The Winter of Our Discontent is a 1961 novel by John Steinbeck.

The title is a reference to the phrase "Now is the winter of our discontent" from William Shakespeare's Richard III.

Plot

The story is about a New Englander named Ethan Allan Hawley who works as a clerk in a grocery store he used to own, but is now owned by an Italian immigrant. His wife and kids want more than what he can give them. Then, he finds out that the immigrant that owned his store is an illegal alien, and he receives the store. Still, he does not feel happy about himself, and after he finds out the essay his son wrote for a competition had plagiarized other famous writers' works, he sinks further into depression.

Movie

The novel was made into a television movie in 1983, starring Donald Sutherland as Ethan Hawley.

External links

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