The Winter of Our Discontent, by John Steinbeck, ed. 1996. In every action, man places his own interest. The morality of this situation is continually questioned, and throughout The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck explores both the traditional Christian view and the natural view of the world and its corruption. It shows how Ethan Allen's life was that of a Christian, when he followed his morals, was very passive and generous, and even suffered and was a victim of betrayal. However, Steinbeck also shows that nature can take over a man, when Ethan's animal instincts and moral conflicts arise. With this, I think Steinbeck is saying that although Christianity is the traditional path of moral thought, natural processes come first to allow Ethan and every human being to make the appropriate decisions necessary for survival. Both viewpoints, the moral and amoral ways of thinking, work inside each person to control their actions and behaviors. To understand the views Steinbeck explores, we must first understand morality. Morality is the belief that a person or society has about the difference between right and wrong. Sometimes the morals of an individual and those of the society in which he lives clash, and thus begins a struggle to survive in internal conflict. With this in mind, one could say that morality is simply a belief in an opinion, which leads to a battle between the weak and the strong. Those with stronger moral judgments, or even those of a larger population, will most likely win against the beliefs of a smaller group or individual. In such cases, some people will change their morality to fit that of the majority or society. Ethan questions this, as well as the motivations behind each acceptance of wrongful action. He found that “for most people in the world, success is never bad…Strength and success – they are above morality, above criticism” (187). If this is the case, then morality might change based on the need to be on the winning side. The question then arises as to whether morality is truly a battle of beliefs, as in Christianity, or simply a battle of weak versus strong, of winner versus loser, with an animalistic approach...