The Importance Of Censorship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The Catcher in the Rye. The Scarlet Letter. Huckleberry Finn. Harry Potter. The Diary of Anne Frank. Animal Farm. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Da Vinci Code. The Grapes of Wrath. These literary classics have been vital to the education of many, especially children and adolescents (Banned Books). These great novels both teach important values and educate children about world affairs and classic themes. Unfortunately, each of these novels has been banned at one point in time. In a country where freedom is so adamantly advocated, it is a wonder that an issue like censorship would even come up, that such a controversy would sink its claws into the minds of states’ boards of education across the nation.

In “Censorship: A Personal View”, the author, Judy Blume, argues that the censorship is the biggest restrictions that turn young people away from books that they are interested in. Blume first indicates that the censorship already existed while she was a kid. She provides her personal experience as a kid toward the curiosity about adult world that she wanted to read from books, but her parents and school were very careful and selective about what books she could read. Blume then expresses her own views on censorship while she likes to write the controversial topics as a writer. She provides her own experience while many of her books were banned because the topics in her book were dangerous to young people, and the censorship proposed the alternative

Most schools assign this novel as an English assignment to young students, because of the blasphemous language it contains parents have complain to the schools about why this novel is being assign to students. In ALA states " a parent complained about its vulgarity and racial slurs." As a parent they wouldn’t want their children to read novels that contain so much vulgar language or do know want them to learn those kind of bad things they'd say. Parents expect their children to go to school and learn good school work not learn or use vulgar language. While in Idaho another parent complains that the novel "Of mice and men"

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).

History is full of examples of how power affects people's behaviors towards others. Well known examples in history include Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Kim Jong-Il, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein are more recent examples of the negative abuse of power. In the novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, a common theme throughout the story is the misuse of power. Steinbeck uses the characters Curley’s wife and Crooks to teach the reader that people who possess less power are treated in a more demeaning fashion, but also treat others the same way in search of gaining power.

Discrimination plays a big role in Of Mice and Men, since it takes place during the Great Depression. Racial segregation, gender rights, and handicap vulnerability are all problems in Of Mice and Men that reflect the society at the time. Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy are discriminated against on the ranch just like they would be in society.

Violence plays a key part in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice And Men, and there must be a reasoning behind this. In this essay I will pick apart some of the acts of violence that feature in the book, and try to explore why Steinbeck has included each one, how it develops the novel, the characters in it and helps him convey the key themes or messages he wishes to incorporate in his “valley of the world.”

Discrimination have been happening everywhere in the world and as long as anyone can remember. Discrimination is still a problem today. America just had protests dealing with Black Lives Matter and African Americans feel they are still discriminated against and treated differently. The time that the novel Of Mice and Men takes place in is important because during the Great Depression it was hard to find money, so Lennie couldn’t just stay at home while George had to work. They both had to make money to support themselves. Lennie, Crooks, and Curley's wife all face discrimination which greatly impacts their lives.

Censorship is a problem that has popped up throughout the world. “Censorship takes place anytime a book is removed from its intended audience” (Whelan). The banning and censoring of books puts a pall on the eyes of children and adults alike. Many novels have been banned and challenged, dredging up controversies that now plague the entire world. Carrie by Stephen King is a novel that was challenged by schools and libraries.

There’s a debate going on if Of Mice and Men should be taught in school because of it content in prostitution and among other inappropriate topics. In my personal opinion i'm taking in the side where the book should be taken in consideration to be taught in school regardless of the inappropriate topics even though they’re not much explicit or viewed with a lot of attention.

How is a woman in an era dominated by men expected to gain attention? Steinbeck wrote the novel titled Of Mice and Men emphasising the male society while displaying American dreams crushed throughout the novel. Whereas, minimal wiggle room for Curley’s wife expands upon her husband’s father’s farm because of its majority being men and her being the inferior sex. Her image demonstrates a sexual figure towards the male workers when Lennie and George saw her for the first time as stated, “She had full, rough lips and widespread eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails red and her hair hung in curls with a cotton house dress,” whereas red usually provokes people as an attention seeking color from its vividness bringing along attention to her hands

Across the globe, the classic story, Of Mice and Men is banned in public schools because of conflicting opinions on the book. The banning of Of Mice and Men is very common because of the dark and depressing tone and irrelevant word choice. Parents call school districts complaining about the unbefitting context that their teens are reading, and schools have no choice but to ban them. Although the language used in Of Mice and Men, can be considered inappropriate and vulgar to some, censoring books in schools, is a violation of the first amendment, as well as hides teens from the hardships of life, and disconnects teens from meeting inspiring characters.

Violence is very apparent in both our time and the 1930’s, shaping both of our lives. In Of Mice and Men, the workers of the ranch are forced to live dangerous lives, faced with murder and assault. Leading a tragedy free life is nearly impossible in a time that calls for action and violence.

In this excerpt from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the repetition of silence creates an uncomfortable and tense mood. The word silent and variations of it are repeated throughout the passage. Our first instance of it is on lines 9 and 10 that state, “It was silent outside” (Steinbeck 9) and “The silence came into the room. And the silence lasted.” (Steinbeck 10). What we are already seeing is the impact of silence among the men- it lingers. Throughout the excerpt phrases like “The silence fell on the room again” (Steinbeck 16, 25) and “The silence was in the room again” (Steinbeck 39) are repeated which emphasize the uncomfortable feeling following the scene. This repetition also highlights the sounds that are present, like the mice under

“The greatest writers and the best readers know that literature is not always mere sugar candy;it can sometimes be a strong medicine:sour perhaps-at least to the untrained taste - but necessary for continued health” (1). A statement written by Professor Thomas Scarseth shows how without value in books, a reading life would never reach its intended purpose. By learning to apply knowledge that books provide through characters, we can improve ourselves as individuals. This particular book, Of Mice and Men, has values such as linguistics, sociological value, and historical value. Linguistics are shown through Steinbeck’s use of poetic devices such as imagery and repetition. Sociological value is given through the perspective of Crooks, who shows the struggle of achieving the great American Dream of having a place to call your own. Finally, historical value is provided through racism and how it affected Crooks, or any other black man at the time.