The title 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".

His wife Mary and their children resent their mediocre social and economic status and do not value the honesty and integrity that Ethan struggles to maintain amidst a corrupt society.

Perhaps after seeing his own moral decay in his son's actions, and experiencing the guilt of Marullo's deportation and the death of Danny, Ethan resolves to commit suicide.

If at times the critics have seemed to note certain signs of flagging powers, of repetitions that might point to a decrease in vitality, Steinbeck belied their fears most emphatically with The Winter of Our Discontent (1961), a novel published last year.

[3] Saul Bellow also lauded the book, writing, "John Steinbeck returns to the high standards of The Grapes of Wrath and to the social themes that made his early work so impressive, and so powerful."

[6] In 1983, Carol Ann Kasparek condemned the character of Ethan for his implausibility and still called Steinbeck’s treatment of American moral decay superficial, although she went on to approve the story's mythic elements.

[7] The professor of literature and Steinbeck scholar Stephen K. George wrote, "With these authors [Saul Bellow, Brent Weeks, and Ruth Stiles Gannett] I would contend that, given its multi-layered complexity, intriguing artistry, and clear moral purpose, The Winter of Our Discontent ranks in the upper echelon of Steinbeck’s fiction, alongside Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, East of Eden, and, of course, The Grapes of Wrath.

At the beginning of the novel, Ethan Hawley is unhappy with his job as a grocery store clerk, but it is the complaints from his wife and children about their social and economic status that drive his character to change his beliefs about wealth and power.

He is also influenced by close acquaintances who encourage him to accept bribes and speak in ways indicating that money is the most important thing in their lives.

But the son's purpose in entering the contest was not to show love for his country, but rather to gain materialistic rewards from it like a watch and trip, in addition to appearing on TV (Chapters 5, 11, 21).

The novel was made into a television movie for the Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1983, featuring Donald Sutherland, Teri Garr, and Tuesday Weld.