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Essay on john steinbecks life
Effect of literature on society
Effect of literature on society
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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 …show more content…
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
If it were banned because of the harsh reality of America’s history that means the government must ban all history textbooks which contain the similar events as shown in Of Mice and Men. For example it states, “Sure. Ya see the stable buck's a nigger”(20 Steinbeck). This is how people spoke in the South - especially during the 1930s when segregation was a problem. Racism was part of the past and shaped how America is today, so for John Steinbeck, the author, to highlight this, he would only be displaying how humans interacted with black people in the 30s.
The decision to ban the novel Huckleberry Finn from classrooms and libraries has been an ongoing controversy. The presence of the 'n word' and the treatment towards Jim, and other blacks in general, has made many readers uncomfortable. Despite this fact, Huckleberry Finn has been and remains a classic read. I do not believe the novel should be banned or sanitized because it is a part of American history whether it is good or bad, also we have no right to change someone's writing simply because we do not like how it is written, Mark Twain's writing should not be penalized because of the ideals of today.
Have you ever read a book or an article in a magazine that you wouldn’t want your children to read? “A banned book is one that has been censored by an authority—a government, a library, or a school system. A book that has been banned is actually removed from a library or school system.” (Brogan Brunner)Some reasons people want books to be banned is because they have profanity, racism, murder, and sexism. Some reasons people don’t want books to be banned is because of the first amendment which is freedom of press and speech. They also think people should be able to read what they want. Some issues in Of Mice and Men are it has racial slurs and racism. It has a lot of profanity which some people don’t like to read and murder with euthanasia. Overall of mice and men should be banned from the schools.
In my opinion anybody could read this book if they wanted to. This is a great informative book on what our society used to be like. Sure, there are some parts that are not appropriate for little children but eventually everybody will need to learn about what our history used to be like. There are a lot of racist words and explicit words that some parents probably would not want their kids reading, but to be honest, they will find them out eventually. This book gives great examples of how people used to be treated back then and also some great examples on how others should treat somebody. I am going to stay with my thought that this book should be taught in every school even though there is some bad language in it.
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a fiction novel. This novel is about two best friends who work as farm hands. Both men dream of owning a farm together one day. On the way to that dream the men face some struggles and that is what most of the novel is about. The novel goes into detail about how they overcome their struggle.
Although students should read novels that they are mature enough to understand and comprehend, Lohmiller explains that by allowing all middle school students access to read novels with profanity and Christian derogatory, it is not certain that all students are mature enough to not have their daily language influenced by it. While children should read material that they are mature enough to comprehend, censoring material in schools because of language and Christian derogatory does not take away student exposure to any of the censored issues, but instead takes away student exposure to a learning environment that would teach meaning and context. The use of "hell" and "damn" and other Christian derogatory in novels is necessary in furthering the storyline and depicting a realistic illustration of the environment. It is necessary to expose children to the evils in novels because "[a]n uneducated world is a miserable world full of fighting and conflict...A world without books is a dystopian world" (Censoring the Pages of Knowledge 1). This explains that student exposure to profanity and Christian derogatory in schools would allow the youth to be educated on the evils and be the gateway for conversations that the students would benefit from later in life. Banning controversial novels for the evils within will create ignorance in the youth of America today, as they will not be educated on the usage in novels, but of the evils through other means that are not explained and understood by youth. By teaching and allowing students to struggle with profane language and controversial topics in schools, it is ensured that students will be educated on the meaning and reasons behind usage. For example, Fahrenheit 451 is a novel that satirizes and challenges censorship in modern society by depicting the effects of that censorship on a future society where all books are burned. By the use of profanity and Christian derogatory as a means of critiquing the society,
One of the tasks of being a historical fiction author is making sure you portray the era one is writing about efficiently and correctly. This is especially true for a book as popular as Of Mice and Men. The era John Steinbeck tackled in Of Mice and Men is the 1930s, or the Great Depression. One of the types of people Steinbeck depicts is the migrant laborer group. John
For example, in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, the city’s school board challenged the book and voted that the book should stay as a ninth grade school curriculum. It should not be challenged in any state. In our classroom, we have read this book and when we were reading it, nobody seemed to be making any comments about the use of language and racism mentioned. The reason being is that we are mature enough to handle what is in the book.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
The book of mice and men is a fiction written by john Steinbeck (1902-1968). John Steinbeck writes mainly short stories and novels, he was born in Salinas California, which is the same area where the book of mice and men is set. He is became widely known thanks to his peace: tequila flat. Steinbeck's novels have themes of social criticism in them, a lot about the economic problems in rural labor. Good examples of books written by John Steinbeck: dubious battle (1936), of mice and men (1937), the long valley (1938) and east of Eden (1952).
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.
Scarseth argues that “Readers may object to the book’s presentation of low class characters, vulgar language, scenes suggestive of improper sexual conduct, and an implied criticism of the social system. . . Furthermore, these features are necessary in the book.” Scarseth continues to argue that they are “accurate, precise reporting,” because they represented the time, place and environment of the era in which the novella was penned. Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men is the story of two migrant workers who came to California to fulfill their dreams. While the intentions of these two men seemed noble, they were unable to achieve the goal of purchasing land for a myriad of reasons. The first and most difficult challenge they faced was the effect of The Great Depression. Like many of...
Banning a book on the basis of profanity is merely a superficial reason of those who wish to limit beliefs that do not coincide with their own. By excluding a novel from a high school curriculum in order to shelter students from profanity, is an attempt to do the impossible. Profanity is found everywhere. According to TV Guide, "Profanity is uttered once every six minutes on American primetime television...
Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This book is an analogy about what it means to be a human. George and Lennie share the ambition to own their own ranch, but they encounter obstacles that stand in the way. Ironically, Lennie will become the greatest obstacle in them achieving their dream. This novel was first published in 1937, which is one of the most important aspects of the book. The reason why it is one of the most important aspects of the book is because one result of the Great Depression was a lack of steady jobs, which increased the amount of nomadic workers. When Steinbeck wrote this novel, ranch hands were beginning to be replaced by machinery and their way of life was disappearing fast.