredati, in quelle della media borghesia, psicologicamente vittima dello stesso scontento, che non nasce per貌 dall'assenza del pane, ma dal confronto, dal desiderare ci貌 che possiedono gli altri; quello ironico e tagliente, unico nel creare un personaggio del quale riusciamo a cogliere attimo per attimo, proprio davanti ai nostri occhi, un mutamento straordinario, 芦Mi par di credere che un uomo cambia di continuo. Ma ci sono momenti in cui il cambiamento si fa avvertibile禄, il passaggio dal divertente bottegaio che arringa barattoli di conserve e sottaceti lontano dagli sguardi di tutti, dal marito leale e affettuoso e padre integro e onesto, all'uomo che vacilla e si lascia tentare, che vede crescere in s茅 una febbre improvvisa, un delirio chiamato avidit脿, potere, possesso, e attraverso il quale puntare il dito, chiedersi cos'猫 la morale, 芦morale 猫 solo una parola?禄 senza per貌 cedere a facili moralismi.
Lo Steinbeck che non mi aspettavo (ma non 猫 neanche del tutto vero perch茅 gi脿 ne La Valle dell'Eden鈥� ma questa 猫 un'altra storia!), 猫 quello capace di creare una tensione fortissima, un ritmo che accelera i battiti cardiaci, che fa trattenere il fiato e divorare gli ultimi capitoli rabbrividendo ad ogni parola, nella speranza che鈥� ma quanto rumore fa un uomo che pensa?
芦Un uomo 猫 una cosa solitaria禄, solo davanti alla propria coscienza, una coscienza che 猫 implacabile.
(*E a proposito di stelle, non ho potuto fare a meno di pensare a Leo Burnett, un uomo di quegli anni, sconosciuto ai pi霉, ma che sulla porta di quella che sarebbe diventata una delle pi霉 grandi agenzie di pubblicit脿 del mondo, aveva un logo raffigurante una mano che tendeva alle stelle, autore di uno dei testamenti pi霉 belli che abbia mai letto. )
芦Il fallimento 猫 uno stato mentale. 脠 come una di quelle trappole che scava nella sabbia il formicaleone. Si continua a scivolar gi霉. Ci vuole un bel salto per uscirne. E lei deve fare quel salto, Eth. Una volta fuori, si accorger脿 che anche il successo 猫 uno stato mentale.禄
芦Non 猫 per caso anche una trappola?禄
芦Forse s矛鈥a d'un tipo migliore.禄
芦E se uno fa il salto e ci rimette qualcun altro?禄
芦Solo Dio vede cadere il passero, ma nemmeno Dio pu貌 farci nulla.禄
Del perch茅 amo John Steinbeck e David Foster Wallace.
L'inverno del nostro scontento - 1961
芦Non te la prenderesti di quel che pensa la gente di te, se sapessi quanto poco ci pensano禄
Infinite Jest - 1996
芦La vostra preoccupazione per ci貌 che gli altri pensano di voi scompare una volta che capite quanto di rado pensano a voi.禄
[Questo 猫 un romanzo da maneggiare con cura, perch茅 contiene materiale esplosivo.
A vent'anni non lo capisci.
A trenta ti insinua sotto la pelle un malessere strisciante.
Alla mia et脿 ti schianta.]
Se non avessi letto poco meno di un mese fa Viaggio con Charley, non avrei potuto immaginare quanto John Steinbeck amasse Sinclair Lewis.
Se non avessi saputo quanto John Steinbeck amasse Sinclair Lewis, forse non avrei colto sin dall'inizio le analogie con Babbitt, e non avrei riconosciuto in Ethan Hawley, il modesto commesso di New Baytown, l'evoluzione di George Babbitt, il mediocre agente immobiliare di Lewis.
Se non avessi letto precedentemente Al Dio sconosciuto, I pascoli del cielo e La Valle dell'Eden, non avrei saputo riconoscere, ancora una volta, lasciati come sassolini nel bosco, tutti quei riferimenti biblici che caratterizzano e permeano l'intera opera di Steinbeck, quell'eterno conflitto tra il bene e quel male che si affrontano senza risparmiare colpi, che si sfidano incessantemente, che convivono in ciascuno di noi.
Non avrei riconosciuto, in una storia che ha inizio in un Venerd矛 Santo del 1960, Ethan/Caino che abbandonando il suo fratello Danny/Abele si discolpa dicendo 'Sono forse io il custode di mio fratello?' e lo sacrifica all'altare della sua ambizione.
Cos矛 come non avrei riconosciuto la seducente, provocante Margie Young-Hunt/Eva avvolgere lentamente Ethan, sino a portarlo dalla sua parte per poi trasformarsi in una Margie/Maddalena.
Se io stessa non mi fossi trovata, non mi trovassi a volte, in un'et脿 in cui basta un nulla per affondare nell'inverno del proprio scontento, in cui decidere di abbandonare tutti i propri principi in virt霉 di una vita pi霉 semplice, di un successo conquistato con l'inganno e la mistificazione, se non sapessi che troppo spesso la realt脿 delle cose, la societ脿 che ci circonda ci promette La perla capace di mutare il corso della nostra esistenza, ci istiga a tradire noi stessi in cambio di un posto in prima fila, se non sapessi che alla fine dei conti l'uomo di Steinbeck chieder脿 sempre, prima che la luna sia tramontata rassicurazione sul fatto che il suo debito sar脿 pagato, e che gli sarebbe impossibile sfuggire da s茅 e dal proprio giudizio di s茅, se non sapessi tutto questo, se non avessi saputo tutto questo, avrei fatto fino alla fine il tifo per Ethan Hawley, modesto commesso nel negozio che fu della sua agiata famiglia, e per il suo rivoluzionario sogno americano, quello che proprio in quegli anni, da Revolutionary Road, Connecticut, a New Baytown, New England, lasciava credere a tutti di meritare di pi霉 di quello che possedevano, di essere destinati a qualcosa di grande, di poter allungare la mano fino a toccare le stelle.
Avrei fatto il tifo per lui, povero Ethan, se non avessi saputo che non c'猫 modo, secondo Steinbeck, di mutare il proprio destino, di prendere quello che non ci spetta, di scalare posizioni con l'imbroglio, di usare scorciatoie per poterle toccare davvero quelle stelle*.
Ma lo sapevo, lo sapevo che alla fine l'avrei riconosciuto, John Steinbeck, che l'avrei ritrovato anche nello Steinbeck che non mi aspettavo.
Quello che 猫 stato capace di trasportare e trasformare le rivalse sociali dei contadini, degli umili e dei diseredati, in quelle della media borghesia, psicologicamente vittima dello stesso scontento, che non nasce per貌 dall'assenza del pane, ma dal confronto, dal desiderare ci貌 che possiedono gli altri; quello ironico e tagliente, unico nel creare un personaggio del quale riusciamo a cogliere attimo per attimo, proprio davanti ai nostri occhi, un mutamento straordinario, 芦Mi par di credere che un uomo cambia di continuo. Ma ci sono momenti in cui il cambiamento si fa avvertibile禄, il passaggio dal divertente bottegaio che arringa barattoli di conserve e sottaceti lontano dagli sguardi di tutti, dal marito leale e affettuoso e padre integro e onesto, all'uomo che vacilla e si lascia tentare, che vede crescere in s茅 una febbre improvvisa, un delirio chiamato avidit脿, potere, possesso, e attraverso il quale puntare il dito, chiedersi cos'猫 la morale, 芦morale 猫 solo una parola?禄 senza per貌 cedere a facili moralismi.
Lo Steinbeck che non mi aspettavo (ma non 猫 neanche del tutto vero perch茅 gi脿 ne La Valle dell'Eden鈥� ma questa 猫 un'altra storia!), 猫 quello capace di creare una tensione fortissima, un ritmo che accelera i battiti cardiaci, che fa trattenere il fiato e divorare gli ultimi capitoli rabbrividendo ad ogni parola, nella speranza che鈥� ma quanto rumore fa un uomo che pensa?
芦Un uomo 猫 una cosa solitaria禄, solo davanti alla propria coscienza, una coscienza che 猫 implacabile.
(*E a proposito di stelle, non ho potuto fare a meno di pensare a Leo Burnett, un uomo di quegli anni, sconosciuto ai pi霉, ma che sulla porta di quella che sarebbe diventata una delle pi霉 grandi agenzie di pubblicit脿 del mondo, aveva un logo raffigurante una mano che tendeva alle stelle, autore di uno dei testamenti pi霉 belli che abbia mai letto. )
芦Il fallimento 猫 uno stato mentale. 脠 come una di quelle trappole che scava nella sabbia il formicaleone. Si continua a scivolar gi霉. Ci vuole un bel salto per uscirne. E lei deve fare quel salto, Eth. Una volta fuori, si accorger脿 che anche il successo 猫 uno stato mentale.禄
芦Non 猫 per caso anche una trappola?禄
芦Forse s矛鈥a d'un tipo migliore.禄
芦E se uno fa il salto e ci rimette qualcun altro?禄
芦Solo Dio vede cadere il passero, ma nemmeno Dio pu貌 farci nulla.禄
Del perch茅 amo John Steinbeck e David Foster Wallace.
L'inverno del nostro scontento - 1961
芦Non te la prenderesti di quel che pensa la gente di te, se sapessi quanto poco ci pensano禄
Infinite Jest - 1996
芦La vostra preoccupazione per ci貌 che gli altri pensano di voi scompare una volta che capite quanto di rado pensano a voi.禄
October 30, 2024
John Ernst Steinbeck, hero of the working class, defender of injustice, voice of the people, pen wielding warrior of truth and right, American treasure, and one of my all-time favorite authors. Maybe you can tell, I have somewhat of a man crush on our friend John. Everything the man writes is pure gold. American literature at its best.
In this, Johns's final novel, we follow our protagonist, Ethan Hawley, a long-time resident of New Baytown and local grocery clerk. Miss fortune has struck down the once great Hawley family and now the ever-honest, or maybe not forever, Ethan is forced to work as a clerk in a store his family once owned, in the town they once all but ran. Pressured by a morally decaying society, our friend Ethan makes one bad decision after another, leading him down a path of despair that more often than not one can't come back from.
Once again John drops a payload of life lesson bombs on us with The Winter of Our Discontent. Society sucks and is morally bankrupt, people are easily corrupted, money isn't everything, (and this was in 1961, how much worse are we now) the list can go on and on with this one. Steinbeck truly is one of the greatest American authors, and he proves it time and time again with every one of his works.
In this, Johns's final novel, we follow our protagonist, Ethan Hawley, a long-time resident of New Baytown and local grocery clerk. Miss fortune has struck down the once great Hawley family and now the ever-honest, or maybe not forever, Ethan is forced to work as a clerk in a store his family once owned, in the town they once all but ran. Pressured by a morally decaying society, our friend Ethan makes one bad decision after another, leading him down a path of despair that more often than not one can't come back from.
Once again John drops a payload of life lesson bombs on us with The Winter of Our Discontent. Society sucks and is morally bankrupt, people are easily corrupted, money isn't everything, (and this was in 1961, how much worse are we now) the list can go on and on with this one. Steinbeck truly is one of the greatest American authors, and he proves it time and time again with every one of his works.
January 27, 2024
賷丕賱賴賵賷 毓賱賷 丕賱賲賱賱馃檮
卮鬲丕亍 丕賱爻禺胤..丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱賱賷 噩丕亘鬲賱賷 爻禺胤 毓賱賷 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賵丕賱亘胤賱 賵 賰賱 丨丕噩丞 賮賷 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱氐乇丕丨丞!
賮賰乇丞 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓丕丿賷丞 噩丿丕賸 賵 賴賷 亘鬲鬲賰賱賲 廿夭丕賷 卮禺氐 賲賱鬲夭賲 賲賲賰賳 賷鬲睾賷乇 賱賱兀爻賵丕亍 賳鬲賷噩丞 囟睾賵胤丕鬲 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱賲丕丿賷丞 賵鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丕賱賲丨賷胤賷賳 亘賷賴 丕賱睾賷乇 兀禺賱丕賯賷丞...
伽侉贍 氐賮丨丞 賲賳 鬲賯乇賷亘丕賸 賵賱丕 丨丕噩丞 ...爻乇丿 賲賲賱 亘卮賰賱 睾賷乇 胤亘賷毓賷..
賲賮賷卮 兀賷 兀丨丿丕孬 睾賷乇 卮賵賷丞 兀丨丿丕孬 亘爻賷胤丞 賮賷 丕賱乇亘毓 丕賱兀禺賷乇 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 ..卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰賱賴丕 亘賱丕 丕爻鬲孬賳丕亍 睾賷乇 賲乇爻賵賲丞 亘毓賳丕賷丞..鬲乇噩賲丞 毓賯賷賲丞 賮賷 兀賵賯丕鬲 賰鬲賷乇 ...丨賵丕乇丕鬲 賲賱賴丕卮 胤毓賲 賵亘噩丿 賮賷 毓丿丿 賱丕 賳賴丕卅賷 賲賳 丕賱賮氐賵賱 賰丕賳 賲賲賰賳 丕賱兀爻鬲睾賳丕亍 毓賳賴 亘爻 賵噩賵丿賴 賰丕賳 賲賴賲 毓卮丕賳 賷噩賷亘賱賳丕 卮賱賱 賲卮 兀賰鬲乇 賵 賱丕 兀賯賱!
兀丨賱賷 丨丕噩丞 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丿賷 廿賳賴丕 賰丕賳鬲 賯乇丕亍丞 賲卮鬲乇賰丞 賲毓 丿丕賱賷丕 賵 爻丕乇丞 丕賱賱賷 賱賵賱丕 賵噩賵丿賴賲 賲毓丕賷丕 賵丕賱賱賴 賲賰賳鬲卮 丨毓乇賮 兀賰賲賱賴丕 賵丕賱氐乇丕丨丞 廿爻鬲丨賲賱賵賳賷 噩丕賲丿:))
卮鬲丕亍 丕賱爻禺胤..丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱賱賷 噩丕亘鬲賱賷 爻禺胤 毓賱賷 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賵丕賱亘胤賱 賵 賰賱 丨丕噩丞 賮賷 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱氐乇丕丨丞!
賮賰乇丞 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓丕丿賷丞 噩丿丕賸 賵 賴賷 亘鬲鬲賰賱賲 廿夭丕賷 卮禺氐 賲賱鬲夭賲 賲賲賰賳 賷鬲睾賷乇 賱賱兀爻賵丕亍 賳鬲賷噩丞 囟睾賵胤丕鬲 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱賲丕丿賷丞 賵鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丕賱賲丨賷胤賷賳 亘賷賴 丕賱睾賷乇 兀禺賱丕賯賷丞...
伽侉贍 氐賮丨丞 賲賳 鬲賯乇賷亘丕賸 賵賱丕 丨丕噩丞 ...爻乇丿 賲賲賱 亘卮賰賱 睾賷乇 胤亘賷毓賷..
賲賮賷卮 兀賷 兀丨丿丕孬 睾賷乇 卮賵賷丞 兀丨丿丕孬 亘爻賷胤丞 賮賷 丕賱乇亘毓 丕賱兀禺賷乇 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 ..卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰賱賴丕 亘賱丕 丕爻鬲孬賳丕亍 睾賷乇 賲乇爻賵賲丞 亘毓賳丕賷丞..鬲乇噩賲丞 毓賯賷賲丞 賮賷 兀賵賯丕鬲 賰鬲賷乇 ...丨賵丕乇丕鬲 賲賱賴丕卮 胤毓賲 賵亘噩丿 賮賷 毓丿丿 賱丕 賳賴丕卅賷 賲賳 丕賱賮氐賵賱 賰丕賳 賲賲賰賳 丕賱兀爻鬲睾賳丕亍 毓賳賴 亘爻 賵噩賵丿賴 賰丕賳 賲賴賲 毓卮丕賳 賷噩賷亘賱賳丕 卮賱賱 賲卮 兀賰鬲乇 賵 賱丕 兀賯賱!
兀丨賱賷 丨丕噩丞 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丿賷 廿賳賴丕 賰丕賳鬲 賯乇丕亍丞 賲卮鬲乇賰丞 賲毓 丿丕賱賷丕 賵 爻丕乇丞 丕賱賱賷 賱賵賱丕 賵噩賵丿賴賲 賲毓丕賷丕 賵丕賱賱賴 賲賰賳鬲卮 丨毓乇賮 兀賰賲賱賴丕 賵丕賱氐乇丕丨丞 廿爻鬲丨賲賱賵賳賷 噩丕賲丿:))
July 23, 2012
East of Eden was 600 some-odd pages and I didn't want it to end. This didn't reach 300 and it could not end soon enough. There was just nothing good about this; I can鈥檛 believe this is a Steinbeck work. Moreover, not the work of a budding author still perfecting his craft, but an author who was in the winter of his profession, having already penned Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and countless other works.
The story is about Ethan Hawley, a man of noble ancestry reduced to a grocery clerk, and his struggle to answer the questions, 鈥淲hat are morals? Are they simply words?鈥� (186). In the course of his thinking, he ponders over and confounds bank robbery and plagiarism, bribery and business, adultery and cheating on a game show. None of it is interesting. None of it is deep. None of it provokes the reader to any of the same moralizing.
Like the theme, the characters never come across as anything more than words on a page. Ethan is neither likeable nor unlikeable. He鈥檚 neither a good guy nor a bad guy. He鈥檚 got some qualities that are supposed to be endearing yet does some questionable things. That should make him all the more human, no? For some reason, no. He just isn鈥檛 written well. And the supporting cast are all stock characters: the corrupt banker, the town floozy, the lazy cop, the ungrateful teenage kids, the town drunk, the simple wife. The characters are so static that even the narrative descriptions of them appear verbatim fifty pages apart. Their characterization through dialogue is no better. For example:
-They say things like 鈥淕uess I鈥檓 a peeping Tom at heart鈥aybe because I鈥檓 a Nosy Parker鈥� (165). Two trite, cornball clich茅s on one page.
-Then there鈥檚 this unforgettable homage to friendship. 鈥淒anny and I were friends as all boys must have friends鈥� (91).
-Then there鈥檚 this one, which totally baffles me. 鈥淪he lounged away, a baby-fatted volupt. Girls kill me. They turn out to be girls鈥� (149).
The figurative language certainly doesn鈥檛 do anything to beautify the prose. For example:
-鈥淗er hands were like living things as they shuffled and cut鈥� (83). Not sure about your hands, but my hands are living things.
-"It was a day as different from other days as dogs are from cats and both of them from chrysanthemums or tidal waves or scarlet fever" (219). Can we throw any more random shit at the end of that sentence? Maybe 鈥渁s different as dogs are from a string of random shit鈥�?
Since I find it more unbearable to not finish an unbearable book than I do to unbearably keep reading the unbearable book, I had to find some way to enjoy the experience. Here鈥檚 the game I came up with, maybe you can play it the next time you鈥檙e reading an unbearable book. Find lines to take completely out of context and imagine the way the story would be different if they were the first lines of the book. For example:
-If this were a crime/horror story: "As a child I hunted and killed small creatures with energy and joy" (115).
-If this were erotica: "My sleeping daughter had the magic mound in her hand, caressing it with her fingers, petting it as though it were alive. She pressed it against her unformed breast, placed it on her cheek below her ear, nuzzled it like a suckling puppy, and she hummed a low song like a moan of pleasure and longing" (127).
I鈥檒l still try to end in typical fashion鈥�
A Decent Line:"No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose they are like himself" (44).
The story is about Ethan Hawley, a man of noble ancestry reduced to a grocery clerk, and his struggle to answer the questions, 鈥淲hat are morals? Are they simply words?鈥� (186). In the course of his thinking, he ponders over and confounds bank robbery and plagiarism, bribery and business, adultery and cheating on a game show. None of it is interesting. None of it is deep. None of it provokes the reader to any of the same moralizing.
Like the theme, the characters never come across as anything more than words on a page. Ethan is neither likeable nor unlikeable. He鈥檚 neither a good guy nor a bad guy. He鈥檚 got some qualities that are supposed to be endearing yet does some questionable things. That should make him all the more human, no? For some reason, no. He just isn鈥檛 written well. And the supporting cast are all stock characters: the corrupt banker, the town floozy, the lazy cop, the ungrateful teenage kids, the town drunk, the simple wife. The characters are so static that even the narrative descriptions of them appear verbatim fifty pages apart. Their characterization through dialogue is no better. For example:
-They say things like 鈥淕uess I鈥檓 a peeping Tom at heart鈥aybe because I鈥檓 a Nosy Parker鈥� (165). Two trite, cornball clich茅s on one page.
-Then there鈥檚 this unforgettable homage to friendship. 鈥淒anny and I were friends as all boys must have friends鈥� (91).
-Then there鈥檚 this one, which totally baffles me. 鈥淪he lounged away, a baby-fatted volupt. Girls kill me. They turn out to be girls鈥� (149).
The figurative language certainly doesn鈥檛 do anything to beautify the prose. For example:
-鈥淗er hands were like living things as they shuffled and cut鈥� (83). Not sure about your hands, but my hands are living things.
-"It was a day as different from other days as dogs are from cats and both of them from chrysanthemums or tidal waves or scarlet fever" (219). Can we throw any more random shit at the end of that sentence? Maybe 鈥渁s different as dogs are from a string of random shit鈥�?
Since I find it more unbearable to not finish an unbearable book than I do to unbearably keep reading the unbearable book, I had to find some way to enjoy the experience. Here鈥檚 the game I came up with, maybe you can play it the next time you鈥檙e reading an unbearable book. Find lines to take completely out of context and imagine the way the story would be different if they were the first lines of the book. For example:
-If this were a crime/horror story: "As a child I hunted and killed small creatures with energy and joy" (115).
-If this were erotica: "My sleeping daughter had the magic mound in her hand, caressing it with her fingers, petting it as though it were alive. She pressed it against her unformed breast, placed it on her cheek below her ear, nuzzled it like a suckling puppy, and she hummed a low song like a moan of pleasure and longing" (127).
I鈥檒l still try to end in typical fashion鈥�
A Decent Line:"No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose they are like himself" (44).
April 22, 2023
Of course, sometimes people can surprise us (and themselves), but I don't believe in such sudden metamorphoses and such a fundamental change of values. As a rule, people start seeing things and acting differently when being hit by crisis. The character of Ethan does not convince me and neither does the story. However, certain parts of the text do give some food for thought.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself. Now, sitting in the Place, out of the wind, seeing under the guardian lights the tide creep in, black from the dark sky, I wondered whether all men have a Place, or need a Place, or want one and have none. Sometimes I鈥檝e seen a look in eyes, a frenzied animal look as of need for a quiet, secret place where soul-shivers can abate, where a man is one and can take stock of it. Of course I know of the theories of back to the womb and the deathwish, and these may be true of some men, but I don鈥檛 think they are true of me, except as easy ways of saying something that isn鈥檛 easy.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'They say a good soldier fights a battle, never a war.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'There鈥檚 an awful lot of inactive kindness which is nothing but laziness, not wanting any trouble, confusion, or effort.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'A crime is something someone else commits.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'And in a ferocious jungle of the grass I found the distraction that meant peace.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself. Now, sitting in the Place, out of the wind, seeing under the guardian lights the tide creep in, black from the dark sky, I wondered whether all men have a Place, or need a Place, or want one and have none. Sometimes I鈥檝e seen a look in eyes, a frenzied animal look as of need for a quiet, secret place where soul-shivers can abate, where a man is one and can take stock of it. Of course I know of the theories of back to the womb and the deathwish, and these may be true of some men, but I don鈥檛 think they are true of me, except as easy ways of saying something that isn鈥檛 easy.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'They say a good soldier fights a battle, never a war.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'There鈥檚 an awful lot of inactive kindness which is nothing but laziness, not wanting any trouble, confusion, or effort.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'A crime is something someone else commits.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'And in a ferocious jungle of the grass I found the distraction that meant peace.'
April 24, 2021
I fell in love with Ethan Allen Hawley upon first meeting him. What a character! He is the town's nice guy, comedian and moral center. But he works as a grocer for a store that used to belong to him. He feels that his family was cheated out of it's riches (by someone burning their ship.) As events proceed and he is tempted over and over again to make more money the idea begins to sound better and better to him and slowly his moral compass turns. I still rooted for him though I was increasingly shocked by his behavior and worried for him. He begins to act like everyone else, going along with the others "who all do it," i.e cheat and sometimes hurt others in doing so. This is Steinbeck's main criticism of our culture, the idea that one has to cheat in order to get anywhere, whether it's plagiarism, (Ethan's son for an essay contest), or giving money to the town drunk (a friend ) knowing you (Ethan) will inherit his priceless land as soon as he drinks himself to death.
The ending was brilliantly ironic. Ethan cannot live with himself and what he has done so he attempts to commit suicide by drowning. He curtails this suicide in progress when he finds the talisman in his pocket. He doesn't want to drown himself and take the talisman with him. He wants someone else to have good luck from it; as if the actions which lead to his attempted "suicide" were examples of good luck!
The ending was brilliantly ironic. Ethan cannot live with himself and what he has done so he attempts to commit suicide by drowning. He curtails this suicide in progress when he finds the talisman in his pocket. He doesn't want to drown himself and take the talisman with him. He wants someone else to have good luck from it; as if the actions which lead to his attempted "suicide" were examples of good luck!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2013
There is a certain emotion in Steinbeck I have not found in other authors. Faulkner comes close, Hemingway a bit further off, perhaps Woolf is on a parallel path. Steinbeck shows us something into ourselves, he states in the book that we all have our own light, we are not a bonfire. We only understand others to the point that we assume they are akin to ourselves. Steinbeck, like Woolf in the Waves, shows us that we are all connected, and that we can find a path in this world through this novel.
This novel has been criticized by others for being lacking in the character development and depth of his other novels like East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath. I agree. It's not a long novel. It only develops one character(narrator) to the full extent and shows us the world around him. But that's the point. He states that we can only know ourselves, and we might not even know that. People look to this book to find a copy of what he has already done, but he changes in this book. He puts us finally inside the head of one of the characters instead of Steinbeck telling us the story. He is giving us, in a sense, a parting gift. The reason people do not like this book is because they want another East of Eden, but this is just as good, if not better.
I do not often read novels that allow me to think about my own self this much. I don't think this would be my first recommendation for a Steinbeck novel, I think one needs to understand his changes from Grapes, Eden, etc. to appreciate this more, but even still, this is my new favorite of his.
This novel has been criticized by others for being lacking in the character development and depth of his other novels like East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath. I agree. It's not a long novel. It only develops one character(narrator) to the full extent and shows us the world around him. But that's the point. He states that we can only know ourselves, and we might not even know that. People look to this book to find a copy of what he has already done, but he changes in this book. He puts us finally inside the head of one of the characters instead of Steinbeck telling us the story. He is giving us, in a sense, a parting gift. The reason people do not like this book is because they want another East of Eden, but this is just as good, if not better.
I do not often read novels that allow me to think about my own self this much. I don't think this would be my first recommendation for a Steinbeck novel, I think one needs to understand his changes from Grapes, Eden, etc. to appreciate this more, but even still, this is my new favorite of his.
April 7, 2024
" 賱丕 丕丿乇賷 毓賱賶 賵噩賴 丕賱賷賯賷賳 賰賷賮 鬲賰賵賳 丿禺賷賱丞 丕賱賳丕爻 丕賱丌禺乇賷賳貙 賮賴賲 噩賲賷毓丕 賷禺鬲賱賮賵賳 賵賴賲 噩賲賷毓丕賸 賷鬲卮丕亘賴賵賳 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲."
丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱乇賵鬲賷賳賷丞 貙 丕賱乇鬲賲 丕賱賴丕丿賶 貙丕賱禺賵賮 賵 毓丿賲 丕賱胤賲賵丨貙 丕賱禺賵賮 賲賳 丕賱賲噩丕夭賮丞 貙 廿賱賯丕亍 丕賱賳賰丕鬲 丿賵賲丕 賵丕賱賲夭丨 賮賷 賰賱 卮卅 貙 丕賱禺賵賮 賲賳 賰賵賳賴 賲賲賱丕賸 賲賲丕 賷噩毓賱賴 賷賯賵賲 賵賷賯賵賱 兀卮賷丕亍 丨鬲賶 賱丕 賷卮毓乇 賲賳 丨賵賱賴 亘丕賱賲賱賱 . 賷丨丕丿孬 賳賮爻賴 賵賷丨丕丿孬 丕賱兀卮賷丕亍 丕賰孬乇 賲賲丕 賷丨丕丿孬 丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 貙賱賰賳賴 亘丕賱鬲兀賰賷丿 賱賷爻 兀亘賱賴 賰賲丕 賯丿 鬲毓鬲賯丿 丨賷賳 鬲賱鬲賯賷賴 .
鈥� 鈥� " 爻鬲卮毓乇 亘鬲丨爻賳 賷丕爻賷丿賷 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲毓鬲丕丿 丨賯賷賯丞 兀賳賷 賱爻鬲 兀亘賱賴丕賸 賮賰賴丕賸 "
鈥�
鈥徹娯ж� 乇鬲賷亘丞 貙 乇賵鬲賷賳賷丞 貙 賱賷爻 亘賴丕 卮卅 賱賷鬲賲 丨賰賷賴 貙 賱丕賷賵噩丿 兀丨丿丕孬 賲賴賲丞 貙 賱丕賷賵噩丿 鬲睾賷賷乇 貙 丨賷丕丞 賲賲賱丞 賱賰賳 亘丿丕禺賱賴 卮毓賵乇 亘丕賱乇囟丕 鬲噩丕賴賴丕貙 賱丕 賷乇睾亘 賮賷 鬲睾賷賷乇賴丕 賱賰賳賴 賷卮毓乇 亘丕賱囟睾胤 丨賷賳 賷胤丕賱亘賴 丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 亘丕賱鬲睾賷賷乇 賵丕賱賲噩丕夭賮丞 ..賵賴賵 卮禺氐 賷禺丕賮 毓賱賶 丕賱兀卮禺丕氐 丕賱匕賷賳 賷丨亘賴賲 貙 夭賵噩鬲賴 賵兀亘賳丕亍賴 賵賴賲 賷乇睾亘賵賳 賮賷 丕賱賲丕賱 賵賴賵 賷乇睾亘 賮賷 廿爻毓丕丿賴賲 .
鈥� " 賮賱賳賮鬲乇囟 兀賳 賵馗賷賮鬲賷 丕賱賲鬲賵丕囟毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲賳鬲賴賷 賱賲 鬲賰賳 賮囟賷賱丞 賵廿賳賲丕 賰丕賳鬲 賰爻賱丕賸 丕禺賱丕賯賷丕賸 責! 賮兀賷 賳噩丕丨 貙 賷鬲胤賱亘 噩乇兀丞 . 賵乇亘賲丕 賰賳鬲 賲噩乇丿 噩亘丕賳 貙 丕禺卮賶 丕賱賳鬲丕卅噩貙 賵賮賷 賰賱賲丞 賵丕丨丿丞 : 賰爻賵賱丕賸. "
鈥徺囏柏� 賴賵 亘胤賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賳丕 廿賷孬丕賳 丕賱匕賷 賮賯丿鬲 毓丕卅賱鬲賴 孬乇賵鬲賴賲 賵氐丕乇 賲噩乇丿 賲賵馗賮 賮賷 賲鬲噩乇 亘毓丿 丕賳 賰丕賳 賷賲鬲賱賰賴. 賱賰賳賴 賷賲鬲賱賰 賲亘丕丿卅 賵丕禺賱丕賯賷丕鬲 乇亘賲丕 賱賲 賷毓丿 賷鬲賲爻賰 亘賴丕 兀丨丿 賲孬賱賴.
鈥徺囏百� 賴賷 丨賷丕鬲賴 賵賴匕丕 賲丕 鬲丿賵乇 丨賵賱賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 ..
鈥徹必� 賴丕丿卅 賲賳 丕賱丨賰賷 賱賷爻 亘賴 卮卅 噩匕丕亘 .. 賯丿 賷賳鬲丕亘賰 丕賱賲賱賱 貙 賯丿 鬲胤丕賱亘 亘丨丿賵孬 卮卅 .. 丨爻賳丕 賮賱鬲賳囟賲 賱賰賱 賲賳 賷毓乇賮 廿賷孬丕賳 ..
鈥�
"賱賲丕匕丕 鬲亘賯賶 賲賮賱爻丕賸責 賵兀賳鬲 乇噩賱 賱賴 賲孬賱 毓丕卅賱鬲賰 賵賲丕囟賷賰 賵鬲毓賱賷賲賰 責 賱賷爻 丕賱賲賮乇賵囟 兀賳 賷賱丕夭賲賰 賴匕丕 丕賱廿賮賱丕爻貙 廿賱丕 廿匕丕 賰丕賳 丿賲賰 賯丿 賮賯丿 丨賲賷鬲賴 .賲丕 丕賱匕賷 氐乇毓賰 貙 賷丕 廿賷孬丕賳 責 賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賷亘賯賷賰 賴賰匕丕 氐乇賷毓丕賸責听"
鈥徺堌� 賳賮爻賷 亘賷賳 丕賱爻胤賵乇... 亘賷賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱鬲賷 亘丿賵賳 兀丨丿丕孬..賮賷 乇鬲賲 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱乇賵鬲賷賳賷賴 貙 賮賷 毓丿賲 丕賱乇睾亘丞 賮賷 賮毓賱 卮卅 貙 毓丿賲 丕賱胤賲賵丨 賱卮卅 貙 賵丕賱乇囟丕 亘賴匕丕 丕賱乇鬲賲 賲賳 丕賱丨賷丕丞 .
鈥�
"鬲爻丕亍賱鬲 毓賲丕 廿匕丕 賰賳鬲 兀爻鬲胤賷毓 亘毓丿 丕賳 禺胤胤鬲 胤乇賷賯賷 貙 兀賳 兀睾賷乇 丕賱丕鬲噩丕賴 兀賵 丨鬲賶 兀乇噩毓 丕賱亘賵氐賱丞 鬲爻毓賷賳 丿乇噩丞 貙 賵賮賰乇鬲 賮賷 兀賳賳賷 賰賳鬲 兀爻鬲胤賷毓 匕賱賰 賵賱賰賳賷 賱賲 兀乇睾亘 賮賷賴 ."
匕賰乇鬲賳賷 賴匕賴 丕賱噩賲賱丞 亘乇賵丕賷丞 亘丕乇鬲賱亘賷 丕賱賳爻丕禺 丨賷賳 賰丕賳 賷噩賷亘 毓賱賶 賰賱 卮賶 亘賰賱賲丞 " 兀賮囟賱 兀賱丕 "
鈥徹迟嗀� 乇亘賲丕 賴匕賴 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賱丕 鬲爻鬲丨賯 乇賵丕賷丞 賰亘賷乇丞 賲孬賱 賴匕賴 ... 賵 乇亘賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 賲丨賯丕賸 .. 賱賰賳 丕賱丕 賷丨賯 賱廿賷孬丕賳 賵兀賲孬丕賱賴 兀賳 賷噩丿賵丕 賲賳 賷鬲丨丿孬賵丕 毓賳賴賲 .!!! 賵賴賱 賮賯胤 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賱賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 兀氐丨丕亘 丕賱賲睾丕賲乇丕鬲 賵丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱賷賵賲賷丞 丕賱賲孬賷乇丞 責責
鈥� 賵乇亘賲丕 賷賮丕噩卅賰 廿賷孬丕賳 亘鬲禺胤賷胤 賴丕丿卅 賮賱賷爻 賰賱 丕賱賳丕爻 氐丕禺亘賷賳 丨賷賳 賷乇睾亘賵賳 賮賷 賮毓賱 卮卅 賲丕 .
鈥�
賱賰賳 賴賱 爻賷馗賱 廿賷孬丕賳 賰賲丕 賴賵 責 丕賲 丕賳 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 賵丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 賵鬲胤賱亘丕鬲 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賵丕賱兀爻乇丞 賵鬲兀孬賷乇 丕丨丕丿賷孬 丕賱丌禺乇賷賳 爻鬲睾賷乇賴 賵鬲毓賱賲賴 丕賳 賷賰賵賳 卮禺氐丕賸 丌禺乇責
賴賱 爻賷鬲睾賷乇 丨賯丕 責! 賵賲丕匕丕 爻賷賮毓賱 責!
廿賱賶 兀賶 賲丿賶 賷氐賱 鬲丕孬賷乇 賰賱丕賲 丕賱丌禺乇賷賳 賵囟睾賵胤賴賲 毓賱賷賳丕 責 賵廿賱賶 丕賶 賲丿賶 賷賲賰賳 丕賳 賳鬲睾賷乇 責責 賵賴賱 廿匕丕 鬲睾賷乇賳丕 爻賳乇囟賷 毓賳 賴匕丕 丕賱鬲睾賷乇 丕賲 賱賳 賳爻鬲胤賷毓 鬲丨賲賱賴 責!
" 廿賳 丕賱賮卮賱 丨丕賱丞 匕賴賳賷丞 .廿賳賴 賲孬賱 賵丕丨丿 賲賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱賮禺丕禺 丕賱乇賲賱賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賷丨賮乇賴丕 氐丕卅丿 丕賱賳賲賱. 兀賳鬲 鬲賵丕氐賱 丕賱丕賳夭賱丕賯 丕賱賶 丕賱禺賱賮 . 賯賲 亘賯賮夭丞 賵丕丨丿丞 賲賱毓賵賳丞 賱鬲禺乇噩 賲賳賴 . 賷鬲丨鬲賲 毓賱賷賰 兀賳 鬲賯賵賲 亘鬲賱賰 丕賱賯賮夭丞 賷丕 廿賷孬丕賳. 賵丕匕丕 丨丿孬 賲乇丞 兀賳 禺乇噩鬲 賲賳 丕賱賮禺 貙 賮爻鬲噩丿 兀賳 丕賱賳噩丕丨 兀賷囟丕 丨丕賱丞 匕賴賳賷丞 "
賵鬲鬲胤乇賯 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賷囟丕 賱賱賲丨賱賷丕鬲 丕賱賮丕爻丿丞 賵鬲賰賵賷賳 丕賱孬乇賵丕鬲 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 賴匕丕 丕賱賮爻丕丿. 賵丕賱賳馗乇丞 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓賷丞 賱賰賱 賲賳 賱丕賷賲賱賰 乇丕爻 賲丕賱 賯賵賶 賷丿毓賲賴 .
丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賰丕賳鬲 丕賵賯丕鬲 賲賯亘賵賱丞 禺氐賵氐丕 賮賷 丕賱丨賵丕乇丕鬲 賵兀賵賯丕鬲 鬲丕賳賷丞 爻賷卅丞 噩丿丕 貙 賵賮賷 賲卮賰賱丞 賮賷 卮賰賱 鬲乇賰賷亘 丕賱噩賲賱 賰丕賳鬲 亘鬲亘賵馗 丕噩夭丕亍 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵鬲賵氐賷賱 丕賱丕賮賰丕乇 .賰賳鬲 丕鬲賲賳賶 鬲賰賵賳 鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賮囟賱 賲賳 賰丿賴 禺氐賵氐丕 賲賳 丿丕乇 賰亘賷乇丞 夭賶 丿丕乇 丌賮丕賯 .
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賯賱賷賱丞 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賵亘胤賷卅丞 貙 丨爻賷鬲 亘賲賱賱 卮賵賷丞 賮賷 亘毓囟 丕賱兀噩夭丕亍 賵丕賵賯丕鬲 鬲丕賳賷丞 賰賳鬲 賲賳丿賲噩丞 賲毓丕賴丕 .
賮賷 丕賱賲噩賲賱 賰丕賳鬲 鬲噩乇亘丞 賰賵賷爻丞 兀賵賱 賱賯丕亍 賱賷丕 賲毓 卮鬲丕賷賳亘賷賰 賵賲卮 賴賷賰賵賳 丕賱丕禺賷乇 丕賳 卮丕亍 丕賱賱賴 .
鬲乇丿丿鬲 賮賷 鬲賯賷賷賲賷 賲丕 亘賷賳 伲 賵 伽 賳噩賵賲 賵賲毓 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱鬲丕賳賶 賰賳鬲 賲賷丕賱賴 丕丿賷賴丕 伲.佶 賵 丕賯賷賷賲賴丕 亘 伲 毓卮丕賳 丕賱噩賵丿乇賷丿夭 賲卮 亘賷毓鬲乇賮 亘丕賱賳氐 亘爻 賱賲丕 賵氐賱鬲 賱賱賳賴丕賷丞 睾賷乇鬲 乇兀賶 賵賯乇乇鬲 賷賰賵賳賵丕 伽 .
賳賴丕賷丞 賲卮 毓丕乇賮丞 丕賯賵賱 賲鬲賵賯毓丞 丕賵 睾賷乇 賲鬲賵賯毓丞 亘爻 賰丕賳鬲 賲賮丕噩兀丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丕賱賶 亘卮賰賱 丨爻賷鬲 賲毓丕賴 亘丕賱乇囟丕 賱兀賳 賰丕賳 賮賷 鬲睾賷賷乇丕鬲 賵鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丨氐賱鬲 賲毓噩亘鬲賳賷卮 賮賱賲丕 賵氐賱賳丕 賱賱賳賴丕賷丞 亘丕賱卮賰賱 丿賴 丨爻賷鬲 丕賳 賴賶 丿賶 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱氐丨 賲賳 卮禺氐賷丞 夭賶 卮禺氐賷丞 廿賷孬丕賳 .
賯乇丕亍丞 賲卮鬲乇賰丞 賲毓 丕賱氐丿賷賯鬲賷賳 亘丕賰賷賳丕賲 賵爻丕乇丞 爻賲賷乇 鉂�
佗佟 / 佗 / 佗贍佗佗
丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱乇賵鬲賷賳賷丞 貙 丕賱乇鬲賲 丕賱賴丕丿賶 貙丕賱禺賵賮 賵 毓丿賲 丕賱胤賲賵丨貙 丕賱禺賵賮 賲賳 丕賱賲噩丕夭賮丞 貙 廿賱賯丕亍 丕賱賳賰丕鬲 丿賵賲丕 賵丕賱賲夭丨 賮賷 賰賱 卮卅 貙 丕賱禺賵賮 賲賳 賰賵賳賴 賲賲賱丕賸 賲賲丕 賷噩毓賱賴 賷賯賵賲 賵賷賯賵賱 兀卮賷丕亍 丨鬲賶 賱丕 賷卮毓乇 賲賳 丨賵賱賴 亘丕賱賲賱賱 . 賷丨丕丿孬 賳賮爻賴 賵賷丨丕丿孬 丕賱兀卮賷丕亍 丕賰孬乇 賲賲丕 賷丨丕丿孬 丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 貙賱賰賳賴 亘丕賱鬲兀賰賷丿 賱賷爻 兀亘賱賴 賰賲丕 賯丿 鬲毓鬲賯丿 丨賷賳 鬲賱鬲賯賷賴 .
鈥� 鈥� " 爻鬲卮毓乇 亘鬲丨爻賳 賷丕爻賷丿賷 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲毓鬲丕丿 丨賯賷賯丞 兀賳賷 賱爻鬲 兀亘賱賴丕賸 賮賰賴丕賸 "
鈥�
鈥徹娯ж� 乇鬲賷亘丞 貙 乇賵鬲賷賳賷丞 貙 賱賷爻 亘賴丕 卮卅 賱賷鬲賲 丨賰賷賴 貙 賱丕賷賵噩丿 兀丨丿丕孬 賲賴賲丞 貙 賱丕賷賵噩丿 鬲睾賷賷乇 貙 丨賷丕丞 賲賲賱丞 賱賰賳 亘丿丕禺賱賴 卮毓賵乇 亘丕賱乇囟丕 鬲噩丕賴賴丕貙 賱丕 賷乇睾亘 賮賷 鬲睾賷賷乇賴丕 賱賰賳賴 賷卮毓乇 亘丕賱囟睾胤 丨賷賳 賷胤丕賱亘賴 丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 亘丕賱鬲睾賷賷乇 賵丕賱賲噩丕夭賮丞 ..賵賴賵 卮禺氐 賷禺丕賮 毓賱賶 丕賱兀卮禺丕氐 丕賱匕賷賳 賷丨亘賴賲 貙 夭賵噩鬲賴 賵兀亘賳丕亍賴 賵賴賲 賷乇睾亘賵賳 賮賷 丕賱賲丕賱 賵賴賵 賷乇睾亘 賮賷 廿爻毓丕丿賴賲 .
鈥� " 賮賱賳賮鬲乇囟 兀賳 賵馗賷賮鬲賷 丕賱賲鬲賵丕囟毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲賳鬲賴賷 賱賲 鬲賰賳 賮囟賷賱丞 賵廿賳賲丕 賰丕賳鬲 賰爻賱丕賸 丕禺賱丕賯賷丕賸 責! 賮兀賷 賳噩丕丨 貙 賷鬲胤賱亘 噩乇兀丞 . 賵乇亘賲丕 賰賳鬲 賲噩乇丿 噩亘丕賳 貙 丕禺卮賶 丕賱賳鬲丕卅噩貙 賵賮賷 賰賱賲丞 賵丕丨丿丞 : 賰爻賵賱丕賸. "
鈥徺囏柏� 賴賵 亘胤賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賳丕 廿賷孬丕賳 丕賱匕賷 賮賯丿鬲 毓丕卅賱鬲賴 孬乇賵鬲賴賲 賵氐丕乇 賲噩乇丿 賲賵馗賮 賮賷 賲鬲噩乇 亘毓丿 丕賳 賰丕賳 賷賲鬲賱賰賴. 賱賰賳賴 賷賲鬲賱賰 賲亘丕丿卅 賵丕禺賱丕賯賷丕鬲 乇亘賲丕 賱賲 賷毓丿 賷鬲賲爻賰 亘賴丕 兀丨丿 賲孬賱賴.
鈥徺囏百� 賴賷 丨賷丕鬲賴 賵賴匕丕 賲丕 鬲丿賵乇 丨賵賱賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 ..
鈥徹必� 賴丕丿卅 賲賳 丕賱丨賰賷 賱賷爻 亘賴 卮卅 噩匕丕亘 .. 賯丿 賷賳鬲丕亘賰 丕賱賲賱賱 貙 賯丿 鬲胤丕賱亘 亘丨丿賵孬 卮卅 .. 丨爻賳丕 賮賱鬲賳囟賲 賱賰賱 賲賳 賷毓乇賮 廿賷孬丕賳 ..
鈥�
"賱賲丕匕丕 鬲亘賯賶 賲賮賱爻丕賸責 賵兀賳鬲 乇噩賱 賱賴 賲孬賱 毓丕卅賱鬲賰 賵賲丕囟賷賰 賵鬲毓賱賷賲賰 責 賱賷爻 丕賱賲賮乇賵囟 兀賳 賷賱丕夭賲賰 賴匕丕 丕賱廿賮賱丕爻貙 廿賱丕 廿匕丕 賰丕賳 丿賲賰 賯丿 賮賯丿 丨賲賷鬲賴 .賲丕 丕賱匕賷 氐乇毓賰 貙 賷丕 廿賷孬丕賳 責 賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賷亘賯賷賰 賴賰匕丕 氐乇賷毓丕賸責听"
鈥徺堌� 賳賮爻賷 亘賷賳 丕賱爻胤賵乇... 亘賷賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱鬲賷 亘丿賵賳 兀丨丿丕孬..賮賷 乇鬲賲 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱乇賵鬲賷賳賷賴 貙 賮賷 毓丿賲 丕賱乇睾亘丞 賮賷 賮毓賱 卮卅 貙 毓丿賲 丕賱胤賲賵丨 賱卮卅 貙 賵丕賱乇囟丕 亘賴匕丕 丕賱乇鬲賲 賲賳 丕賱丨賷丕丞 .
鈥�
"鬲爻丕亍賱鬲 毓賲丕 廿匕丕 賰賳鬲 兀爻鬲胤賷毓 亘毓丿 丕賳 禺胤胤鬲 胤乇賷賯賷 貙 兀賳 兀睾賷乇 丕賱丕鬲噩丕賴 兀賵 丨鬲賶 兀乇噩毓 丕賱亘賵氐賱丞 鬲爻毓賷賳 丿乇噩丞 貙 賵賮賰乇鬲 賮賷 兀賳賳賷 賰賳鬲 兀爻鬲胤賷毓 匕賱賰 賵賱賰賳賷 賱賲 兀乇睾亘 賮賷賴 ."
匕賰乇鬲賳賷 賴匕賴 丕賱噩賲賱丞 亘乇賵丕賷丞 亘丕乇鬲賱亘賷 丕賱賳爻丕禺 丨賷賳 賰丕賳 賷噩賷亘 毓賱賶 賰賱 卮賶 亘賰賱賲丞 " 兀賮囟賱 兀賱丕 "
鈥徹迟嗀� 乇亘賲丕 賴匕賴 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賱丕 鬲爻鬲丨賯 乇賵丕賷丞 賰亘賷乇丞 賲孬賱 賴匕賴 ... 賵 乇亘賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 賲丨賯丕賸 .. 賱賰賳 丕賱丕 賷丨賯 賱廿賷孬丕賳 賵兀賲孬丕賱賴 兀賳 賷噩丿賵丕 賲賳 賷鬲丨丿孬賵丕 毓賳賴賲 .!!! 賵賴賱 賮賯胤 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賱賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 兀氐丨丕亘 丕賱賲睾丕賲乇丕鬲 賵丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱賷賵賲賷丞 丕賱賲孬賷乇丞 責責
鈥� 賵乇亘賲丕 賷賮丕噩卅賰 廿賷孬丕賳 亘鬲禺胤賷胤 賴丕丿卅 賮賱賷爻 賰賱 丕賱賳丕爻 氐丕禺亘賷賳 丨賷賳 賷乇睾亘賵賳 賮賷 賮毓賱 卮卅 賲丕 .
" 賰兀賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賵丕賱禺亘乇丕鬲 賰丕賳鬲 鬲賱賰夭賳賷 賵鬲丿賮毓賳賷 亘丕賱賲賳丕賰亘 賮賷 廿鬲噩丕賴 賲囟丕丿 賱丕鬲噩丕賴賷 丕賱毓丕丿賷 貙丕賵 賱賱丕鬲噩丕賴 丕賱匕賷 鬲賵氐賱鬲 丕賱賶 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賮賷 丕賳賴 毓丕丿賷 _ 丕鬲噩丕賴 丕賱賲賵馗賮 賮賷 賲丨賱 亘賯丕賱丞貙 賵賮卮賱賴貙 丕鬲噩丕賴 丕賱乇噩賱 丕賱賲賯賷丿 亘賲爻丐賵賱賷丕鬲 賲賱亍 亘胤賵賳 兀賮乇丕丿 兀爻乇鬲賴 賵賰爻丕亍 兀噩爻丕丿賴賲 貙 丕賱乇噩賱 丕賱匕賷 丨亘爻 丿丕禺賱 賯賮氐 賲賳 丕賱毓丕丿丕鬲 賵丕賱鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 賰賳鬲 兀賮賰乇 賮賷 兀賳賴丕 丕禺賱丕賯賷丞 賵賮丕囟賱丞 . 賵乇亘賲丕 丕賳鬲丕亘賳賷 賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱乇囟丕 毓賳 丕賱賳賮爻 貙賱賰賵賳賷 兀氐亘丨鬲 賲丕 兀胤賱賯 毓賱賷賴 ( 乇噩賱丕賸 胤賷亘丕賸)"
鈥�
賱賰賳 賴賱 爻賷馗賱 廿賷孬丕賳 賰賲丕 賴賵 責 丕賲 丕賳 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 賵丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 賵鬲胤賱亘丕鬲 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賵丕賱兀爻乇丞 賵鬲兀孬賷乇 丕丨丕丿賷孬 丕賱丌禺乇賷賳 爻鬲睾賷乇賴 賵鬲毓賱賲賴 丕賳 賷賰賵賳 卮禺氐丕賸 丌禺乇責
賴賱 爻賷鬲睾賷乇 丨賯丕 責! 賵賲丕匕丕 爻賷賮毓賱 責!
廿賱賶 兀賶 賲丿賶 賷氐賱 鬲丕孬賷乇 賰賱丕賲 丕賱丌禺乇賷賳 賵囟睾賵胤賴賲 毓賱賷賳丕 責 賵廿賱賶 丕賶 賲丿賶 賷賲賰賳 丕賳 賳鬲睾賷乇 責責 賵賴賱 廿匕丕 鬲睾賷乇賳丕 爻賳乇囟賷 毓賳 賴匕丕 丕賱鬲睾賷乇 丕賲 賱賳 賳爻鬲胤賷毓 鬲丨賲賱賴 責!
" 廿賳 丕賱賮卮賱 丨丕賱丞 匕賴賳賷丞 .廿賳賴 賲孬賱 賵丕丨丿 賲賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱賮禺丕禺 丕賱乇賲賱賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賷丨賮乇賴丕 氐丕卅丿 丕賱賳賲賱. 兀賳鬲 鬲賵丕氐賱 丕賱丕賳夭賱丕賯 丕賱賶 丕賱禺賱賮 . 賯賲 亘賯賮夭丞 賵丕丨丿丞 賲賱毓賵賳丞 賱鬲禺乇噩 賲賳賴 . 賷鬲丨鬲賲 毓賱賷賰 兀賳 鬲賯賵賲 亘鬲賱賰 丕賱賯賮夭丞 賷丕 廿賷孬丕賳. 賵丕匕丕 丨丿孬 賲乇丞 兀賳 禺乇噩鬲 賲賳 丕賱賮禺 貙 賮爻鬲噩丿 兀賳 丕賱賳噩丕丨 兀賷囟丕 丨丕賱丞 匕賴賳賷丞 "
賵鬲鬲胤乇賯 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賷囟丕 賱賱賲丨賱賷丕鬲 丕賱賮丕爻丿丞 賵鬲賰賵賷賳 丕賱孬乇賵丕鬲 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 賴匕丕 丕賱賮爻丕丿. 賵丕賱賳馗乇丞 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓賷丞 賱賰賱 賲賳 賱丕賷賲賱賰 乇丕爻 賲丕賱 賯賵賶 賷丿毓賲賴 .
丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賰丕賳鬲 丕賵賯丕鬲 賲賯亘賵賱丞 禺氐賵氐丕 賮賷 丕賱丨賵丕乇丕鬲 賵兀賵賯丕鬲 鬲丕賳賷丞 爻賷卅丞 噩丿丕 貙 賵賮賷 賲卮賰賱丞 賮賷 卮賰賱 鬲乇賰賷亘 丕賱噩賲賱 賰丕賳鬲 亘鬲亘賵馗 丕噩夭丕亍 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵鬲賵氐賷賱 丕賱丕賮賰丕乇 .賰賳鬲 丕鬲賲賳賶 鬲賰賵賳 鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賮囟賱 賲賳 賰丿賴 禺氐賵氐丕 賲賳 丿丕乇 賰亘賷乇丞 夭賶 丿丕乇 丌賮丕賯 .
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賯賱賷賱丞 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賵亘胤賷卅丞 貙 丨爻賷鬲 亘賲賱賱 卮賵賷丞 賮賷 亘毓囟 丕賱兀噩夭丕亍 賵丕賵賯丕鬲 鬲丕賳賷丞 賰賳鬲 賲賳丿賲噩丞 賲毓丕賴丕 .
賮賷 丕賱賲噩賲賱 賰丕賳鬲 鬲噩乇亘丞 賰賵賷爻丞 兀賵賱 賱賯丕亍 賱賷丕 賲毓 卮鬲丕賷賳亘賷賰 賵賲卮 賴賷賰賵賳 丕賱丕禺賷乇 丕賳 卮丕亍 丕賱賱賴 .
鬲乇丿丿鬲 賮賷 鬲賯賷賷賲賷 賲丕 亘賷賳 伲 賵 伽 賳噩賵賲 賵賲毓 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱鬲丕賳賶 賰賳鬲 賲賷丕賱賴 丕丿賷賴丕 伲.佶 賵 丕賯賷賷賲賴丕 亘 伲 毓卮丕賳 丕賱噩賵丿乇賷丿夭 賲卮 亘賷毓鬲乇賮 亘丕賱賳氐 亘爻 賱賲丕 賵氐賱鬲 賱賱賳賴丕賷丞 睾賷乇鬲 乇兀賶 賵賯乇乇鬲 賷賰賵賳賵丕 伽 .
賳賴丕賷丞 賲卮 毓丕乇賮丞 丕賯賵賱 賲鬲賵賯毓丞 丕賵 睾賷乇 賲鬲賵賯毓丞 亘爻 賰丕賳鬲 賲賮丕噩兀丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丕賱賶 亘卮賰賱 丨爻賷鬲 賲毓丕賴 亘丕賱乇囟丕 賱兀賳 賰丕賳 賮賷 鬲睾賷賷乇丕鬲 賵鬲氐乇賮丕鬲 丨氐賱鬲 賲毓噩亘鬲賳賷卮 賮賱賲丕 賵氐賱賳丕 賱賱賳賴丕賷丞 亘丕賱卮賰賱 丿賴 丨爻賷鬲 丕賳 賴賶 丿賶 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱氐丨 賲賳 卮禺氐賷丞 夭賶 卮禺氐賷丞 廿賷孬丕賳 .
賯乇丕亍丞 賲卮鬲乇賰丞 賲毓 丕賱氐丿賷賯鬲賷賳 亘丕賰賷賳丕賲 賵爻丕乇丞 爻賲賷乇 鉂�
佗佟 / 佗 / 佗贍佗佗
November 21, 2017
賰賲 賲賳 丕賱賳丕爻 賳馗乇鬲 廿賱賷賴賲 丿賵賳 兀賳 兀乇丕賴賲
丕賱賲丕賱 賱丕 賷購亘丿賱 丕賱賲乇囟 貙 賵賱賰賳 賷亘丿賱 兀毓乇丕囟賴 賮賯胤
兀賳鬲 兀毓賲賷 賲孬賱賷 貙 廿賱丕 兀賳 賳賵毓 毓賲丕賰 賷禺鬲賱賮 毓賳 毓賲丕賷賾
賱賯丿 丕賳賯乇囟鬲 丕賱賯乇氐賳丞 貙 賱賰賳 賷亘丿賵 兀賳 丿賵丕賮毓賴丕 賱賲 鬲賲鬲
廿匕丕 兀乇丿鬲 丕賱丕丨鬲賮丕馗 亘氐丿賷賯 貙 賮賱丕 鬲噩乇亘賴
廿匕丕 賲賱賰鬲 噩賵賴乇丞 貙 賮賱丕 鬲爻乇賮 賮賷 鬲賱賲賷毓賴丕 貙 丨鬲賷 賱丕 鬲鬲兀賰賱 賲賳 賲毓噩賵賳 丕賱鬲賱賲賷毓
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賱賯丿 毓卮鬲 賲毓 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 卮賴乇丕賸 鬲賯乇賷亘丕賸 ..
賵賴賷 賮賷 賳爻禺鬲賴丕 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 367 氐賮丨丞 賵賯丿 賯乇兀鬲 賮賷賴丕 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱丕賯鬲亘丕爻丕鬲 丕賱乇丕卅毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 賮毓賱丕 鬲爻鬲丨賯 丕賱鬲賵賯賮 毓賳丿賴丕
丕爻鬲胤丕毓 噩賵賳 卮鬲丕賷賳亘賰 兀賳 賷賯丿賲 乇賵丕賷丞 睾乇賷亘丞 賯賱賷賱丕賸 毓賳 丕賱賲毓鬲丕丿 貙 賮兀賳鬲 鬲毓賷卮 賲毓 兀亘锟斤拷丕賱賴丕 賵鬲鬲賮丕毓賱 賲毓 丕賱亘胤賱 賰賲丕 賱賵 兀賳賴 氐丿賷賯 賱賰 貙 賵鬲噩丿 賳賮爻賰 鬲鬲賲賳賷 兀賳 賷賮毓賱 賰匕丕 兀賵 賷鬲賵賯賮 毓賳 賮毓賱 賰匕丕
賮丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賮賷 鬲乇噩賲鬲賴丕 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 賱賴丕 毓賳賵丕賳丕賳 賴賲丕
丨賷賳 賮賯丿賳丕 丕賱乇囟丕
賵卮鬲丕亍 丕賱兀丨夭丕賳
賵兀賳丕 兀賮囟賱 丕賱毓賳賵丕賳 丕賱兀賵賱 賰孬賷乇丕賸 貙 賮賴賵 丕賱匕賷 噩匕亘賳賷 賱賴丕 賲賳 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞
賮丕賱亘胤賱 賷丨賷丕 丨賷丕丞 賲毓賷賳丞 賷賵噩丿 賮賷賴丕 亘毓囟 丕賱卮賯丕亍 廿賱丕 兀賳賴 卮賯丕亍 賲丨鬲賲賱
賵賷丨亘 夭賵噩鬲賴 賵兀賵賱丕丿賴 賵賰丕賳 賲賳 丕賱賲賲賰賳 兀賳 賷馗賱 丕賱兀賲乇 毓賱賷 丕賱賳丨賵 賳賮爻賴 胤賵丕賱 丕賱丨賷丕丞
廿賱丕 兀賳 丕賱賲購睾乇賷丕鬲 兀賲丕賲賴 賰孬賷乇丞 .. 賵爻賷賯毓 賮乇賷爻丞 賱兀丨丿丕賴丕 .. 孬賲 賳乇丕賴 賷丿禺賱 賮賷 賲睾丕賲乇丞 噩丿賷丿丞
賵賰兀賳 丕賱賯丿乇 賷賴亘賴 賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賳 丕賱禺賷丕乇丕鬲 丕賱賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賵丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳 賲賳 丕賱賲賲賰賳 丕賱乇囟丕 亘兀丨丿丕賴丕 丿賵賳 丕賱胤賲毓 賮賷 禺賷丕乇 丌禺乇
丕賱賲賮丕噩兀丞 鬲丨丿孬 丨賷賳 賷購賮丕噩卅 亘兀賳 賰賱 賲賳 丨賵賱賴 賱賴賲 賲禺胤胤丕鬲 賵賲睾丕賲乇丕鬲 賵賵噩賵賴 禺賮賷丞 賵兀賯賳毓丞 賱賲 賷毓賱賲 毓賳賴丕 卮賷卅丕賸 .. 賵賴賵 賳賮爻賴 賰丕賳 賱丿賷賴 丕賱賯賳丕毓 丕賱禺丕氐 亘賴 .. 賵賰兀賳賴丕 賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賳 丕賱兀賯賳毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丨賷丕 爻賵賷丕賸 賮賷 亘賱丿丞 賵丕丨丿丞
胤亘毓丕 賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 睾乇賷亘丞 賱賱睾丕賷丞 賵鬲賳胤賵賷 毓賱賷 噩丕賳亘 賰亘賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賷兀爻
賵賱賰賳 亘毓丿 丕賱鬲丨賱賷賱 丕賱丿賯賷賯 賱賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲賳 丕賱賲賲賰賳 丕賱賯亘賵賱 亘賴丕 賰賳賴丕賷丞 賲鬲賵賯毓丞
賮丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賷馗賴乇 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳賷丞 亘賰賱 賲丕 賮賷賴丕 賲賳 鬲賳丕賯囟 賵賲賳 噩賵丕賳亘 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 貙 賯賵丞 鬲丕乇丞 貙 賵囟毓賮 鬲丕乇丞 貙 賵禺賵賮 賵鬲乇丿丿 賵卮賰 賵乇睾亘丞 賮賷 丕賱兀賰孬乇 賵賱賵 毓賱賷 丨爻丕亘 丕賱賲亘丕丿卅 兀賵 丕賱賲卮丕毓乇
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賷囟丕賸 鬲毓胤賷 毓亘乇丞 賵毓馗丞 賲毓賳賷丞 : 賮賰賲丕 鬲丿賷賳 鬲購丿丕賳
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丕賯賷賲賴丕 亘賭 5 賳噩賲丕鬲 亘丕賱鬲兀賰賷丿
March 28, 2013
When I started reading this, the last novel written by John Steinbeck, I initially thought that I wasn鈥檛 going to like it. The prose was as fine as I expected it to be, but it seemed such a small story, compared to powerful epics like and . However, the story grew on me as I read and the ending packed a punch.
Mostly in the form of a first person narrative, the novel is about Ethan Hawley, a likeable man in his late thirties, married to a woman he loves and the father of two teenagers. Ethan comes from an old and formerly wealthy family in the fictional seaside town in which he lives. However, his father lost the family fortune and Ethan now works as clerk in a grocery store; a grocery store his family used to own. As well educated and intelligent as he is, Ethan has done nothing to reverse the family's precarious financial position. Until now, that is, when a number of circumstances conspire to make Ethan re-think his scrupulous honesty and integrity.
At its heart, the novel is a critique of what Steinbeck considered to be the decline in morality in American society in the 1950s and 1960s, something he also addressed in . Steinbeck wasn鈥檛 concerned with sexual morality, but with hypocrisy and corruption in government and in society generally. While the message is clear 鈥� and it鈥檚 a message just as relevant today as it was in the early 1960s - the novel isn鈥檛 a simple morality play. Ethan is portrayed as a good man. As he acts against his innate sense of honour and integrity, he remains likeable. In going to the dark side, even temporarily, he acts against his instincts and in many ways the novel poses more questions than it gives answers about greed, dishonesty, corruption and betrayal.
Anyone reading this novel who expects another Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden is bound to be disappointed. This is a small, intimate novel and it has its flaws. But it's a powerful work in its own quiet way.
July 15, 2023
賲乇诏 賲賵賱賮 :
賴賲蹖賳诏賵蹖 爻禺賳 丿乇禺卮丕賳蹖 丿丕乇丿 :芦 賵賯鬲蹖 趩蹖夭蹖 賲蹖鈥屫з嗃屫� 亘賳賵蹖爻蹖丿. 賳賴 賯亘賱 賵 賳賴 禺蹖賱蹖 亘毓丿 丕夭 丌賳禄.
亘賳馗乇賲 丕诏乇 亘禺賵丕賴賲 賳馗乇 賲賳氐賮丕賳賴鈥屫й� 丿丕丿賴 亘丕卮賲貙 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 禺蹖賱蹖 亘毓丿鈥屫� 丕夭 丌賳 夭賲丕賳蹖 讴賴 賱丕夭賲 亘賵丿貙 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇丕 賳賵卮鬲. 夭賲丕賳蹖 讴賴 讴蹖賱賵賲鬲乇賴丕 丕夭 賮賯乇 賮丕氐賱賴 诏乇賮鬲賴 亘賵丿.
亘丕 丕蹖賳 賴賲賴貙 丕诏乇 胤乇賮丿丕乇 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 賴爻鬲蹖丿貙 賴賲丕賳胤賵乇 讴賴 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 賲丨亘賵亘 禺賵丿賲 丕爻鬲貙 亘丕 丕蹖賳 噩賲賱賴 賳丕丕賲蹖丿 賳卮賵蹖丿. 毓丿賴鈥屰� 夭蹖丕丿蹖 賮讴乇 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 讴賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 丌孬丕乇 丿乇禺卮丕賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 丕爻鬲. 卮丕蹖丿 賴賲 亘賴 毓賳賵丕賳 丕孬乇蹖 賲爻鬲賯賱 讴丕乇 禺賵亘蹖 亘丕卮丿 讴賴 丕賱亘鬲賴 賲賳 丿乇 丕蹖賳 乇丕亘胤賴 賴賲 鬲乇丿蹖丿 丿丕乇賲貙 賵賱蹖 亘毓賳賵丕賳 丕孬乇蹖 讴賴 禺丕賱賯 卮乇賯 亘賴卮鬲貙 賲賵卮鈥屬囏� 賵 丌丿賲鈥屬囏� 賵 禺賵卮賴鈥屬囏й� 禺卮賲 丌賳 乇丕 賳賵卮鬲賴貙 鬲賵蹖 匕賵賯賲 禺賵乇丿.
丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 丌禺乇蹖賳 乇賲丕賳 丕賵爻鬲 賵 丕賱亘鬲賴 乇诏賴鈥屬囏й� 賯賱賲 噩匕丕亘 丕賵 賴乇 趩賳丿 氐賮丨賴 蹖讴鈥屫ㄘж� 丿蹖丿賴 賲蹖鈥屫促堎嗀�. 丕夭 噩賲賱賴 丿蹖丕賱賵诏鈥屬囏й� 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 丕賵 ( 亘賴 賳馗乇 賲賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴貙 亘丕賱丕鬲乇 丕夭 賴賲蹖賳诏賵蹖 賵 賴乇讴爻 丿蹖诏乇貙 賵丕賯毓蹖鈥屫臂屬� 丿蹖丕賱賵诏鈥屬囏й� 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 乇丕 賳賵卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 )貙 蹖丕 鬲賵氐蹖賮丕鬲 禺賵亘卮.
亘丕 丕蹖賳 賴賲賴貙 乇賲丕賳 夭蹖丕丿蹖 讴卮 倬蹖丿丕 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�. 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 讴賴 丕爻鬲丕丿 亘賱丕賲賳丕夭毓 禺賱賯 賲丨蹖胤 亘賵丿貙 丿乇 丕蹖賳噩丕 亘爻蹖丕乇 賳丕鬲賵丕賳 丕爻鬲貙 亘賴 诏賵賳賴鈥屫й� 讴賴 鬲賲丕賲 丕蹖賳 賲丿鬲 丨爻 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 賮賯胤 蹖讴 賳賮乇 丕爻鬲 讴賴 丕蹖爻鬲丕丿賴 賵 亘丕 丕賮乇丕丿 诏賵賳丕诏賵賳 氐丨亘鬲 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 賵 丕夭 噩丕蹖卮 噩賳亘 賳賲蹖鈥屫堌必�. 丨丿賵丿 賴卮鬲丕丿 丿乇氐丿 丕賵賱蹖賴 讴鬲丕亘 亘爻蹖丕乇 讴賳丿 賵 亘蹖鈥屫呚� 倬蹖卮 乇賮鬲 賵 亘蹖爻鬲 丿乇氐丿 賳賴丕蹖蹖 賴賲 丕乇夭卮 鬲丨賲賱 丌賳 賴卮鬲丕丿 丿乇氐丿 乇丕 賳丿丕卮鬲.
蹖讴 賳讴鬲賴 丿蹖诏乇 讴賴 賲蹖鈥屫堌з� 亘賴 丌賳 丕卮丕乇賴 讴乇丿貙 賳丕賲 讴鬲丕亘 丕爻鬲. 賳丕賲 丕氐賱蹖 讴鬲丕亘貙 夭賲爻鬲丕賳 賳丕乇囟丕蹖蹖 賲丕 丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘禺卮蹖 丕夭 丿蹖丕賱賵诏 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 爻賵賲 丕孬乇 卮讴爻倬蹖乇 丕爻鬲. 亘賳馗乇賲 丌賳趩賴 亘蹖卮鬲乇 亘賴 賲丨鬲賵丕蹖 讴鬲丕亘 賲乇鬲亘胤 亘賵丿貙 讴賱賲賴 賳丕乇囟丕蹖蹖 丕爻鬲 賳賴 夭賲爻鬲丕賳.
丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 丕诏乇 氐丕丿賯丕賳賴 亘诏賵蹖賲貙 亘毓賳賵丕賳 讴爻蹖 讴賴 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 乇丕 亘賴 卮讴賱 噩丿蹖 亘丕 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳鈥屫ㄚ� 卮乇賵毓 讴乇丿 賵 賴賲賵丕乇賴 丕夭 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 鬲丕 爻蹖賳賲丕 賵 丨鬲蹖 乇賵夭賳丕賲賴鈥屬嗂ж臂屫� 噩夭賵 賲丨亘賵亘鈥屬囏й� 賲賳 亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲貙 丕夭 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賱匕鬲 趩賳丿丕賳蹖 賳亘乇丿賲.
賴乇趩賳丿 賴賲丕賳胤賵乇 讴賴 诏賮鬲賲貙 丕賲鬲蹖丕夭 亘丕賱丕蹖 丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 亘丕 鬲賵噩賴 亘賴 丕蹖賳讴賴 鬲毓丿丕丿 禺賵丕賳賳丿诏丕賳卮 賴賲 讴賲 賳亘賵丿賴貙 诏賵蹖丕蹖 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 賴賲賴 亘丕 賲賳 賲賵丕賮賯 賳蹖爻鬲賳丿.
丕賲鬲蹖丕夭 賳賴丕蹖蹖 : 鄄.鄣
賴賲蹖賳诏賵蹖 爻禺賳 丿乇禺卮丕賳蹖 丿丕乇丿 :芦 賵賯鬲蹖 趩蹖夭蹖 賲蹖鈥屫з嗃屫� 亘賳賵蹖爻蹖丿. 賳賴 賯亘賱 賵 賳賴 禺蹖賱蹖 亘毓丿 丕夭 丌賳禄.
亘賳馗乇賲 丕诏乇 亘禺賵丕賴賲 賳馗乇 賲賳氐賮丕賳賴鈥屫й� 丿丕丿賴 亘丕卮賲貙 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 禺蹖賱蹖 亘毓丿鈥屫� 丕夭 丌賳 夭賲丕賳蹖 讴賴 賱丕夭賲 亘賵丿貙 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇丕 賳賵卮鬲. 夭賲丕賳蹖 讴賴 讴蹖賱賵賲鬲乇賴丕 丕夭 賮賯乇 賮丕氐賱賴 诏乇賮鬲賴 亘賵丿.
亘丕 丕蹖賳 賴賲賴貙 丕诏乇 胤乇賮丿丕乇 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 賴爻鬲蹖丿貙 賴賲丕賳胤賵乇 讴賴 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 賲丨亘賵亘 禺賵丿賲 丕爻鬲貙 亘丕 丕蹖賳 噩賲賱賴 賳丕丕賲蹖丿 賳卮賵蹖丿. 毓丿賴鈥屰� 夭蹖丕丿蹖 賮讴乇 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 讴賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 丌孬丕乇 丿乇禺卮丕賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 丕爻鬲. 卮丕蹖丿 賴賲 亘賴 毓賳賵丕賳 丕孬乇蹖 賲爻鬲賯賱 讴丕乇 禺賵亘蹖 亘丕卮丿 讴賴 丕賱亘鬲賴 賲賳 丿乇 丕蹖賳 乇丕亘胤賴 賴賲 鬲乇丿蹖丿 丿丕乇賲貙 賵賱蹖 亘毓賳賵丕賳 丕孬乇蹖 讴賴 禺丕賱賯 卮乇賯 亘賴卮鬲貙 賲賵卮鈥屬囏� 賵 丌丿賲鈥屬囏� 賵 禺賵卮賴鈥屬囏й� 禺卮賲 丌賳 乇丕 賳賵卮鬲賴貙 鬲賵蹖 匕賵賯賲 禺賵乇丿.
丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 丌禺乇蹖賳 乇賲丕賳 丕賵爻鬲 賵 丕賱亘鬲賴 乇诏賴鈥屬囏й� 賯賱賲 噩匕丕亘 丕賵 賴乇 趩賳丿 氐賮丨賴 蹖讴鈥屫ㄘж� 丿蹖丿賴 賲蹖鈥屫促堎嗀�. 丕夭 噩賲賱賴 丿蹖丕賱賵诏鈥屬囏й� 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 丕賵 ( 亘賴 賳馗乇 賲賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴貙 亘丕賱丕鬲乇 丕夭 賴賲蹖賳诏賵蹖 賵 賴乇讴爻 丿蹖诏乇貙 賵丕賯毓蹖鈥屫臂屬� 丿蹖丕賱賵诏鈥屬囏й� 鬲丕乇蹖禺 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 乇丕 賳賵卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 )貙 蹖丕 鬲賵氐蹖賮丕鬲 禺賵亘卮.
亘丕 丕蹖賳 賴賲賴貙 乇賲丕賳 夭蹖丕丿蹖 讴卮 倬蹖丿丕 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�. 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 讴賴 丕爻鬲丕丿 亘賱丕賲賳丕夭毓 禺賱賯 賲丨蹖胤 亘賵丿貙 丿乇 丕蹖賳噩丕 亘爻蹖丕乇 賳丕鬲賵丕賳 丕爻鬲貙 亘賴 诏賵賳賴鈥屫й� 讴賴 鬲賲丕賲 丕蹖賳 賲丿鬲 丨爻 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 賮賯胤 蹖讴 賳賮乇 丕爻鬲 讴賴 丕蹖爻鬲丕丿賴 賵 亘丕 丕賮乇丕丿 诏賵賳丕诏賵賳 氐丨亘鬲 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 賵 丕夭 噩丕蹖卮 噩賳亘 賳賲蹖鈥屫堌必�. 丨丿賵丿 賴卮鬲丕丿 丿乇氐丿 丕賵賱蹖賴 讴鬲丕亘 亘爻蹖丕乇 讴賳丿 賵 亘蹖鈥屫呚� 倬蹖卮 乇賮鬲 賵 亘蹖爻鬲 丿乇氐丿 賳賴丕蹖蹖 賴賲 丕乇夭卮 鬲丨賲賱 丌賳 賴卮鬲丕丿 丿乇氐丿 乇丕 賳丿丕卮鬲.
蹖讴 賳讴鬲賴 丿蹖诏乇 讴賴 賲蹖鈥屫堌з� 亘賴 丌賳 丕卮丕乇賴 讴乇丿貙 賳丕賲 讴鬲丕亘 丕爻鬲. 賳丕賲 丕氐賱蹖 讴鬲丕亘貙 夭賲爻鬲丕賳 賳丕乇囟丕蹖蹖 賲丕 丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘禺卮蹖 丕夭 丿蹖丕賱賵诏 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 爻賵賲 丕孬乇 卮讴爻倬蹖乇 丕爻鬲. 亘賳馗乇賲 丌賳趩賴 亘蹖卮鬲乇 亘賴 賲丨鬲賵丕蹖 讴鬲丕亘 賲乇鬲亘胤 亘賵丿貙 讴賱賲賴 賳丕乇囟丕蹖蹖 丕爻鬲 賳賴 夭賲爻鬲丕賳.
丿乇 賳賴丕蹖鬲 丕诏乇 氐丕丿賯丕賳賴 亘诏賵蹖賲貙 亘毓賳賵丕賳 讴爻蹖 讴賴 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 乇丕 亘賴 卮讴賱 噩丿蹖 亘丕 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳鈥屫ㄚ� 卮乇賵毓 讴乇丿 賵 賴賲賵丕乇賴 丕夭 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 鬲丕 爻蹖賳賲丕 賵 丨鬲蹖 乇賵夭賳丕賲賴鈥屬嗂ж臂屫� 噩夭賵 賲丨亘賵亘鈥屬囏й� 賲賳 亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲貙 丕夭 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賱匕鬲 趩賳丿丕賳蹖 賳亘乇丿賲.
賴乇趩賳丿 賴賲丕賳胤賵乇 讴賴 诏賮鬲賲貙 丕賲鬲蹖丕夭 亘丕賱丕蹖 丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 亘丕 鬲賵噩賴 亘賴 丕蹖賳讴賴 鬲毓丿丕丿 禺賵丕賳賳丿诏丕賳卮 賴賲 讴賲 賳亘賵丿賴貙 诏賵蹖丕蹖 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 賴賲賴 亘丕 賲賳 賲賵丕賮賯 賳蹖爻鬲賳丿.
丕賲鬲蹖丕夭 賳賴丕蹖蹖 : 鄄.鄣
November 22, 2021
鈥淓verybody steals. Everybody does it.鈥�
The title of this novel, The Winter of Our Discontent, comes from the first two lines of William Shakespeare's Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun [or son] of York"; the book focuses on one dark period in the life of one (American) man and his family in a small Long Island town in the late fifties. The Winter of Our Discontent is a moral allegory colored by righteous rage about capitalism and what seems like what is the tendency in the love of money to corrupt those who fall in love with it.
John Steinbeck, who was once a member of the American Communist party before it became synonymous somehow with some kind of fascistic Evil, was always writing about social and economic inequities--in the Grapes of Wrath, in Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men, and many others-- sometimes sentimentalizing but always championing his down and out characters as victims of an economic system that favors the rich. Steinbeck died in 1968; Winter (1961), his last novel, the acclaim for which catapulted him to the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, casts its light on a Long Island family, particularly the father of the family, Ethan Allen Hawley.
Hawley is in his late thirties, married, with two teenaged kids, and who, in spite of his family鈥檚 former aristocratic background, and in spite of his having graduated from Harvard, is clerking for a Sicilian-American named Marullo in the grocery store his father lost. Ethan鈥檚 family is sick of their being poor. They don鈥檛 own a car, or a tv. Ethan faces some temptations as he turns his attention to various ways to remedy his situation, including criminal temptations involving money, and then some related sexual temptations (the cover of this edition posits the story as a steamy triangle, which is misleading, though there are elements of that here). But everyone wants to know in this little town: Why is the seemingly happy Ethan not 鈥渟uccessful鈥�?! (That鈥檚 at issue here, the American definition of success as having more money). How can he be happy and not rich? Shouldn't he be ashamed his is mere grocery clerk?
鈥淭here is no such thing as just enough money. Only two measures: No Money and Not Enough Money.鈥�
鈥淭o most of the world success is never bad. I remember how, when Hitler moved unchecked and triumphant, many honorable men sought and found virtues in him. And Mussolini made the trains run on time, and Vichy collaborated for the good of France, and whatever else Stalin was, he was strong. Strength and success鈥攖hey are above morality, above criticism. It seems, then, that it is not what you do, but how you do it and what you call it. Is there a check in men, deep in them, that stops or punishes? There doesn鈥檛 seem to be. The only punishment is for failure. In effect no crime is committed unless a criminal is caught.鈥�
鈥淓llen, only last night, asked, 'Daddy, when will we be rich?' But I did not say to her what I know: 'We will be rich soon, and you who handle poverty badly will handle riches equally badly.' And that is true. In poverty she is envious. In riches she may be a snob. Money does not change the sickness, only the symptoms.鈥�
Ethan鈥檚 banker friend Joey Morphy says, 鈥測our only entrance is money.鈥� He encourages him to find ways to make more money, get out of the clerk position and do better for his family.
Steinbeck stated that he wrote the novel to address the moral degeneration of American culture during the 1950s and 1960s, and this is fair, and relevant as well to today, though some of it is too morally on the nose for me: Ethan鈥檚 wife and two teens all suddenly complain within the same twenty-four hours to him about his lowly job. His friend, a bank clerk, soon after tells him casually how easy it would be to rob a bank, especially if you had no previous criminal record. Someone reminds him that Marullo, his boss, just might be undocumented. On top of that a local divorcee/femme fatale comes around to try to seduce him, urging him to accept bribes. Then his son enters a nationwide essay contest about Why I Love America, getting awarded honorable mention--and he gets to appear on television!!--though this gets complicated. So it鈥檚 a moral allegory, where everything piles up in kind of didactic ways to bring Ethan to. . . some questionable actions.
Ethan Allen--that name, a reference to a historical figure well known through American history books as a figure from the Revolutionary period, as an activist in that war--seems nothing like Ethan Allen Hawley, who is seen by his family and most friends as passive, not an activist, until he finally does take (problematic) action in a few ways; for instance, Ethan鈥檚 best friend from high school is Danny Taylor, the town drunk, who has the deed to some land that some go-getter businessmen in the town want to develop into an airport to increase commerce and tourism (and profits). Ethan wants to help Danny get into therapy for his alcoholism, so he gives him some money, though both he and Danny know it is a long shot that he will actually get healed with this money, and Danny in exchange gives him the deed to his land. Money. Power.
The book, as moral allegory, moves through a series of aphorisms:
鈥淚ntentions, good or bad, are not enough. There's luck or fate or something else that takes over. . . 鈥�
Some of them are a little bitter from the now discontented Ethan:
鈥淥nly God sees the sparrow fall, but even God doesn't do anything about it.鈥�
And Danny counters the notion that having a bit more money would be kinda 鈥渘ice鈥� to have:
鈥淢oney is not nice. Money got no friends but more money.鈥�
I am not a particular fan of novels as moral allegories, but I have to admit this is a good one, and in the almost predictably dramatic events--as in Greek tragedy--I was nevertheless moved, particuarly the very end that involves a family talisman his daughter has slipped into his pocket. I like Steinbeck鈥檚 deft use of shifting points of view; I like his clever Ethan, I can relate to him, as I suspect many can, as Steinbeck intended. I didn鈥檛 love this book in the same way as I did Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men or Cannery Row, but I鈥檇 still be willing to put it in the top group of his work, I think. It reminded me a bit of Ray Bradbury, who also wrote with myth and occasional sentimentality and American morality in mind. When Steinbeck died he left an unfinished manuscript I once read, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, which I thought was part of what he had in mind in Winter with its social and moral criticism. What is goodness? What is true heroism?
Steinbeck's Nobel Prize speech:
/videos/5379...
The title of this novel, The Winter of Our Discontent, comes from the first two lines of William Shakespeare's Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun [or son] of York"; the book focuses on one dark period in the life of one (American) man and his family in a small Long Island town in the late fifties. The Winter of Our Discontent is a moral allegory colored by righteous rage about capitalism and what seems like what is the tendency in the love of money to corrupt those who fall in love with it.
John Steinbeck, who was once a member of the American Communist party before it became synonymous somehow with some kind of fascistic Evil, was always writing about social and economic inequities--in the Grapes of Wrath, in Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men, and many others-- sometimes sentimentalizing but always championing his down and out characters as victims of an economic system that favors the rich. Steinbeck died in 1968; Winter (1961), his last novel, the acclaim for which catapulted him to the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, casts its light on a Long Island family, particularly the father of the family, Ethan Allen Hawley.
Hawley is in his late thirties, married, with two teenaged kids, and who, in spite of his family鈥檚 former aristocratic background, and in spite of his having graduated from Harvard, is clerking for a Sicilian-American named Marullo in the grocery store his father lost. Ethan鈥檚 family is sick of their being poor. They don鈥檛 own a car, or a tv. Ethan faces some temptations as he turns his attention to various ways to remedy his situation, including criminal temptations involving money, and then some related sexual temptations (the cover of this edition posits the story as a steamy triangle, which is misleading, though there are elements of that here). But everyone wants to know in this little town: Why is the seemingly happy Ethan not 鈥渟uccessful鈥�?! (That鈥檚 at issue here, the American definition of success as having more money). How can he be happy and not rich? Shouldn't he be ashamed his is mere grocery clerk?
鈥淭here is no such thing as just enough money. Only two measures: No Money and Not Enough Money.鈥�
鈥淭o most of the world success is never bad. I remember how, when Hitler moved unchecked and triumphant, many honorable men sought and found virtues in him. And Mussolini made the trains run on time, and Vichy collaborated for the good of France, and whatever else Stalin was, he was strong. Strength and success鈥攖hey are above morality, above criticism. It seems, then, that it is not what you do, but how you do it and what you call it. Is there a check in men, deep in them, that stops or punishes? There doesn鈥檛 seem to be. The only punishment is for failure. In effect no crime is committed unless a criminal is caught.鈥�
鈥淓llen, only last night, asked, 'Daddy, when will we be rich?' But I did not say to her what I know: 'We will be rich soon, and you who handle poverty badly will handle riches equally badly.' And that is true. In poverty she is envious. In riches she may be a snob. Money does not change the sickness, only the symptoms.鈥�
Ethan鈥檚 banker friend Joey Morphy says, 鈥測our only entrance is money.鈥� He encourages him to find ways to make more money, get out of the clerk position and do better for his family.
Steinbeck stated that he wrote the novel to address the moral degeneration of American culture during the 1950s and 1960s, and this is fair, and relevant as well to today, though some of it is too morally on the nose for me: Ethan鈥檚 wife and two teens all suddenly complain within the same twenty-four hours to him about his lowly job. His friend, a bank clerk, soon after tells him casually how easy it would be to rob a bank, especially if you had no previous criminal record. Someone reminds him that Marullo, his boss, just might be undocumented. On top of that a local divorcee/femme fatale comes around to try to seduce him, urging him to accept bribes. Then his son enters a nationwide essay contest about Why I Love America, getting awarded honorable mention--and he gets to appear on television!!--though this gets complicated. So it鈥檚 a moral allegory, where everything piles up in kind of didactic ways to bring Ethan to. . . some questionable actions.
Ethan Allen--that name, a reference to a historical figure well known through American history books as a figure from the Revolutionary period, as an activist in that war--seems nothing like Ethan Allen Hawley, who is seen by his family and most friends as passive, not an activist, until he finally does take (problematic) action in a few ways; for instance, Ethan鈥檚 best friend from high school is Danny Taylor, the town drunk, who has the deed to some land that some go-getter businessmen in the town want to develop into an airport to increase commerce and tourism (and profits). Ethan wants to help Danny get into therapy for his alcoholism, so he gives him some money, though both he and Danny know it is a long shot that he will actually get healed with this money, and Danny in exchange gives him the deed to his land. Money. Power.
The book, as moral allegory, moves through a series of aphorisms:
鈥淚ntentions, good or bad, are not enough. There's luck or fate or something else that takes over. . . 鈥�
Some of them are a little bitter from the now discontented Ethan:
鈥淥nly God sees the sparrow fall, but even God doesn't do anything about it.鈥�
And Danny counters the notion that having a bit more money would be kinda 鈥渘ice鈥� to have:
鈥淢oney is not nice. Money got no friends but more money.鈥�
I am not a particular fan of novels as moral allegories, but I have to admit this is a good one, and in the almost predictably dramatic events--as in Greek tragedy--I was nevertheless moved, particuarly the very end that involves a family talisman his daughter has slipped into his pocket. I like Steinbeck鈥檚 deft use of shifting points of view; I like his clever Ethan, I can relate to him, as I suspect many can, as Steinbeck intended. I didn鈥檛 love this book in the same way as I did Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men or Cannery Row, but I鈥檇 still be willing to put it in the top group of his work, I think. It reminded me a bit of Ray Bradbury, who also wrote with myth and occasional sentimentality and American morality in mind. When Steinbeck died he left an unfinished manuscript I once read, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, which I thought was part of what he had in mind in Winter with its social and moral criticism. What is goodness? What is true heroism?
Steinbeck's Nobel Prize speech:
/videos/5379...
February 10, 2025
4/5
鈥淐an a man think out his life, or must he just tag along?鈥� (pg. 36). This is the question at the centre of John Steinbeck鈥檚 final 1961 novel. (So this book is 64 years old at the time of this little review, it's so easy to forget how old books are sometimes).
The plot follows Ethan Allen Hawley, a man who has lost his generational wealth and now works as a clerk in the grocery store his family once owned. Over an Easter weekend he begins to confront the notion of whether he stays content with his place in the world or whether he thinks out a new path for himself. There is a nice bit of classic Steinbeck symbolism here with a metaphorical death and new life aligning with Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The opening pages I found a bit dull and I couldn鈥檛 work out what kind of a read I was in for. Steinbeck spent a few chapters setting up the context and history of New Baytown and Ethan鈥檚 family. In the end though this helped immerse me in the events of the book once everything got going. Once it did get going I found this a very inward-looking novel. Steinbeck explored all the moral compromises a person needs to make in order to get ahead and he gently poses the question of whether some compromises are worse than others. Does trying to get rich mean giving up on a moral life? I think that Ethan sees himself as a good guy who has to make moral concessions in order to get ahead but always plans on living in a virtuous way once he gets there. Yet a few of his compromises will not be easy to live with, particularly the lending of money to the town alcoholic who has made it very clear how he intends to spend it鈥�
What I find interesting here is also the tension of characters feeling like they deserve wealth and status because of their heritage. I'm not sure if that is how Ethan sees it, or if it is more a sense of shame that he can not provide his family with the resources that were given to him and his ancestors. I think Steinbeck is subtly hinting that having a wealth divide will always morally corrupt those that attempt to be, or already are, on the wealthy end of the divide.
This book also had some moments of eeriness involving dreams and sleepwalking that were 10/10 pieces of writing.
There was also some chopping and changing between first- and third-person narration. If anyone has a take on that I would love to hear it.
The one thing that I disliked was the main character's decision in the last few pages. I thought this was an overreaction and totally out of character with the Ethan that I had come to know. Ideally, the point that that scene is making could have been made in a different way.
鈥淐an a man think out his life, or must he just tag along?鈥� (pg. 36). This is the question at the centre of John Steinbeck鈥檚 final 1961 novel. (So this book is 64 years old at the time of this little review, it's so easy to forget how old books are sometimes).
The plot follows Ethan Allen Hawley, a man who has lost his generational wealth and now works as a clerk in the grocery store his family once owned. Over an Easter weekend he begins to confront the notion of whether he stays content with his place in the world or whether he thinks out a new path for himself. There is a nice bit of classic Steinbeck symbolism here with a metaphorical death and new life aligning with Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The opening pages I found a bit dull and I couldn鈥檛 work out what kind of a read I was in for. Steinbeck spent a few chapters setting up the context and history of New Baytown and Ethan鈥檚 family. In the end though this helped immerse me in the events of the book once everything got going. Once it did get going I found this a very inward-looking novel. Steinbeck explored all the moral compromises a person needs to make in order to get ahead and he gently poses the question of whether some compromises are worse than others. Does trying to get rich mean giving up on a moral life? I think that Ethan sees himself as a good guy who has to make moral concessions in order to get ahead but always plans on living in a virtuous way once he gets there. Yet a few of his compromises will not be easy to live with, particularly the lending of money to the town alcoholic who has made it very clear how he intends to spend it鈥�
What I find interesting here is also the tension of characters feeling like they deserve wealth and status because of their heritage. I'm not sure if that is how Ethan sees it, or if it is more a sense of shame that he can not provide his family with the resources that were given to him and his ancestors. I think Steinbeck is subtly hinting that having a wealth divide will always morally corrupt those that attempt to be, or already are, on the wealthy end of the divide.
This book also had some moments of eeriness involving dreams and sleepwalking that were 10/10 pieces of writing.
There was also some chopping and changing between first- and third-person narration. If anyone has a take on that I would love to hear it.
The one thing that I disliked was the main character's decision in the last few pages. I thought this was an overreaction and totally out of character with the Ethan that I had come to know. Ideally, the point that that scene is making could have been made in a different way.
July 10, 2022
鈥溾€hat a hell of a man a man could become.鈥�
This last of Steinbeck鈥檚 novels, where he muses on the decay of American morality in 1960, is beyond dark. It is downright depressing, when you think how much further we have fallen since then, and when you see from the story how that fall impacts the individuals participating in it.
But like so much of Steinbeck鈥檚 work, this feels so important, so instructive.
The only hope I found comes from the central character, Ethan Allen Hawley. Usually we love a character for what the character does in a story, but I fell for Ethan just for who he was. I think it鈥檚 because he cares, and as long as there are people who care, there is hope.
Ethan is a grocery clerk from a formerly prominent family in New Bay Town, New York. The story, which takes place from Good Friday through the Fourth of July, is about the plans he conjures up to get himself back into a position his wife and children can be proud of. The plans are clever and intricate, but also immoral and even illegal.
In a country that was built on the idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, we feel like failures when we can鈥檛, which causes tremendous suffering. It鈥檚 great to have opportunities, but there are just as many barriers as there are chances, and I wish we supported the efforts as much as we support the successes, but we don鈥檛.
While the novel left me sad, I love Steinbeck鈥檚 writing so much. He really does write like a father to his children, and I almost felt like I had my own father back while I was reading. I learn so much from his words. Here are a few passages I particularly loved:
鈥淎 man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight. A story must have some points of contact with the reader to make him feel at home in it. Only then can he accept wonders.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 as though, in the dark and desolate caves of the mind, a faceless jury had met and decided. This secret and sleepless area in me I have always thought of as black, deep, waveless water, a spawning place from which only a few forms ever rise to the surface. Or maybe it鈥檚 a great library where is recorded everything that has ever happened to living matter back to the first moment when it began to live.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know for sure how other people are inside--all different and all alike at the same time.鈥�
This last of Steinbeck鈥檚 novels, where he muses on the decay of American morality in 1960, is beyond dark. It is downright depressing, when you think how much further we have fallen since then, and when you see from the story how that fall impacts the individuals participating in it.
But like so much of Steinbeck鈥檚 work, this feels so important, so instructive.
The only hope I found comes from the central character, Ethan Allen Hawley. Usually we love a character for what the character does in a story, but I fell for Ethan just for who he was. I think it鈥檚 because he cares, and as long as there are people who care, there is hope.
Ethan is a grocery clerk from a formerly prominent family in New Bay Town, New York. The story, which takes place from Good Friday through the Fourth of July, is about the plans he conjures up to get himself back into a position his wife and children can be proud of. The plans are clever and intricate, but also immoral and even illegal.
In a country that was built on the idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, we feel like failures when we can鈥檛, which causes tremendous suffering. It鈥檚 great to have opportunities, but there are just as many barriers as there are chances, and I wish we supported the efforts as much as we support the successes, but we don鈥檛.
While the novel left me sad, I love Steinbeck鈥檚 writing so much. He really does write like a father to his children, and I almost felt like I had my own father back while I was reading. I learn so much from his words. Here are a few passages I particularly loved:
鈥淎 man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight. A story must have some points of contact with the reader to make him feel at home in it. Only then can he accept wonders.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 as though, in the dark and desolate caves of the mind, a faceless jury had met and decided. This secret and sleepless area in me I have always thought of as black, deep, waveless water, a spawning place from which only a few forms ever rise to the surface. Or maybe it鈥檚 a great library where is recorded everything that has ever happened to living matter back to the first moment when it began to live.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know for sure how other people are inside--all different and all alike at the same time.鈥�
July 24, 2019
Don't pass this one up in your choosing which Steinbeck book to consume my hungry rabble. I had no expectations of this wonderful little story and now it is one of my favorites. Give yourself for a few hours for there is much to take from Ethan and all Steinbeck's creation. Crestfallen to come to it's end, as it is with most of his work. 鈥淣ow is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York鈥︹€澨�
April 7, 2018
Evanescence of Morality
Maybe it's my age where I find myself amidst a thousand questions because I like to think that I am understanding a little of what goes around. And as it goes with books, the count of unanswered questions is on an exponential run. Anyway, the most prominent and adamant question I find myself wrestle with these days is 'Morality'. The realms of it, the undefined criss cross intersecting patterns of it, the lawlessness and sometimes the hypocritical pride of it, and lastly the chameleon ethos of it.
History has tested us on our understanding and ever changing definitions of this time designed morality and we have shown some bizarre reactions to it. This last novel by the master is one such peephole into the American society of mid 20th century where morals were having a t(r)ough time (not that we are on any high these days). Corruption and greed had laid its wrath on an aristocratic family from a small east coast town, as a result the last standing member has nothing but his name to remind him constantly of things his family had lost, of things he would probably have been a heir to if not for the lecherous times.
Ethan Allen Hawley finds himself being a clerk of a grocery store with disillusionment looming over every single minute of his life until on one insomniac night he strolls towards the port where his grandfather's ship used to anchor, and something sets itself in motion because he realized that things can't remain the way they are forever.
When a man is discontent about something that is too important to him, he changes one fine day into a different man, looks at things differently, says new words. The cosmic equation modifies itself and subconscious mind takes over the reins of future.
This is a unique book by Steinbeck. He has power packed the prose with many of the life's learnings as he usually does, but this time the reader is at the edge of his seat questioning and nodding at every move Ethan makes, stretching the flimsy cloth of morality at the turn of every chapter, finding redemption, anguish, empathy, and a cacophony of emotions at the end(which was Dostoevskysk in many ways). For many more reasons that I'm finding difficult to incorporate here, this book is an absolute shiner.
Maybe it's my age where I find myself amidst a thousand questions because I like to think that I am understanding a little of what goes around. And as it goes with books, the count of unanswered questions is on an exponential run. Anyway, the most prominent and adamant question I find myself wrestle with these days is 'Morality'. The realms of it, the undefined criss cross intersecting patterns of it, the lawlessness and sometimes the hypocritical pride of it, and lastly the chameleon ethos of it.
History has tested us on our understanding and ever changing definitions of this time designed morality and we have shown some bizarre reactions to it. This last novel by the master is one such peephole into the American society of mid 20th century where morals were having a t(r)ough time (not that we are on any high these days). Corruption and greed had laid its wrath on an aristocratic family from a small east coast town, as a result the last standing member has nothing but his name to remind him constantly of things his family had lost, of things he would probably have been a heir to if not for the lecherous times.
Ethan Allen Hawley finds himself being a clerk of a grocery store with disillusionment looming over every single minute of his life until on one insomniac night he strolls towards the port where his grandfather's ship used to anchor, and something sets itself in motion because he realized that things can't remain the way they are forever.
When a man is discontent about something that is too important to him, he changes one fine day into a different man, looks at things differently, says new words. The cosmic equation modifies itself and subconscious mind takes over the reins of future.
This is a unique book by Steinbeck. He has power packed the prose with many of the life's learnings as he usually does, but this time the reader is at the edge of his seat questioning and nodding at every move Ethan makes, stretching the flimsy cloth of morality at the turn of every chapter, finding redemption, anguish, empathy, and a cacophony of emotions at the end(which was Dostoevskysk in many ways). For many more reasons that I'm finding difficult to incorporate here, this book is an absolute shiner.
December 2, 2018
亘賴 胤乇夭 毓噩蹖亘蹖 賴蹖趩 乇蹖賵蹖賵 賮丕乇爻蹖 丕蹖 丕夭 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 丿乇 诏賵丿乇蹖丿夭 賳蹖爻鬲! 亘丕 丕蹖賳讴賴 乇蹖鬲 禺賵亘蹖 丿丕乇賴 賵 丿乇 亘蹖賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿诏丕賳 禺丕乇噩蹖 夭亘丕賳 讴賱蹖 丕賲 丕夭卮 丕爻鬲賯亘丕賱 卮丿賴 丕賲丕 賳賴 鬲丕 亘賴 丨丕賱 噩丕蹖蹖 丕夭卮 趩蹖夭蹖 禺賵賳丿賲 賵 賳賴 鬲賵賳爻鬲賲 賳賯丿 賵 賳馗乇蹖 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賲.
丿乇 丕丿丕賲賴 乇賵賳丿 禺賵賳丿賳賲 丕夭 噩丕賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 亘賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘乇禺賵乇丿賲 讴賴 亘毓丿 丕夭 禺賵卮賴 賴丕蹖 禺卮賲 賵 卮乇賯 亘賴卮鬲 丨噩蹖賲 鬲乇蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘蹖賴 讴賴 丿乇 丕蹖乇丕賳 鬲乇噩賲賴 卮丿賴.
丕爻賲 丕氐賱蹖 讴鬲丕亘 芦夭賲爻鬲丕賳 賳丕乇囟丕蹖鬲蹖 賲丕禄 讴賴 丕卮丕乇賴 亘賴 噩賲賱賴 丕蹖 丕夭 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 卮讴爻倬蹖乇 丿丕乇賴. 賮囟丕蹖 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 丿賵爻 丿丕卮鬲賲. 卮賴乇蹖 讴賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿乇卮 丕鬲賮丕賯 賲蹖賮鬲丕丿貙 賲乇丿賲 卮賴乇貙 乇賵丕亘胤卮賵賳 賵 丨鬲蹖 鬲賱丕卮卮賵賳 亘乇丕蹖 夭蹖乇倬丕 诏匕丕卮鬲賳 賯丕賳賵賳...
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 乇賵賳丿 倬乇 丕亘賴丕賲蹖 丿丕乇賴 讴賴 鬲丕 氐賮丨丕鬲 丕賳鬲賴丕蹖蹖 賴賲 丕丿丕賲賴 倬蹖丿丕 賲蹖讴賳賴 丕賲丕 丿乇 氐賮丨丕鬲 丌禺乇 鬲賲丕賲蹖 爻賵丕賱丕鬲蹖 讴賴 匕賴賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 乇賵 丿乇诏蹖乇 讴乇丿賴 倬丕爻禺 丿丕丿賴 賲蹖卮賳. (丕賱亘鬲賴 賲賳 賴賳賵夭 賴賲 蹖讴 爻乇蹖 亘禺卮鈥屬囏� 亘乇丕賲 丨賱 賳卮丿賴 丕爻鬲 丕賲丕 禺亘 丕賵賳賯丿乇 賳賯卮 賲賴賲蹖 乇賵 丿乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕蹖賮丕 賳賲蹖讴賳賳) 亘賳馗乇賲 鬲乇噩賲賴 蹖讴 賲賯丿丕乇 爻禺鬲 賵 賳丕賲賮賴賵賲 亘賵丿. 鬲賵 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 诏賮鬲诏賵賴丕 丿蹖丕賱賵诏鈥屬囏� 亘丿賵賳 賲卮禺氐 卮丿賳 诏賵蹖賳丿賴 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 賲蹖讴乇丿 賵 亘丕毓孬 诏蹖噩 卮丿賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 賲蹖卮丿.
噩丕賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴鈥� 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 賲丕亘賯蹖 讴鬲丕亘鈥屬囏ж� 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲賴貨 賲賳鬲賴蹖 丿乇 賳賵毓 乇賵丕蹖鬲貙 賳賴 賮囟丕蹖 賯氐賴 诏賵蹖蹖.
丿乇 丕丿丕賲賴 乇賵賳丿 禺賵賳丿賳賲 丕夭 噩丕賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴 亘賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘乇禺賵乇丿賲 讴賴 亘毓丿 丕夭 禺賵卮賴 賴丕蹖 禺卮賲 賵 卮乇賯 亘賴卮鬲 丨噩蹖賲 鬲乇蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘蹖賴 讴賴 丿乇 丕蹖乇丕賳 鬲乇噩賲賴 卮丿賴.
丕爻賲 丕氐賱蹖 讴鬲丕亘 芦夭賲爻鬲丕賳 賳丕乇囟丕蹖鬲蹖 賲丕禄 讴賴 丕卮丕乇賴 亘賴 噩賲賱賴 丕蹖 丕夭 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 卮讴爻倬蹖乇 丿丕乇賴. 賮囟丕蹖 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 丿賵爻 丿丕卮鬲賲. 卮賴乇蹖 讴賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿乇卮 丕鬲賮丕賯 賲蹖賮鬲丕丿貙 賲乇丿賲 卮賴乇貙 乇賵丕亘胤卮賵賳 賵 丨鬲蹖 鬲賱丕卮卮賵賳 亘乇丕蹖 夭蹖乇倬丕 诏匕丕卮鬲賳 賯丕賳賵賳...
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 乇賵賳丿 倬乇 丕亘賴丕賲蹖 丿丕乇賴 讴賴 鬲丕 氐賮丨丕鬲 丕賳鬲賴丕蹖蹖 賴賲 丕丿丕賲賴 倬蹖丿丕 賲蹖讴賳賴 丕賲丕 丿乇 氐賮丨丕鬲 丌禺乇 鬲賲丕賲蹖 爻賵丕賱丕鬲蹖 讴賴 匕賴賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 乇賵 丿乇诏蹖乇 讴乇丿賴 倬丕爻禺 丿丕丿賴 賲蹖卮賳. (丕賱亘鬲賴 賲賳 賴賳賵夭 賴賲 蹖讴 爻乇蹖 亘禺卮鈥屬囏� 亘乇丕賲 丨賱 賳卮丿賴 丕爻鬲 丕賲丕 禺亘 丕賵賳賯丿乇 賳賯卮 賲賴賲蹖 乇賵 丿乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕蹖賮丕 賳賲蹖讴賳賳) 亘賳馗乇賲 鬲乇噩賲賴 蹖讴 賲賯丿丕乇 爻禺鬲 賵 賳丕賲賮賴賵賲 亘賵丿. 鬲賵 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 诏賮鬲诏賵賴丕 丿蹖丕賱賵诏鈥屬囏� 亘丿賵賳 賲卮禺氐 卮丿賳 诏賵蹖賳丿賴 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 賲蹖讴乇丿 賵 亘丕毓孬 诏蹖噩 卮丿賳 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 賲蹖卮丿.
噩丕賳 丕卮鬲丕蹖賳 亘讴鈥� 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 賲丕亘賯蹖 讴鬲丕亘鈥屬囏ж� 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲賴貨 賲賳鬲賴蹖 丿乇 賳賵毓 乇賵丕蹖鬲貙 賳賴 賮囟丕蹖 賯氐賴 诏賵蹖蹖.
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