A Spiritual Ecological Study On Ethan's Discontent In The Winter Of Our Discontent

John Steinbeck is one of the most influential writers in America in the 20 th century and won Nobel Prize for literature in 1962.The Winter of Our Discontent is his last novel,which tells the story of the struggle,degradation and redemption of the protagonist Ethan who suffers from different kinds of discontents.Compared with other works by Steinbeck,the study of The Winter of Our Discontent is rare.Most of the existing studies are conducted from the perspective of Biblical archetypes or themes of morality.From the perspective of spiritual ecology,this thesis is intended to examine Ethan's discontent,analyze the deep causes of his discontent and how he achieves redemption.The study shows that the deteriorating environment,the abnormal social environment and the divided self together bring Ethan discontents.However,the healing of nature,inspiration of love and restoration of belief together contribute to his final redemption.The thesis includes three main parts: the introduction,the body and the conclusion.The Introduction gives a brief account of John Steinbeck and his novel The Winter of Our Discontent,sorts out the existing studies of this novel by scholars at home and abroad,and finally points out the significance and purpose of this thesis.Chapter One is theoretical framework.It introduces the concepts,development,main points of eco-criticism,and the background and the development of the criticism of spiritual ecology.Chapter Two analyzes Ethan's discontent.Ethan is discontent with his job,but has no courage to give it up.He feels lonely and is eager for comfort,but he can find no one to talk with.In order to achieve economic success,he abandons his firm moral belief,but feels guilty about his moral degradation at the same time.Chapter Three uncovers the causes of Ethan's discontent.The deteriorating environment isolates man from nature;in order to achieve success,people try every means to achieve material success which leads to the prevalence of Fetishism and loss of morality;the divided self results in Ethan's struggle between his inner self and false self,losing himself in the contradiction between ideal and reality,which are all the root causes of Ethan's discontent.Chapter Four analyzes Ethan's redemption.Integrating with nature relieves his pressure,baptizes and heals his mind;the strength of love inspires him to regain the hope of life;the restoration of belief helps him re-recognize himself and helps him find the sense of belonging.Lastly,the Conclusion shows that Ethan spends a discontent winter in loneliness and loss due to the deteriorating natural environment,the indifferent and ruthless social circumstances and the growing imbalance of spiritual state.Meanwhile,the strength of nature,love and belief contribute to his redemption.This novel can be regarded as Steinbeck's warning to modern man: only by respecting nature,by keeping a harmonious relationship with others,can human beings achieve the real balanced state of mind.