John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is ranked in the top ten most banned books in modern day education due to it's use of inappropriate language. The use of profanity and vulgarity in literature has been an ongoing topic for many years that could possibly never end. Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is one of the most debated novels on the topic of being banned from the use of inappropriate language. Although Of Mice and Men is a literary classic, it should be banned in schools due to inappropriate language. The use of profanity and inappropriate language in "Of Mice and Men" should not be allowed in schools because it makes the reader uncomfortable. Discomfort of the reader is caused by the repetitive use of inappropriate language and profanity which …show more content…
Adults who will be able to function in the professional world as young men and women. Using profanity in the classroom is in direct opposition to a learning environment where young adults are bettering their vocabulary. Of Mice and Men has many scenes where the main character George gets upset with other characters and uses inappropriate language to harp on them. For example, George states, ""So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I? Jesus Christ, you're a crazy bastard!" (Steinbeck 14). This vulgar language is what children and young adults will inherit from hearing the repetitive use of it. An article about profanity in literature proclaimed that, "When used incorrectly, profanity can be a shortcut to emotion and the reader is bound to remain unconvinced. Try to convey emotion through action, gesture or different dialogue for a more nuanced effect." (Reissenweber). It is much more formal to communicate by action and by a well vocabulary rather than the use of vulgar language. The use of profanity conveys a lack of vocabulary and intelligence which is in direct conflict of what the school is trying to achieve. Conventionally schools are trying to promote success and positive student image. Using profanity in the classroom through literature can promote a negative mentality. …show more content…
Of Mice and Men is a great book for reflecting on history. It puts the reader into the character's perspective on life during the Great Depression and it is a great emotional story where many connections can be made. The offensive language within the novel is utilized believably by the characters to express their own common vernacular. This can be seen as a further tool for the author demonstrate how tough the world that the characters of the book live in. An article named, Censorship & young adult literature stated, "Of Mice and Men should not be banned in any school or library today, but instead it should be taught and the themes, language, and content should be evaluated and studied today." (Steinbeck). This novel should not be banned because it is based off of history, and a reader can learn a lot about how America was effected during the Great Depression. It also should not be banned because the use of profanity and inappropriate language is used because it is illustrating the common vernacular used during that time
Supporters of banning say profanity can negatively influence the actions and thoughts of readers, especially younger readers that may not have heard or read many corrupt words. Huckleberry Finn, a book commonly inveighed for its use of contentious racial language, is commonly challenged for that reason. For USA Today, Martha Moore wrote, “When the younger reader is staring at that word five times on a given page and the instructor is saying, 'Mark Twain didn't mean this and you have to read it with an appreciation of irony,' you're asking a lot of a younger reader”. Granted, foul vocabulary is a challenge that academies need to address, but not through barring novels. Besides, if the reader is sufficiently mature for the book, they can still learn from it. For instance, some racial characterizations do not intentionally persecute people, but show the contrasting tensions between them, conforming to the time period. Again, the article “Huck Finn Navigating Choppy Waters Again” revealed, “The word is there for a reason… The word is terrible, it's hurtful, but it's there for a reason” (Moore). The racial epithets used in that book convey the attitude of Missouri in the 1840s when friction between African Americans and white people was rising. Additionally, banning a book due to concerns about the language is not beneficial to pupils because it prevents them from learning from other components of the book. “Often the organizations or schools that ban these books fail to see the book as a whole; they often center on the one page, the one scene or even the one word containing the offensive language or meaning and judge the whole book based on that one aspect,” according to an article by Adriana Lopez. She makes a sound point. A book contains a whole plot with themes that
Each year, someone is guilty of challenging a book while others are guilty of banning novels from the classroom. The question remains, is censorship necessarily a negative thing? Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel that has caused havoc and controversy within the education system. While some critics argue Speak should be “hidden” from students, many believe otherwise. At a glance, this novel contains scenes involving issues of drugs, parents that are disengaged in their child 's life, sexuality, and rape. It may seem understandable that it has been challenged throughout the past, however, while reading this novel, these specific scenes introduce a student to much more than just “inappropriate content.” By censoring this novel from
“Children deprived of words become school dropouts, dropouts deprived of hope behave delinquently. Amateur censors blame delinquency on reading immoral books and magazines, when in fact, the inability to read anything is the basic trouble.” (Peter S. Jennison) Censorship could easily be one of the biggest controversies around the world today. The book “Harris and Me” by Gary Paulsen, about a boy who stays with his distant cousin Harris on the family farm because his parents are a bunch of “puke drunks.” Spends the summer fighting “commie japs”, hunting mice, and tussling with the rooster Ernie. This book was banned by the ALA for nothing more than profanity. If that’s even the right term, especially for today in our society. This book was taught in my sixth grade class and I have adored it ever since, but I was baffled to find out it
The main reason for the banning of this novel is because of the profanity according to NCAC. NCAC states that this novel has " been challenged or banned due to objections to profanity." Therefore this novel should be banned from high schools and libraries. The use of profanity causes a sense of disproportion for the youthful minds reading this publication.
The book also encounters the words: sonuvaitch, bastard, crap, god damn, Jesus, Christ-sake, and more. The F-word is also mentioned six times in the book. Many people wonder that since the average adolescent uses roughly 80 to 90 swear words a day, why should it matter that they read about them? The point for books to be banned by their use of profanity is that reading bad words does have an influence on the reader especially at an age were they are very impressionable. Since many eighth grade students are not allowed to use these curse words in school or at home why should they be read them in school? If these children read these words in school they may feel compelled to repeat them in school or other places were they are not appropriate to use. Therefore reading a book with curse words may cause the frequency of student swearing to increase.
According to one article, “Parents have argued that the use of profanity by the children in the novel were offensive and may even encourage their own children to use profanity.” J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye was “banned countless times for its profanity alone.” Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is an example of a book banned because of the homosexual content (as well as its “troubling ideas about race relations, man’s relationship to God, African history, and human sexuality”) As you can see, books are challenged very often, even these very famous and renowned
Censors typically feel as though the subject material of controversial books in the high school English curriculum is too much for teenagers to handle (Shen, 2002).
When some people see the book “Of Mice And Men” by John SteinBeck the people that have read it will think “Oh that book has curse words, I think this book should be banned from young adult and kids.” This teaches kids how to use proper language and not harm others by using words. If you harm others you can get into trouble it might not be as much trouble as this but you can get into trouble. When some people see the book “Of Mice And Men” the people that have read it will think “oh that book has curse words I think this book should be banned from young adult and kids.” What they should be thinking is, “this is a good book this book shouldn’t be banned from schools. This teaches kids how to use
Critics have said that To Kill a Mockingbird is not a good read for the youth because that it still uses the N-word, which is a word that is almost prohibited in the 21st century. They say that this element of the book makes it irrelevant. Many schools around the country have decided to remove To Kill a Mockingbird from their curriculum because the amount of racial slurs and bad words makes the book hard to teach. Lines such as “What exactly is a n—– lover?”...It’s hard to explain, Ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves… It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody.”(Lee ___) Sentences like these make students uncomfortable and more likely to not understand the literary concepts. School district across America have decided to use other books that can teach the same lessons. Although some experts think the use of the N-word makes the novel irrelevant and bit difficult to teach, others think that the use of the N-word is not a big deal and makes the book relevant.
Due to the diversity of characters, each derogatory phrase used could have been highly offensive. For example, being the only black man on the ranch, Crooks is frequently called by the name “nigger”. Using this term as a normal phrase teaches students that it may also be permitted. However, using phrases or words such as this could terribly hurt someone or cause serious consequences. Moreover, Curley’s wife is constantly referred to as a “tart”, meaning she dresses teasingly and provocatively. Portraying the only female character as a “tart” is another way to lessen women. Many female readers may slowly degrade their self-confidence as strong women and could easily be negatively influenced by these phrases. Lastly, Lennie being confused and slow most of the time is made fun of multiple times, with names such as “bastard” or “cuckoo”. This is another example of the novel making it more acceptable for students to use these terms in their daily lives. Students who read this novel are easily influenced teenagers who could simply begin unnecessary bullying without knowledge using phrases they learned in class. In conclusion, not only would Of Mice and Men be detrimental to students, but it would also cause real-life consequences in students’
Then they can fully understand the true meaning of the book. “In reality, being required to confront difficult, embarrassing, and controversial matters and to learn how to deal with them does not constitute a hostile learning environment. It constitutes education” stated Joan DelFattore. High school students have heard the N word in songs, in movies and on television. They’ll hear it in college, in real life and it will make some of them uncomfortable. Generally speaking, high school students are capable of separating the N word that they know to the N word that was used in that time period.
Everyday we read and hear profanity from books which we should shelter our children from having to learn more about the awful things we have in life. Having profanity in our everyday lives affects us in a negative way because if our children hear the foul language then there is a greater chance that children will pick up the words we would not like them to say. In the article “Potty-Mouthed” by Martin Chilton, states that swearing in Young Adult fiction is a controversial and complex issue. Young Adult fiction is controversial issue because some parent let their children read books that other parents would not agree with based on the language, violence, suicied and sexualactivity. A lot of teenage books have very mature points of view that some or most of our teens can not even
The first instance of profanity begins on page four, King writes about a case of bullying, “Carrie White eats shit,” is written on a desk by another student. These scenes as well as many others in the book support the opinion that it is “explicit in matters of sex” (Alexander), the, “use of swearing” (“Carrie”), and potential harm it could cause students who read it. Much of the book is also very crude and cruel. Alex Alexander writes, “Carrie's schoolmates, in a ‘hoarse, uninhibited abandon,’ shout ‘Period, Period!’ and ‘Plug it up!’
Censorship is not a new issue whatsoever; in fact, many books and movies have been censored before due to explicit material. One of the books that is consistently challenged is Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men, written by author John Steinbeck, discusses many subjects that parents deem are too inappropriate for students. This has lead to the novella being one of the most challenged books.
Stories are what can make someone who they are. They are important to people of any age because of what they can influence in anyone’s lives.Besides movies and video games, books are one of the most influential ways of storytelling because of what people can write and how they are and how they are universal in all continents of the world. Of Mice and Men is one of the those influential stories which it considered an outstanding book in the literature community. Of Mice and Men is one of the more popular pieces of John Steinbeck published by Penguin books in the year 1937. It has been praised by many people but has been in a lot controversial discussions pertaining to the contents of the book. The book has a lot of good qualities to it that make the book special. The characters and the plot are what makes this book unique.