In The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck shows many conflicts in the society in which the protagonist, Ethan Allen Hawley lives. Ethan is often forced to survive in a world where the will of his own often goes against and deals with the will of the majority. Ethan himself who has been raised as an honest, respectful man is somehow feeling a "discontent" with himself. He feels as if the world is changing and is …showed first 75 words of 862 total…

…showed last 75 words of 862 total…that on account of listening to everyone else's selfish ways, instead of reverting to his honest naturalistic ways. Ethan often questioned what one gained by being a morally conscious individual when all share the same fate, and thought that if there was no right or wrong that he himself would not be held accountable for, but soon discovered what life truly should be and how it should be lived regardless of others and their opinions.