Georgian Journal published an article
on September 19, 2015, with the headline ‘The Harvest of Our Discontent.’ What
does ‘the harvest of our discontent’ mean?
Oxford Dictionaries
defines discontent as a lack of contentment or dissatisfaction, dissatisfied,
not happy. Therefore someone or some people in this article are not happy. The
first sentence confirms this: ‘The grape harvest 2015 progresses against a
backdrop of protests.’ Some grape growers in Georgia demand higher prices for
grapes. Some grape growers are still selling their crops. ‘As the national wine
agency stated: In the Kakheti region, 21 factories are now involved in
winemaking, among them are six factories hired by the goverment. The government
does not plan to change the prices of grapes.’ So the situation is clear.
‘Harvest of our
discontent’ is a reference to the 1961 John Steinbeck novel The Winter of Our Discontent and 1983
movie of the same title. It was a classic, and the American Steinbeck (1902-1968)
was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. The main character Ethan
Hawley’s father lost the family fortune, so Ethan works in a grocery store. He
succumbs to external pressure, lies and deceit in order to reclaim his social
status and wealth. However, Steinbeck’s title came from the opening lines (Act
1, Scene 1) of William Shakespeare’s 1594 play Richard III:
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of
York;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our
house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
But Shakespeare is
saying that winter is nearly over, and therefore the discontent, or
unhappiness, will be in the past – spring follows winter. The opening lines
show that Richard III was a dissatisfied man ‘deformed, unfinished, sent before
his time into this breathing world, scarce half made up’ at a time when England
was in the midst of the War of the Roses.
So is the discontent of
the Georgian grape growers starting or ending?
In the Georgian Journal article, the word ‘winter’
is replaced with ‘harvest’ – the harvest of our discontent – and this is more
appropriate. The article continues with documenting the factors that have
contributed to the falling prices of Georgian grapes: the low awareness of the
country in the world, the low awareness of Georgian brands, the absence of
marketing financing, the absence of consolidated information about Georgian
wine, the absence of unity among grape growers, low or no experience in
exporting, lack of individuals educated in modern grape growing approaches, lack
of market information, the absence of a consolidated approach in the existing
market, problems of high transportation costs, and a lack of governmental
assistance. That’s a lot of factors to be discontent with!
Scorecard for the Georgian Journal headline is 100%. Georgian
grape growers are indeed discontent with the outcome of their harvest – and could
be harvesting (i.e. gathering) their own unhappiness.
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