Of Mice and Men Essay (Banned)

Why would a piece of literature be banned in schools if it has been in the curriculum for years? Of Mice and Men has been banned in schools for a few reasons but here are three. One reason why it has been banned is because of the profanity used. Another reason why it has been banned, it has the killing of helpless animals. Finally it has violence in almost every chapter throughout the book. Now that we know more about the reasons why, lets look more in depth. 

Profanity is used constantly in the book especially the N word.  Some teachers believe that this is not acceptable, even though students already know this profanity. Some of the profanity is racist or isn’t acceptable in today’s culture. Such as this quote made by Curley’s Wife “Listen, nigger. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap.” Some parent’s disapprove of the language  and call the book “trash”. A teacher who was asked on his thoughts or memories of the book being banned said “One time a students parents came to me with a copy of the book with the profanity highlighted.”  

Throughout this book we see a countless number of animals that are killed. Lennie was given at a young age, a mouse from his Aunt Clara. We learn this when George throws away his dead mouse he found and talks about how Lennie shouldn't have any more mice or any pet. George says “That was your own Aunt Clara. An’ she stopped givin’ ‘em to ya. You always killed ‘em.” So first he would kill mice whenever he got them. One night in the bunkhouse a few of the workers offer to shoot Candy’s dog. Candy ends up letting the men shoot the dog but it left a great hole in his heart. Lennie also gets a puppy from Slim, which later on near the end is killed like all Lennie’s pets. Even though it’s read in high school, some students don’t like this. The reason they don’t like this is because they might have a pet and wouldn’t like this if it happened to there pet. 

Some scenes in Of Mice and Men range from violent to gruesome. Such as when Lennie and Curley get into a fight. The author describes the violence very good and how gruesome it would have been. In a quote by Slim he says “Looks to me like every bone in his han’ is bust” which describes the scene very well. Lennie killing Curly’s Wife was violent because he snapped her neck while suffocating her. In the sad ending George shoots Lennie in the back of the head. 

This is why Of Mice and Men has been banned in certain schools for years. From Profanity, Animal Cruelty and Violence it drove some parents over the edge and called it to be banned in schools.