I have a pop quiz for you, which American novelist begins nearly every work with a lengthy description of an idealistic setting? I'll give you another hint, he wrote "East of Eden," "Cannary Row," and "Grapes of Wrath," each a giant in American literature. The name of the author, which hopefully was shouted at your lap top screen, is none other than John Steinbeck. The name is not at all foreign to me as I have read "East of Eden" as well as "Cannary Row," and truth be told Steinbeck was not one of my favorite writers. You are either thrown into the exquisite detail, captured in the serene settings, or are bored. I find Steinbeck's writing similar to lobster. An acquired taste which can be at sometimes scary, and hard to get into, but once the shell is broken the reader is rewarded heavily. As of now my taste for lobster is fifty-fifty, but after reading "Of Mice and Men" I found myself enjoying it more. The book was first published in 1937, and is considered to be one of the crowning achievements of Steinbeck's literary career. However, as suggested by previous postings, not everyone thought that this work of fiction should be read at all.
"Of Mice and Men" is banned in Syracuse, IN; Oil City, PA ; Grand Blanc, MI; Continental, OH; and by other communities. The earliest reported banning was in 1953 in Ireland. The reasons as to why this book is banned and challenged spans widely, the core reasons being: profanity, racism, heavy use of the N word, having sexual overtones, taking God's name in vain, not representing traditional values, (and my personal favorite) being a “worthless, profanity-riddled book.” As you could imagine, there are many more reasons why no one should ever read this book, and equally as many explaining why the book should be banned. In fact the entry on the American Library Association's website is roughly seven and one half inches long if you care to read a few more. But for me at least, each reason not to read "Of Mice and Men" provided me with two reasons to read the book.
I implied before, but now will simply state that, honestly, I was apprehensive about reading a Steinbeck novel. Yet to my delighted surprise it was hard to put down, and thoroughly enjoyable. Steinbeck is an author who must be read only by someone who has the chance to slow down momentarily, so as to truly appreciate the authors writing. So I surmise that I had read the other novels at a time when I was unable to do so. Within the first seven pages I had grown attached to Lennie, and thoroughly resented George (the two main characters). All Lennie seems to want and need is love, and George seemed to be incapable of giving it to him. However, thinking about their relationship more makes me realize that if we (the reader) were supposed to condemn George, Steinbeck would have written the ending of the book differently. This interesting dynamic shared between the two men was encased by a theme of human nature being primarily that of a predator through out the rest of the novel. A different type of enjoyment can taken from "Of Mice and Men" than with "Lord of the Flies," not that "Of Mice and Men" was not disturbing, because it most definitely had its moments. But there is something about the way Steinbeck writes, which somehow allows the reader to discover something new every time they visit the ink pressed into each page. I certainly look forward to revisiting this novel at a later date and learning more than I had originally. So I recommend reading this book with a pot of hot tea, a cold day, a highly comfortable couch or chair; and an afternoon to fully devote yourself to the one hundred and seven pages of literary satin which is John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men."
A thought for the evening:
If you are caught between a rock and a hard place, a book is a good way to pass the time.
- BookBender
References:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm
No comments:
Post a Comment