The Rise of Materialism Exposed in the Winter of Our DiscontentJohn Steinbeck expressed alarm and disapproval at the rise of materialism and to the post-World War II capitalist morality found in America during the 1960s. These views were expressed through various characters in his novel The Winter of Our Discontent. This book was about the downward spiral of a good man, Ethan Allen Hawley. Under pressure from all sides by influences once considered immoral, but now accepted in the 1960s, Ethan, a grocery store clerk from a family of sea captains and wealthy businessmen, “...has traded a driving habit and attitude for comfort, dignity, and a safety cushion" (257). Ethan's son, Allen, embodies the ideals of the rising generation of the 1960s. Having grown up in the era of supermarkets, game show scandals and traffic tickets, Allen's vision of "something for nothing" (91) represented the exact opposite of that of his father Ethan, perhaps too much a man. preoccupied with the past, was a character used by Steinbeck to express his voice Ethan was a man accustomed to honesty, good deals and respect Allen lived in a much different world than Ethan was raised in. thinking that being dishonest, immoral and underhanded was accepted. "Everyone does it. That's how the cookie crumbles." (353), Allen said when confronted by his father about plagiarizing famous speeches for the "I Love America Contest." The only real opposition came when someone got caught. It almost seemed as if society allowed these illegal actions as long as the person(s) escaped punishment. The only reason Allen seemed upset was because he got caught, not because what he did was wrong. Steinbeck seemed to show that he considered family history very important. Ethan showed great persistence in questioning Mr. Baker about the sinking of the Belle-Adair, which Ethan's predecessors believed was deliberately burned by the Baker family for insurance money. Ethan's main motivation for making some immoral decisions came from the internal pressure he felt to live up to the Hawley name. He seemed very embarrassed and perhaps even ashamed of the fact that he was a simple grocery clerk, in a foreign store, that his family had once owned. Ethan began to hate Mr. Baker when he discovered that the Baker family had used the Hawleys' trust to gain more land in New Baytown by giving bad investment advice..