My View on Jonathan Leaf’s “Of Mice and Melodrama” Is it possible for someone to have to shoot their best friend out of mercy? Of Mice and Men is one of the most commonly read books by high schoolers and I will be exploring a response article to Of Mice of Men by Jonathan Leaf. Titled “Of Mice and Melodrama” Leaf presents many good points most of which I agree with while one might be a stretch. These points pertain to relationships in the book, Socialist ideology in the book, and the debate whether this book is indeed a classic. The First point Leaf makes and one I agree with fully is the relationships in the book are not fathomable. Jonathan Leaf comes right out and says that “But even by Steinbeck's modest standards, Of Mice and Men is melodramatic and contrived.” (85) I agree with the statement made by Leaf. In simpler terms he is saying that the story appeals to our emotions in a superficial deliberately created way. Leaf even goes as far to …show more content…
While I agree the Book is written with left wing attitude I do not believe that it is harmfully brainwashing kids. Leaf doesn’t hint to this claim he outright says “Save for its reductive misogyny, the book has every message the contemporary pseudo-intellectual requires: universal victimhood, the religious necessity of considering all men as brothers, nature as the true divine, the inevitable moral superiority of the worker class over the ownership class. There is even a crippled, black stable hand in the book who is proud and wise, mistreated and scorned though he is. For those who have neither religion nor sense, it is both.” (87) While I agree that the book does have all these elements I do not think that it is a bad thing nor do I think he is forcing his views upon the reader. I believe that Steinbeck is trying to make the reader think not persuade them in any way. I believe the story is written purely for