Good people are hard to find at the time of crisis, it is a crisis which defines the true character of a man. Good days and a wealthy pocket can make anyone behave decently in front of others but when one is struck hard by bad luck he usually turns into a demon. Ethan Allen Hawley was once a decent man when he was rich and used to provide his children with the best of things. Then slowly he lost his material wealth and became below average, his kids and wife also suffered hard with him.
At the beginning of the novel, Ethan is working in the same store which he and his family-owned once. Though the troubles of the house tease him he still tries to be the same old decent man that he used to be once. As problems grow bigger for him he decides to leave the old honest touch in him and takes the things in his hands by force. John Steinbeck has provided a story that has emotion and in the later stages, it gets loaded with action as well. Changing from a man of morals to a person who commits an immoral act was hard for Ethan but circumstances force him to go beyond his limits.
It would be nice to through other books like East of Eden and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck to understand the true quality of the author. David Aaron Baker narrates the start in a meek voice to show the effect of the situation on Ethan and later when the hero becomes a man of action he is given a heavy pitched voice.
