Rating: 
Summary: Of Mice and Men- a banned book?
Review: This popular high school or college required reading written by Steinbeck was one book I have never read. Neither have I watched the movie (1940) or newer versions (1981, 1992). What intrigues me is ALA has listed the novel as top sixth 100 banned books during 1990-1999. How can popular novels written by a famous author who earned a Presidential Metal of Freedom in 1964 received banned and challenged review years after initial publication? Perhaps it was a typo until I confirmed:·"Of Mice and Men" was banned:
Syracuse, Indiana, 1974;
Oil City, Pennsylvania, 1977;
Grand Blanc, Michigan, 1979;
Continental, Ohio, 1980
Skyline High School, Scottsboro, Alabama, 1983. ·The book was challenged:
Greenville, South Carolina, 1977;
Vernon-Verona-Sherill, NY, School District, 1980;
St. David, Arizona, 1981;
Telly City, Indiana, 1982;
Knoxville, Tennessee, School Board, 1984 Steinbeck wrote the novel at his house in Los Gatos back in 1937. It was an era of depression; migrant workers and poverty persisted in the US. Steinbeck had dropped out of Stanford earlier to work on the Sprechels Sugar Ranch in this area as a farm hand. He observed the workers behavior and wrote about them. They represented low education and economically poorly people who would do anything to survive. He accurately described the way things were with no flowerily words. The plot of the novel was quite simple. George Mitton (witty, small) and Lennie Small (big man with small brain) both dreamed of acquiring a little land of their own someday. They also were in need of each other. This was in the middle of the depression years among many poor migrant workers searched for work. As low social class they got no respect in the society. Steinbeck showed his sympathy and concern for the down trodden the way we are concerned with homeless and jobless today. Paired with both accusations and past accidents these two went to work at a Ranch. It was there the readers were introduced to some interesting characters, all seemed to evolve around rancher's son Curley. Curley is the bully, always ready to pick on those weaker people, but was an insured failure in a big way. He failed to be a respected boss #2, husband, and a man. His wife (name never mentioned) knew what was missing in life. She tried to get Lannie's attention in taking her. It led to her accidental death. There in the barn among the dark, dank smell of hay the one event after another began to unravel. The end of the novel was worth contemplation and debate. Lennie Small hid in the brush and awaited his frightful punishment. George Mitton had to make a decision; he took matters into his own hands by ending Small's life. The tragic ending could have been averted. Some writers sometimes believe the ending of a novel to provide vicarious happy endings especially targeted for youth. Steinbeck ended it as a tragedy. Could in the novel George Mitton run away in the novel from the crime scene with the woman? Would George have waited for justice to be meted out by a bunch of gun carrying migrant workers who were ready to shoot Lennie? To some readers true literary tragedy is distasteful. This may be one of the reasons that the novel was challenged by many parents if not banned? I thought Steinbeck experimented with novel structured like a play. He believed the writer's duty and served as watchdog of society. To satirize its silliness, to attack its injustices, to stigmatize its faults. He achieved this goal remarkably well in this novel. In fact the book was in the form of a play (1937) and ended as an opera (1970). In retrospect, throughout the novel there were words or vernaculars of improper conduct, vulgar language, presentation of low social class characters which can be objectionable to YA or their parents. I list some examples found from the six chapters including but not limited to: 1.Live off the fatta the lan', 2. Bustin' a gut, 3. Cat house, 4. Health issues like pants rabbits, 5. Shove out of here, 6. What the hell's he got on his shoulder, 7. Crack and flop, 8. Goo-goos. The urge to control other's lives and restrict what they can read appears to be just below the surface. People may deny that they want to censor books and mouth platitudes about appropriate reading material, but the end results are challenges to books in schools and libraries. I would hesitate recommending this book at junior high or grade school. Outstanding novel like Of Mice and Men rises just above the safety threhold and basic functional reading to which some teachers or adults would restrict youth to read. As for YA a novel teaches much more than the mechanics of reading, the vernaculars used actually helps to stimulate critical thinking skills. As teenagers they are old enough to discuss and debate the meanings of the vulgar language as it applies today. For college age patrons, they are old enough to vote and fight for America they should be allowed to read as they please.
Rating: 
Summary: Something That Happened
Review: Migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small are the best of friends, though they are complete opposites. Lennie, the big man, provides companionship for George, while George, physically small, takes care of Lennie because Lennie is mentally weak. Sometimes, though, George can get really frustrated and angry at Lennie when he does something wrong, probably without meaning to. But Lennie is so loyal to George that George can't be mad at him for a long time. In the story, they find jobs at a farm, where they meet personalities such as Slim, the intelligent, repected leader, Candy, the old, disabled handyman, Crooks, the black, isolated stableworker, Carlson, an insensitive ranch hand, Curley, a mean little guy who is the owner's son, and Curley's wife, a "tart". Things at the farm seem to be going alright for awhile, until their spirits are uplifted for a moment and then brought crashing down in an inevitable chain of events. Many of the events in this book appear to be completely random, and Steinbeck even thought about titling it "Something That Happened" just to show that this world is unpredictable. The nature of dreams is a powerful theme in the novel. George and Lennie have always had a dream of one day owning their own farm, where they can be secure from the outside world and will not have to worry about Lennie's costly mistakes. The dream gives their lives meaning, a reason to keep going on. George never really believes they can do it, but Lennie embraces it with childlike enthusiasm and keeps it alive. Of course, Lennie wants the farm so that he can take care of the rabbits. But when Candy and Crooks offer their stakes to join in, George begins to see that this could be for real and starts to make tentative plans to start the next month. However, Lennie's human imperfection makes the dream ultimately impossible. Loneliness is also a big theme throughout the story. The migrant workers we meet travel alone, and their lives are just a set routine. George and Lennie are not very lonely, since they have each other, but pairs like them are not normal or common. Candy, Crooks and Curley's wife are all very lonely, and they try to fight their isolation whatever way they can. Curley's wife flirts with the ranchers against her husbands's demands. Near the ranch is a town called Soledad, which means "solitude" or "alone". All in all, this is a nice, short, thought-provoking read and my favorite Steinbeck book. Steinbeck does a great job in capturing the character's emotions, thoughts, and feelings. One memorable scene is when Curley picks a fight with Lennie and starts punching him hard. Lennie is scared stiff and takes the abuse until George yells at him to fight back. Lennie then crushes all the bones in Curley's hand. This is a very dark story of brutal inhumane experiences, sadness and obstacles. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and Deep Story
Review: Of Mice and Men takes the same path that some of Steinbeck's other novels do, ending with a bitter-sweet taste and a mixed blessing. George and Lennie have a strange companionship, and the companionship is enhanced as you read the book. You can't help but feel sorry for both of them, for very different reasons. The decision made at the end may have been in the best interests of both of the protagonists. An immensely enjoyable but short read with a powerful storyline that atttracts the reader and keeps them hooked. Everyone should read this book. It is beautifully crafted and beautifully written.
Rating:
Summary: What Cartoon Hasn't Parodied this Novel?
Review: I've read quite a few high profile books lately, but it has been years since I have read anything that has affected me at an emotional level as much as Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. I don't like to go into deeper meaning in my reviews, but I do think that this book is a timeless parable about yearning for a better life and destroying our dreams for fear of losing them. The book centers on a few days in the life of longtime companions George and Lenny as they look for and find work in order to raise some money. Their goal is to finally have a place of their own where no one can throw them out. The narrative is written in Steinbeck's crystal clear style where the story and the caracters are the substance more than the way he uses his words. Thus, like all his books, Of Mice and Men is a book anyone can pick up and read without feeling in over their head. Steinbeck does not overcomplicate his work. He is interested in everyone understanding what he has to say and he does so more clearly than any other major modernist writer of his time. His characters are found, in part, in anyone. George and Lenny are well-drawn complex, sympathetic and as complete as they can be for a novel that is only 120 pages (in large type). I rarely say this, but Of Mice and Men is a novel I would recommend to anyone who is interested in a good story. As is typical of Steinbeck, there is something for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Ending Is Kind of Abrubt But This Book Is Worth Reading!
Review: Of Mice and Men is a great book and I liked the characters especially Lennie and George and I thought it was sad about how things turned out for the mentally challanged Lennie, he was a big giant of a man with the mind of a child and didn't know his own strenght and that lead to tragedy. The only complaint I have with the book was the ending, the sad ending was okay but what I didn't like was that it ended so abrubtly after what George had done to Lennie, it just ended without any thoughts from George of what happened to Lennie but it's still a great book and worth reading and I think it's a book worth keeping to put on a bookcase.
Rating:
Summary: Tragic, but Splendid!
Review: I had to read this for a sumemr reading assignment, and I liked a lot more that I would have thought. It's a great read. It really goes to show the relationship between love, friendship, and loyalty.
Rating:
Summary: A myth and a dream...
Review: Writing about such a well-known novel, some readers might think that there is nothing new to add about it, the case being somehow closed forever, both by the march of time and the successive interpretations the work as received; a close reading proves otherwise. Steinbeck offers a simple narrative that appears to answer many questions, but the real answers probably hide between the lines - explicit explanations are few and far between. The characters and events are soberly presented, and this only serves to further obfuscate the multiple layers of a book which, through its suggestive terseness, borders on myth. In fact, myth itself is built into the work under the guise of a dream that George conveys to Lennie, and then to the old Candy; a dream that gradually loses its significance for the very man who devised it. 'Of Mice and Men' is that dream: hope alternates with sadness, and it's not entirely clear if there will be a resolution, after all.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read
Review: This book by john steinbeck was really well written. The characters in the book are very realistic and likeable, I specially like Lennie who I supose is authistic and George who is his friend who tries to help Lennie. I have 2complaints against this book is that I hated the ending maybe some people liked the ending but im not one who likes sad endings. 2nd I thought it was too short it should have been a little bit longer.
Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable story.
Review: Here is a very well written stroy of a friendship that can only end in disaster. Loliness is a key theme here. Curley's wife lonely because she is a woman, Crooks because he is black, Candy because he is old. However, the characters have some kind of dream. Curley's wife wishes she was an actor whilst Whit uses his ranch magazines to help him imagine his little cowboy fantasies. George and Lennie are different. Their friendship means that they do have a chance to make something with their lives. However, when that relationship ends they become as helpless as the others. This is a brilliant book, though pretty much miserable all the way through, which mocks the idea of America being 'the land of opportunities...'
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: We had to read 'Of Mice and Men' for a class in 11th grade. I thought it was a good book. Steinbeck has a dry writing style and some may find it boring. The ending is sad.
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