Of Mice and Men

Rating:
Summary: A Banned/Challenged Book Worth Reading
Review: Although many people view Of Mice and Men as a classic, there are some who disagree. The novel was banned and challenged in many schools throughout the country because of explicit language and profanity. After finishing the book myself, I strongly disagree. The language used in Of Mice and Men is nothing new, and most definitely not something that teenagers have not already heard before. One of the characters, Crooks, who happens to be an African American, is quite often referred to in the novel as inferior and is treated much differently than the other characters in the novel. That is perhaps another reason why people may have challenged the novel. Personally, I feel that Of Mice and Men positively contributes to the literary world because of its status. Many critics feel that it is a classic and I feel it should be treated as such. The idea of companionship is demonstrated throughout the book, and I feel that is a positive force. As shown in the novel, everyone needs someone to talk to, one cannot go throughout life without friends to confide in and have fun with. Overall, Of Mice and Men is a classic novel that everyone should read.

Rating:
Summary: An Illegal Book
Review: Judging by its short 106-page length and relatively large font, John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men would seem to be the "perfect" read for an average high school slacker. However, most high schoolers are not allowed to take advantage of the short novel because Of Mice and Men has been banned from many schools for being controversial. This may seem strange as the plot is centered around two friends, George and Lennie, who travel from place to place looking for work. However, George and Lennie aren't like most other manual laborers. They work because they have the goal of eventually buying and managing their own piece of land. Steinbeck focuses the novel mainly on their arduous journey toward achieving that goal. However, during George and Lennie's journey, Steinbeck incorporates different themes that are morally and socially controversial and ultimately result in Of Mice and Men being banned.
Ironically, Steinbeck's philosophical themes that cause controversy stem from a relatively simple plot. The plot surrounds the main characters, George and Lennie, who are looking for a place to work and who eventually settle on a ranch in California. They develop many friends at this ranch and some of their fellow workers actually join Lennie and George in their quest to own land. However, it isn't long before that Lennie accidentally murders the boss's daughter in law and is forced to flee the ranch to avoid being punished. With a search party looking for Lennie, it is ironic that George, Lennie's long-time companion, is the one that kills Lennie. The novel then comes to a conclusion after Lennie is killed and the two never get to own their own land. With this plot the murder alone being controversial enough for the book to be banned, it is obvious that the reasons for the banishment are due to other themes within the book.
One of the major themes of the novel that may have caused moral controversy is the relationship between George and Lennie. George and Lennie have been long-time companions and have always been there for each other. This friendship may not seem controversial on the surface but the way the two treat each other can be considered socially offensive. George, who is naturally much smarter than Lennie, often insults and chastises Lennie for being dumb. For example, one time after Lennie wanted a dead mouse as a pet, George reacted, " "'You crazy fool...'" He heard Lennie's whimpering cry and wheeled about. "'Blubberin'" like a baby! Jesus Christ!'" " Quotes like this are riddled throughout the book as George and other characters continue to insult Lennie for not being smart. This aspect of the novel will offend many readers as it is not proper in society to offend people who are not smart. These unwarranted attacks are reason why Of Mice and Men may have been banned.
The novel also may have been banned because the novel negatively portrays women. The insulting description of women is a theme in the novel that can be seen through the character of Curley's wife. She is the only female character in the book and negatively represents women as she is constantly portrayed s very annoying. She is constantly nagging all the workers on the ranch and soon gains the disliking of all the workers. The workers personify her with words like "tramp" and "tart" as they think she is whorish. Morally, this portrayal is controversial because Steinbeck uses Curley's wife as a symbol for all women. It is offensive for all women to be characterized as annoying and whorish. As a result, many women may have been upset by Of Mice and Men and called for the book to be banned.
Although the novel became banned in many schools, I think Of Mice and Men positively contributed to the literary world because Steinbeck had a powerful message in his book. Although controversial, Steinbeck conveyed something through his writing and that is very important. Steinbeck made people think and argue as he pointed out pieces of society that might seem offensive. Through his book, he made people take action to improve society. I think that authors should always strive for an emotional response from their readers. As a result, because Of Mice and Men sends a powerful message, the novel should not be banned and students should read it.

Rating:
Summary: Controversial Themes in Of Mice and Men
Review: This book is the powerful story of two young men, George and Lennie, trying to fulfill their longtime dream of owning their own land. In the meantime, they work at a small ranch to try to gain enough money to buy their own land...
A major theme that has caused controversy among many schools throughout the country is its bad language. According to Christopher Moore ... there are over 122 curse words in the book and is thought to be an "unChristian mindset" for children. Some other controversial themes that have caused the book to be banned in many schools are its "...moral statement(s), treatment of the retarded, and the violent ending."
... Personally, I thought that this was a very good book that showed true frienship, through "thick and thin" and I don't think that it should be banned in schools.

Rating:
Summary: "Of Mice and Men" Thoughts
Review: First off, I thought that the novel, "Of Mice and Men" was a pretty good one. Usually I can't and don't really like reading novels but I did like this one. This book has been banned before in schools and I just think that that's ridiculous. Why ban this novel? I could understand the banning if this book had themes of sex, violence, etc. but it doesn't. All the banning does is hinder a children from reading a book that is commonly referred to as a legend.

I have researched on the internet as to why this book had been banned in schools across America and some of the reasons I found were because the book had parts with obscene language and violent scenes, such as the ending.

I suppose that these schools do not seem to realize that the book is more than just that. The story is about a friendship between two men named George and Lennie. Some might ask the question : "How can they be friends after George shoots Lennie in the end?" Well, to answer a popular question, George did it for Lennie. He peacefully killed Lennie before Curly and his men could get to him. He saved Lennie from the torture that undoubtedly would have occurred had they found him first.

Like I said before, I consider this book, as many others do, as a "legend". If schools want to ban the book because some of these "controversial themes" then the least they could do, is allow the children to read the book at an older age. They're just taking away one of the best books from them by having it banned.

Rating:
Summary: Summary of novel and positive influences of book.
Review: Review of: Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men is a novel about two men named George and Lennie who have the dream of owning their own farm one day. The problem however, is that George and Lennie do not have nearly enough money to pay for their own farm nonetheless pay for a decent living. George is a small dark man who is pretty smart, and his counterpart Lennie is a little different. Lennie has a slight mental disability because he nearly drowned in a river that he and George swam in a long time before the novel started. Because George felt that he did not to enough to save Lennie, he vowed to take care of Lennie for the rest of his life.
The next day, Lennie and George apply for a job at a local farm. They get a job and are allowed to live in a bunker house on the farm. In the house, they meet Candy, who is a another "hand' around the farm, and Curley, who is the boss' mean-spirited son. Lennie and George work on the farm for the next week or so, when Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans for the farm they are going to buy. Candy vows to not tell anyone about the plans and says he will donate his life savings if he is allowed to live on the land. From that point on, whenever someone threatens Lennie or tries to make fun of him because of his disabilities, (example is Curley when he is jealous that his wife is hitting on everyone) Candy is there to back Lennie.
During one of the following evenings, Lennie and Curley's wife get into a discussion about how they love to touch things that are soft. Curley's wife allows Lennie to feel her hair, and after a couple of minutes Lennie is yanking at Curley's wife's hair and ends up breaking her neck. Previously before this incident, Lennie had killed his baby puppy that had been given to him as a present. The next morning, George shoots Lennie in the back of the head as an act of mercy, to relieve him of a life, that he obviously never wanted to live.
I thought that there were a couple of aspects in this novel that could have made it a banned book. An aspect may have been, who and who isn't allowed to work legally in the United States. I thought in the past, there may have been a law that said that no person with mental disabilities would be allowed to work manual labor. Because of this law, I thought they may ban this book because it is a prime example of how a retarded person got away with working on a farm and how the novel may show examples for other mentally-challenged people in the world to find jobs. Because this book, I thought promoted illegal policies, it would be banned. Also in a moral standpoint, I think this book may have been banned to relieve the public about a story of a retarded person who's life turned out so badly for him. I think this book may have disturbed many people in the past, therefore, the book was banned so when people saw mentally-challenged people, they would not relate the person to the story of Lennie in Of Mice and Men.
I think this book positively aspects the literary world and its' themes should be shared by everyone that can read a book. I have many reasons why I believe this. First of all, I really liked how Of Mice and Men portrays the value of human existence. At one point in the book, we notice how Lennie has the need of a friend, yet he will cling to a stranger, such as Curley's wife, for self-comfort. In scenarios such as this one, we can see that tyranny does not come from those who are rich and powerful, and I believe that this is a very powerful concept to have the knowledge of because oppression does not come from "the hands of the heavens," which is something everyone needs to know.
Another aspect of this book that positively influences the outside world is how there is no possibility of everything happening perfectly, or "The American Dream." There are many examples of this throughout the book. For example, Curley's wife wishes to one day be a movie star, Crooks wishes to be the hardest worker on Lennie and George's farm, and Candy wishes that he will have a friend, (George) own a large piece of land. Obviously, none of these wishes came true. The moral to this is, what makes dreams is the desire to follow their own freedoms, and dreams, as shown by Of Mice and men, will never occur. And that is something that every American needs to know, is that dreams are meant to be dreams, and the sooner you know that, the better it is; which is why this book is a positive influence to the outside world.
I would recommend this book to all advanced readers because it not only provides an interesting setting, climax, and plot, it provides a great understanding of the world, and what meanings of life the world has to offer. If you would like to have a story told to you that tells you the journeys of two young men who are looking for answers to life, but get them in symbolic form, read this novel, because you look at things a whole lot differently, once you look at life from a different standpoint.

Rating:
Summary: Of mice and Men
Review: Of Mice and men, by John Steinbeck, is the tragic story of two men who share the same dream of someday owning a farm. it was written in 1937, a time when certain topics we consider acceptable would be considered contriversial. one topic that the story explores is mental retardation, which probably was a new and scary topic to explore at that time. Racism was addressed throughout the book, a topic that probably wasn't shown in literature at that time. Finally, sexuality was talked about many times in the novel. I can imagine that this was a major reason why the book was banned. Because of its themes of mental retardation, racism and sexuality, Of Mice and Men was banned from bookshelves.

One theme that would be considered controversial from a social and moral standpoint is mental retardation. Lennie, one of the principal characters, suffers from this illness. in 1937. the time when the book was written, it is possible that retardation was an idea that wasn't addressed very often. When Steinbeck wrote about it in Of Mice and Men, people didn't know how to deal with it. At the time, people who were mentally retarded were put in hospitals and often didn't live normal lives. But Steinbeck wrote the book in a way that Lennie lives a fairly normal life, with some help from his companion George. This theme is also the cuase of Lennie's downfall. When he kills Curleys wife, all the men wanted to kill him. George killed him so that he wouldn't have to suffer a horrible death.With Lennie dies the two friend's dream of owning a farm of their own.

Another Controversial theme that is explored in the book is racism. Crooks is the only black man on the ranch that George and Lennie work on. he has a crooked back because when he was a kid he was kicked by a horse. Throughout the book, the men on the ranch refer to him as a nigger. He is not allowed to be with the men unless he is working or playing horseshoes. He lives alone because he is not allowed to have a bunk with the other men. But Crooks is used to this because he has faced racism his whole life. Through the character is Crooks, Steinbeck is trying to draw attention to the problem of racism and the alienation of the result of prejudice.

Throghout Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck makes many sexual references. George would always say to Lennie that is he didn't have to look after him that he would be able to go to whore-houses every once in a while. Also, whenever the men on the ranch would talk about Curly's wife, they would call her a tart, which is another word for a whore. People in the 1930's were very conservative about sex. They weren't as open about it as we are today. When Steinbeck brought these sexual references to his novel and people read it, they must have been uphauled to see it in literature. People would just ban the book because they were not used to reading the sexual themes.

Of Mice and Men was banned when is was published for many reasons. But the main reasons are for themes of mental retardation, racism and sexual references. People were not willing to deal with these subjects publiclylike we do today. The novel pushed the boundries and said what was not supposed to be said It is a great novel and it has made an amazing positive contribution to the literary world.

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Summary: The review of book "of Mice and Men"
Review: This story took place in the Salmos Valley,Californiain a small town called Weed,during the great Depression.Lennie and George were like son and father.Lennie had a mind of a child and George was like his father who always took care of him.Lennie always gave troubles to George,but George understood him because he knew Lennie didn't know what he was doing .Curley was the boss'son.curley's wife gave big problem to Lennie.George did something to Lennie,he didn't want to do it,and Lennie also didn't think that he could do something like that to him.

Rating:
Summary: Am Enduring Classic for All Time
Review: Wonderful story of friendship, sacrifice and self-denial. Ordinary "common man" his trails and tribulations, his goals and dreams in an account of his daily life experiences. Excellent for classroom discussions and character study, especially for freshmen high school students. Often required reading and is a good beginning book for students learning analytical skills.
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl Books One-Three

Rating:
Summary: Lonely Califorinia fields
Review: John Steinbeck delivers a powerful and gripping story in his book, Of Mice and Men.

It tells a tale of two friends on a journey to find joy in the California horizon. George and Lennie are the pair that departs together to find work that would bring them closer to the dream of owning a farm. The dream becomes harder for George because of the continuous hassle from Lennie, a mentally disabled man. Yet the two travel together because of the loneliness of being alone and the company they bring each other. Together they find work in Salinas Valley. The dream of owning a farm comes closer until Lennie causes more conflict at their work. But this time George puts the decision in his own hands.
Steinbeck explores the nature of man and friendship in his book. George's decision to end the cycle at the end of the book shows his character of understanding the situation that he was in. George understood that together their dream was unachievable. The constant struggle between George and Lennie did not help achieve their dream and put it into reality. Many times before, George put up with this conflict because of their bond and friendship together. Steinbeck shows that where there is a conflict the knowledgeable one should solve it. In of Mice and Men, George realizes Lennie probably could never truly be happy. So as a friend George tries to make Lennie's last memory of getting, "to tend the rabbits,"(105") in a farm with him. Steinbeck provides some insight to what a good friend is and what man needs to do for survival.
Steinbeck provides superb storytelling. From beginning to end the novel makes you stick with their journey though their happiness and hardships. He shows the connection of a powerful friendship and the limits they take to make each other happy. Recommend this book to anyone looking to travel on a journey that will not let you go until the end. John Steinbeck delivers the goods with this one.

Rating:
Summary: Of Mice and Men
Review: John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is the tale of two traveling laborers in California named George, who is small, quick and intelligent, and Lennie, who is enormous and incredibly strong but posseses the mind of a child. The story follows George and Lennie as they work on a small ranch in California's Salinas Valley trying to achieve their dream of owning their own little patch of land. George tries to protect Lennie from getting into trouble with the boss' pugnacious son, Curley, and his overly "friendly" wife. However, just when it seemed that their dream was in reach, Lennie's unwavering devotion to George and his determination not to disappoint him bring the story to a tragic end that could bring a tear to even the most stoic of eyes.