Book Banning Project

Sammy Hand

Background

Background

Of mice and men has been banned in some schools because it is said to open a doorway to some of the darker issues in life such as death, racism, sexism, false hopes, and the harshness of poverty. There is also said to be too much profanity and derogatory towards African Americans. The 'N' word is also a major contribution to the problem. Young teens have been questioned about them being able to handle violence and racism which is seen a lot throughout the novella.



My opinion

I think the the theme of racism in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men was most influential in the controversy to censor the novella. Racism is the main reason for the ban of the novel because it used all through tout the book and is very offensive to most people. There are a lot of quotes of dialogue where people are just putting African Americans down. There are other themes in the novella that contribute to the ban but they don't upset people as much as racism does.


Support of Argument

An author of an article on Teen Ink states that they think Of Mice and Men should be read and taught in society everywhere. According to them, it teaches lessons about friendship, encourages people to follow their dreams, and helps us get a good understanding of what history was like back in the 1930s. I definitely agree with this because if there are reasons such as these then you should be able to choose to read the book in school if you want to.


Examples of Theme in the Novella

Examples of Theme in the Novella

Important themes shown throughout the novella are friendship, the American Dream, loneliness, and racism. Examples of these from the novella are: "Crooks "This is just a nigger talkin', an' a busted-back nigger. So it don't mean nothing, see?" This clearly shows racism. This next quote shows friendship: "Lennie broke in. "'Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." He laughed delightedly. "Go on now, George!'" (Chapter 1) "O.K. Someday—we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and—" this quote shows the American Dream.