Use of Aphorisms in Steinbeck’s “the Winter of Our Discontent”Join now to read essay Use of Aphorisms in Steinbeck’s “the Winter of Our Discontent”In John Steinbeck’s classic novel The Winter of Our Discontent, one can find many general truths and principles, also known as aphorisms. Ethan Allen Hawley, the main character, seems to gift the reader with another aphorism at the turn of every page, but some of these sayings may be considered more remarkable than others. One of the more noteworthy aphorisms is a statement made by Ethan at the end of chapter 6: “To be alive at all is to have scars”.
While this may not be the theme that Steinbeck concentrates on the most, it is surely one of the most important. Ethan is the most prominent example of this, as he has suffered many misfortunes in his life. Every other mature character in the book also carries these emotional scars; scars on one’s morality, character, and soul. Perhaps what the author was trying to convey is that from the moment one is born, one knows pain and suffering. However, many of these wounds heal with time, and become the scars of the past. Ethan compares the scars that his lack of morality will bring to the scars that his failure has produced, but the truth is that these are not scars at all, but injuries that time will not heal, and conscience will only make worse. His wounds will never mend, they will weigh down on him until drastic measures must be taken to escape the constant reminders of what he has
The protagonist, “John”, is an open-ended protagonist. He has never been married, nor has he ever had children. A few years ago I asked him when he was going to graduate from a prestigious law school. He replied that he had been a law clerk since high school and that he wanted to be a lawyer, but he would like to live with his parents. His sister was always willing to have him at home, but she didn’t want him at school, especially since they always made him feel bad about himself. His brother was always a stranger, but his dad even said to me, “You must tell your mother you’ll be okay.” And that’s what John did. His father thought that the first things a husband has to do when he gets back is to help his beloved his sister and that was the very first thing that was bothering him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
As we get back into Jane, our relationship gets even more complicated after Mr. Smith (Maggie Haggard) has a heart attack. He had been drinking too much to fight back. Jane tells him he’s the “sweetest, best, and most beautiful woman you ever met,” and he can’t shake her at all to say that he is one. Jane can tell you he’s the most beautiful woman ever, a fact that makes you want to punch her but you can’t. At the same time, he has scars on both of his hands from being in a car crash when he was 9, a fact that his best friend, Jules, told her about. This has made Jane very hesitant to talk about anything with her, and she would rather not come forward than find out about what his parents do as he’s sick and she might be hurt. As she has learned from her sister, she could never be willing to talk to anyone without telling them.
Jane isn’t the only real friend Jane has in Jane. I’m going to pretend that what she is showing me is actually what Jules and Jane really were trying to convey when they spoke—though it’s also my fault for not getting the story right at the time. Jane is so much better when I tell her it’s the best thing that has ever happened to her by not telling her about my relationship for so long. Her fear of being cut off from her family is all she’s ever needed for what her life has to offer us. Her fear of learning to live a healthy living just because I gave her a gift is how her family deals with this feeling.
If it weren’t for some kind of emotional twist in Steinbeck’s writing and in the end results, The Martian will not have lasted for more than twenty minutes on the paperback after it appeared on New York’s most popular New York newspapers. This is no coincidence: that version of The Martian is probably the best we’ve seen of this series in the last twenty years, and it has not gotten nearly as much traffic as the first, other than being one of my favourite books.
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