Banned Book Reading - Of Mice and Men
For this project, everyone in the class chose their own book that they wanted to read. One condition, the book has to be under a banned book list. Lots of books get banned each year for many different reasons: violence, racial topics, sexual topics, language, etc. The book I chose, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is banned for the ladder reason. The book uses the n word more than a few times to describe a person of color, but it certainly isn't the focus of the book. The book revolves around the issues of two migrant workers named George and Lennie. The following is a journal that I kept and wrote in throughout the reading.
Of Mice and Men - Journal
Chapter 1: Quote, Comment, Question The quote that caught my eye the most in this chapter is the last part of an angry rant from George. He’s already mentioned how easy his life would be if Lennie were gone. He builds himself up to the point where enough anger has been vented, and he catches himself in the act. On page 13 he says, “‘All the time somethin’ like that-all the time. I wisht I could put you in a cage with about a million mice an’ let you have fun.’ His anger left him suddenly. He looked across the fire at Lennie’s anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames.” The way Steinbeck writes this part of the book is very effective in getting the readers to empathize with the George and Lennie, even after just meeting them. George, in his state of anger, verbally punishes and puts all the blame on his daft partner. Lennie is stunned and crushed into an ashamed and tearful silence. They eventually allow themselves to forgive and forget so they can move on. This exchange gives so much information about these characters, where they’ve been and where they are, but you have to wonder where their relationship goes from here. Does George abandon Lennie out of frustration, or does he stay out of sympathy? Does Lennie leave George with the knowledge of the trouble he’s caused, or does he become smarter about his actions in the first place? The only way to find out is to continue reading with this quote in mind. Chapter 2: Got, Didn’t get, Question George and Lennie arrive at their new workplace in this chapter. They meet a lot of new faces too. They met an old man, their boss, the boss’s son named Curley, Curley’s wife, Slim, and Carlson. Some of them were nice to George and Lennie, but more than a few had a bad vibe around them. If they didn’t need the work, they would’ve likely left the place. I understood this much, but one thing I don’t get is the significance of the dogs in this chapter. The old man has an big, old dog and Slim has five newborn puppies. I know that George previously talked about getting ha dog for Lennie, but they put a lot of focus on dogs in this chapter. This leads me to wonder; are dogs a central theme in this book? Are they a symbol for something? Maybe this plot point will disappear soon. I’ll be looking out for conversations about dogs from now on. Chapter 3: Dialectical Journal “George spoke proudly. ‘Jus’ tell Lennie what to do an’ he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring. He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he can sure take orders.” Page 39 A theme that stood out to me here is that some people are better at certain things. George is much better at doing the talking, and Lennie is much better at doing the work. Everyone at the workplace has things that they bring to the table too. “He reached down and picked the tiny puppy from where Lennie had been concealing it against his stomach.” Page 42 I don’t understand why Lennie continues to lie about possessing small animals. Every time, George finds out and takes it. In most cases he knows why it’s a bad idea to keep them, but he continues to withhold them from George. “‘He ain't no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain't no good to himself. Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?” Page 44 I'm beginning to notice a scary comparison between Candy’s dog and Lennie. Both of them are (or were) great at working and both are a detriment to themselves and those around them in the eyes of others. The main difference between them: the dog gets shot. Chapter 4: Talk to Text A passage on page 72 includes a short rant from Crooks too Lennie. Lennie had previously mentioned his dream of tending to rabbits in a place of his own. Crooks tells Lennie that he’s crazy if he thinks that he’ll achieve his dream. He goes on to talk about guys he’s met with similar dreams of owning their own land, and how none of them ever could accomplish it. He believes that dreams like that are “jus’ in their head.” Both of these men need a small shift in mentality. What I’d say to Lennie (if he could understand) is that the world is harsh. Some things are just impractical from the get go. A dose of realism is important when trying to realize your dreams. Crooks has the opposite problem. I’d tell Crooks that he needs to look at life a little more optimistically. Despite that fact that he’s black and essentially a slave, he could be happier if he wasn’t so negative towards the world. In both cases, I may be wrong. Lennie is happy how he is currently, and Crooks is right about the world’s cruelness, but they could still learn a lesson from each other. Chapter 5 and 6: Hoham Analysis I'm going to use the habit of mind perspective in the context of this book. Lennie has a very interesting way of looking at the world around him. He has a very one track mind. If his mind isn't on the event in front of him, he's usually talking about the house that him and George are gonna have. People seem to get frustrated when he brings it up. Even so, he continues to go from one thing to another with no organic transition. George’s perspective on things is quite different. It's clear from the beginning that he has a lot on his mind. He thinks about what life would be like with the house he promised Lennie, as well as what his life would be like without Lennie dragging him down. You can see these thoughts and issues bundling up inside him up to the point where he takes it into his own hands. He eventually shoots and kills Lennie after he made another huge mistake. He doesn't do it out of anger, though; he does it with the knowledge of his perspective. He even chooses to put Lennie in a place of happiness before pulling the trigger behind him. This means a lot when considering the characters’ separate perspectives. |