Banned Books: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

George and Lennie have been traveling together, working different jobs and moving from place to place for a while now. George looks out for Lennie, who is a hard worker but not the smartest man you’ll ever come across. There have been accidents and situations that have arisen along the way that have forced Lennie and George to leave jobs quickly for their safety. It’s unusual to see two men traveling along together, but that’s how it’s been for Lennie and George and that’s the way it will be. Here they are again, at a new job, this time in Salinas Valley. George has it all planned out so there wont be any trouble this time. But plans don’t always work out. Between Curly, the boss’ son, aggressive ways and his wife’s flirtatious manner, George smells trouble for him and Lennie. Trouble just seems to be something Lennie and George can not avoid.

This novel is an honest look at the life of a man who doesn’t understand the world he lives in. Two men, yet one is completely dependent on the other to sustain himself. George finds work, food and money for the pair. He tells Lennie when he should speak, not speak, who and what to avoid. Lennie fears being abandoned, but that fear doesn’t stop his child-like mind from making similar mistakes over and over again. It is obvious that Lennie’s character had a developmental disability that prohibited him from understanding the emotions of others in any type of social situation. He is overwhelmed when in conversations with all of the characters, except for George. Lennie doesn’t understand his own strength and often hurts those people or animals he was trying to comfort. Try as George might, he can’t save Lennie from himself and the different situations that arise.

Of Mice and Men is an extremely well written novel that is somber in its tone and in its observance of the life of a grown man with a developmental disability. It has been banned many times since the 1950’s for reasons varying from racism, euthanasia, offensive language, sexual overtones and being derogatory to the developmentally disabled. I enjoyed this novel because of its honesty. It is a heart wrenching novel that draws you in from the beginning and emotionally attaches you to the struggles of the main characters. I’m not sure what could be gained by banning a novel that exposes so fully all of the emotions of characters simply trying to survive, when one could barely understand the world they live in. I recommend this novel because it speaks so blatantly about the struggles and conflicts in this part of history. Banning this book doesn’t take away from the fact that all of the challenges and relationships explored in this novel were true of the times in which they were written. It is an unnecessary censor, meant to hinder the understanding of the subjects at hand.