What could be so terrible about a book, that it has become one of the most frequently banned/challenged books? Of Mice and Men is a fictional book written by John Steinbeck in 1937. The book has been banned in many schools due to racism, profanity, foul language, violence, treatment of women, and for seemingly promoting euthanasia. This book is usually read by high school students around the age fourteen or fifteen, however many parents have gotten upset when hearing about what their kid was reading. Many parents have stated that this book is not age-appropriate and should not be read in school. However, in my opinion this book should not be banned. The biggest reason Of Mice and Men has been repeatedly banned and challenged is because of the impression that it’s promoting …show more content…
Euthanasia is the act of killing someone to end their suffering. This can be seen twice throughout the book. The first time this is seen is with Candy and his old dog. As seen in the text ““Look, Candy. This ol’ dog jus’ suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head-” he leaned over and pointed, “-right there, why he’d never know what hit him.””(44). As seen in this quote Carlson says that Candy should just shoot his dog to end his suffering. In the end, Carlson is the one to shoot Candy's dog and bury him. This is definitely an act of euthanasia. However it’s not exactly promoting it. It’s not saying you should kill someone just to end their suffering. Candy clearly does not agree with it at all. He is clearly hesitant about the idea until he finally gives in to Carlson who won’t stop pressuring Candy to kill his dog. The second time this occurs is at the very end of the book when George shoots Lennie. It does not directly state that George is doing this in order to end Lennies suffering like with Candy’s dog, it is implied that George shoots Lennie to end his suffering and to make his death
After Carlson shot Candy’s dog, Candy began to regretted his decision when he says “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George.” (Steinbeck, 61). Candy understood that his dog had to be put down because it was getting old and was in constant pain. Candy believed that because it was his dog he should have been the one put his dog down instead of letting someone else do it for him because it was his responsibility to put him out of his suffering. Not only this but, when George shot Lennie.
Death is a recurring scene in this novel. The first death we see is the death of the mouse that Lennie finds and pets, but ends up killing. Second, is the death of the swamper’s, Candy, old, smelly dog. The next important death is the death of the young puppy that Lennie kills by petting. The death of the puppy sets up for the final chapter, which begins and ends with death.
One popular book that has been challenged for banning is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel is about a runaway boy and his slave on their quest to the North for freedom. They face many obstacles and even though they never make it to the North, Jim is set free anyway. Although some people think that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned in schools, it should not be banned because the novel is classic literature that people can easily get their hands on, it shows what life was like for African Americans while slavery was still permitted, and the book teaches valuable life lessons. There is no point in banning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it can be easily acquired by kids since it is a classic novel.
When I was little I had a dog named Zeus. Zeus was 13 years old whenever he had to be put down because it hurt him to walk. It got to the point were he didn’t want to eat because it took too much energy. My Mom always told me, “It was better for him to die because he was in too much pain.” Whenever someone ‘puts down’ and dog or an other animal it is actually called euthanasia.
Some people think the book, Of Mice and Men, should be banned in public schools, but I think the book should not because you can learn a lot from this book. Of Mice and Men should not be banned because you can learn english lessons about allusions. In the poem, "To a Mouse," by Robert Burns there is an allusion about the mouse's plans being destroyed just like George and Lennie's plans were destroyed. Another allusion would be all the names that start with a "C" having something wrong with them or they are hateful. Also in the cartoon, Looney Tunes, Lenny, an abominable snowman, grabs Daffy Duck because he thought he was a bunny.
Many of the reason why these violent scenes occurred also may have been disturbing to some people. Although many of these scenes are not exactly “clean”, they can still teach a valuable lesson. Our society nowadays know that we can learn from mistakes, so we study and analyze why and how certain events happends to prevent disasters. If we were banned from exposing material like Of Mice and Men to students and people in general, people wouldn’t be able to learn from the incidents that occur in the books. Books are a way of sharing and spreading knowledge, so limiting what society can read is just blocking the circulation of knowledge.
Symbolism is used in literature pieces to add dimension and depth to the story that is being told. The symbols that are used are usually subtle and discreet but are mentioned or talked about quite often. This is because in literature if something is mentioned more than once then it will most likely hold a greater significance than it may lead on. The author John Steinbeck uses many symbols in the story Of Mice and Men to add a better understanding on why some characters act the way they do. The way he adds symbolism to this story is through the animals that live with the characters or are talked about frequently.
Did you know that the book “ Of Mice and Men” was banned countless times because of Steinbeck's nefarious language, violence, and racism that is said in the book. The navel “Of Mice and Men” written by John Steinbeck is a story about two men named George Milton and Lennie Small that want the American dream. Everytime George and Lennie find an agreeable job Lennie tends to mess it up. George did the right thing by killing Lennie because Lennie would of suffered if he let Curly deal with him, lennie might of hurt someone else, and he wouldn’t be able to survive on his own if George let him run away.
The book Of Mice and Men takes place in salinas valley on a ranch during the great depression. The book mainly focuses on the life of Lennie and george. Lennie and george have known each other for a very long time and they are traveling companions. Lennie has some sort of mental disability and this hinders how him and george earn money and get work. Lennie’s mental disability creates problems for him along with his strength.
The Great Gatsby According to Ebook Friendly books are banned or challenged for moral, political, religious, or commercial reasons. A Challenge is wanting to take a book down based on a group of people or a person. Most challenges are unsuccessful though (Banned & Challenged). There is may reasons why books are challenged but most of the time is to protect children from information that may seem inappropriate to them at the same age. Books like The Great Gatsby was and were challenged because of material that is considered “sexually explicit, contained offensive language, or may be unsuitable for any age group. ”
However, in a situation like this one the killings for the best and benefited both in a way. George decides to put him out of his misery, like the men do with the dog. They put him down, which is the humane choice. George puts Lennie down, like a master to a beloved dog who has bitten someone. As candy says on page 62 "I ought to shot the dog myself George".
In Of Mice of Men by John Steinbeck was banned because of the use of the word God in a profane way, objectification of the black characters, and the portrayal of prostitution throughout the book. Steinbeck wanted to illustrate how people talked and acted towards black people and the portrayal of prostitution with everyone being short on money they would do whatever it takes to get a paycheck. From my experience from reading Of mice and men, I didn't think anything was wrong with the book at all I thought it was a great book. Giving I was in 11th grade when I read the book but still if I had a kid and they had to read this book I would be happy due to the good life lessons they use in the book. Now I'm not saying a support dropping the n-word
The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is one of the most challenged pieces of literature in school systems today. Challenged meaning, being the subject of debate on whether or not it should be banned. The reason for the challenge is largely due to the profanity that finds its way into the story. This raises many questions as to whether or not this profanity should be exposed to children or endorsed by the school system. Although the use of profanity in the book Of Mice and Men may lead to dangers of children using those bad words more frequently, the use of it in the story allows teachers to explore the use of profanity and its effect on the english language.
Candy´s dog is killed , simply for the fact that he is aging , and ¨ smells bad¨ . Due to his old age , he is rendered useless. Candy insinuates that the same will happen to him when he becomes incompetent of fulfilling his duties . The quote ¨ I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn´t ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog.¨ ( 89 ) symbolizes the companionship you also find in george and lennie.
He “lies down in the hay and covers his eye with his arm98”, a reminder of the lifeless, broken figure he was after his dog’s death. The dream is gone, and with it, Candy’s fuel and source of