Of Mice And Men Should Not Be Banned

Of Mice and Men is a literary classic written by John Steinbeck. Set during the Great Depression in California, the book is a universal story of migrant workers experiencing poverty, loneliness, hardship and broken dreams. Although the book is highly praised for its brilliance, it also contains extremely inappropriate affairs throughout, and is a questionable choice to include in a school curriculum. "Perennially atop the Top 100 Banned Books compiled by the American Library Association, "Of Mice and Men" is often criticized for its racial slurs, profanity, vulgarity and offensive language"(Birkenbuel). Although Of Mice and Men is considered a literary classic, the book should not be included in a secondary curriculum due its many depictions of violence.

The many depictions of violence in Of Mice and Men, presents violence as a way to solve problems and disputes in the undeveloped minds of teenagers. What adolescents are exposed to can mold their views on certain actions or topics. If an impressionable high school student reads about a person using violence to solve a problem, it creates the illusion that the decision to be violent or hurtful is a correct one. An example of using violence to solve a dispute in Of Mice

and Men is presented in a fight between two men. "Curley was balanced and poised . He slashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right ... blood welled from his nose ... He [Lennie] backed until he was against the wall and Curley followed, slugging him in the face. ... then Curley attacked his stomach and cut off his wind. ... Curley slashed at his eyes. The big face was covered with blood'"(Stienbeck 69). "George slapped him in the face again and again, and still lennie held on to the closed fist"(Steinbeck 69). "I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go"(Steinbeck 43). These illustration's of savagery and brute force will corrupt the impressionable minds of children. Studies conducted show that behavioral changes can be caused by exposure to violence. "Path analyses were conducted to test direct and indirect effects of violence exposure on behavior problems, using 2,064 children (ages 8-15 years)... Our findings suggest that PTS symptoms may be a mechanism underlying the association between violence exposure and internalizing behavior problems"(Stiegerwald). In addition to the depictions of violence in Of Mice and Men promoting violence as a way to solve disputes, studies have shown that the display of violence in a school setting is linked to anxiety and depression in adolescents. A study conducted addresses the gap between exposure and non-exposure by examining independent and interactive effects of witnessing violence and victimization in the community, home, and school on subsequent internalizing and externalizing problems in early adolescence. During two assessments sixteen months apart, adolescents reported on witnessing violence and victimization in the community, school, and home, and these problems. Sylvia Mrug emphasizes that "violence exposure within each setting of community, school, or home has been linked with internalizing and externalizing problems... witnessing violence at school predicted anxiety and depression." Considering that Steinbeck writes extreme portrayals of assault and murder, his cruel work should not be forced upon the minds of children. One example of his inappropriate literature, is in the novel when Lennie kills Curley's wife; "She struggled violently under [Lennie's] hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free; and from under Lennie's hand came a muffled screaming. ... And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her ... her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck"(Steinbeck 100). Due to the fact that "violence exposure at home and school had the strongest independent effects on internalizing and externalizing outcomes"(Mrug), an illustration of a man strangling an innocent woman should not be obligatory for impressionable adolescents.
Another apprehension about Of Mice and Men being included in secondary curriculum, is the fact that the violence is targeted solely at the innocent, weak characters in the novel. Lennie is a character that has mental retardation who unintentionally kills a man (Curley's) wife. She yells at Lennie, triggering an instinct that causes him to grab her by the neck, and begin to shake her. He does not kill her on purpose, his goal was to stop her yelling, but instead strangles her to death. Curley and a mob of farmhands are on a mission to kill Lennie for the murder of his wife. George knows Curley will not care that Lennie’s actions were unintentional. He decides to give Lennie a quick and merciful death by shooting him in the head. This would spare him from the suffering and pain he would endure if left to Curley and the other farmhands. Another example of Steinbeck targeting brutality at innocence, is the harm done to the animals. Lennie keeps mice in his pocket because he enjoys petting them, but always ends up killing them. "The trouble with mice is that you always kill em"(Steinbeck 14). Carlson also kills Candy's dog, suggesting that it would put the animal out of its misery due to its old age, he convinces Candy to let him shoot it.
Even though it is clear that Of Mice and Men is unsuited for secondary level students, some believe that children can comprehend and not be distraught by the exposure to the violence displayed throughout the book.

A student was asked to ponder whether it should be banned, and his response was: "If it's banned because of the language in the book," said McClafferty, "I think we're old enough to understand it"(Birkenbuel). People also argue that the book is a representation of an important event in history, The Great Depression, therefore it should be included in secondary curriculum. Granted the book is a representation of history, however children themselves can not comprehend how profanity, racial slurs, vulgarity, and violence truly effect

them.
Although Of Mice and Men is considered a literary classic, the book should not be included in a secondary curriculum due its many presentments of violence. It also contains extremely inappropriate affairs throughout, and should definitely not be included in a school curriculum. Adolescents should not be exposed to the false life habit that violence can be used as a way to solve disputes. Also, the inclusion of these presentments can be linked to depression and anxiety in youth. The roughness and harshness throughout the book targets only the weak and vulnerable. The inclusion of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in a secondary curriculum would do unnecessary harm to, and destroy the innocence of students.