According to statistics kept by the American Library Association (ALA), this short novel has worried parents and others enough that it has, at least for the past twenty years, been in the top ten on lists of challenged or banned books at schools and libraries in the US (n.a.a ; n.a.b).
It might seem strange that even in the US, where a strong, healthy constitution gives real legal protection to free speech of citizens, that there are still novels that some people want banned, but it need not surprise. First, the bans and challenges are not supported by the US government or legal system, but are limited to individual school or library boards. The US government could never ban Of Mice and Men, however much they might hate it and however much it might greatly offend a large majority of US citizens. And this inability to censor is a good thing.
I think that if you look at the list for the past decade, the years 2000 to 2009, it is revealing. Number 1 on the list of hated books seen as serious threats to young Americans by their misguided parents is the Harry Potter series of seven books, which tell the awful story of a boy wizard! How this is a threat to national security, to good morals or to public order seems perfectly clear to some groups in the US. It is less clear to rational, sensible people. But one of the great strengths of the US is that even the silliest, the positively stupidest, ideas can be stated and defended in public.
I suspect that the reason so many presumably sincerely caring parents want their precious children protected from Harry Potter is that he might teach them to ... think critically, which would have disastrous results for their delicate religious beliefs or some other poorly supported myth or worthless opinion that cannot stand in the face of honest fact seeking and critical thinking. For such weak opinion systems, the only solution is to ban every threat that might lead to exposure. Happily, in the US, only the wilfully blind and the children they control for a time can be kept shut in dishonest ideologies protected from contamination by reality and reason. Still, I feel sorry for the kids who miss out on such joys as Harry Potter and the exciting challenges of great literature that pushes them to see their society and culture from new perspectives.
The only surprise is that, amongst so much great reading, Orwell's 1984 is missing: perhaps it's too British for American boards of education to set for study, thereby saving it from being banned by school boards stuffed with committed Christians of the sort who sincerely believe that human beings were created by a god within the last 10,000 years. Or perhaps it's sufficiently anti-communist that the usual censors let it pass, despite its deadly indictment of the evils of censorship? The former sounds the more likely to me: it isn't censored because American kids aren't being encouraged to read it. What a pity.
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Reference
American Library Association (ALA). (n.a.b). Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 1990-1999. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/bbooks/100-most-frequently-challenged-books-1990%E2%80%931999
A note on the citations:
ReplyDeleteThe author of the two works I cite is a group - the American Library Association. It is often the case, especially for official sources, that the author is a group, such as the World Health Organization (WHO). This is not a problem.
Slightly more annoying, and a bit surprising considering the author, we don't know the year of publication, so have to write "n.a." = not available. This is further complicated by the fact that there are two sources sharing the same author name and same year of publication, in which case to distinguish them, the letters a and b are added to the year in (parentheses).
I still haven't finished reading "Of Mice and Men" yet, so I can't see the point that makes those parents want to ban this book.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I truly regret those kids that can't enjoy the fun of Harry Potter. They have missed one of the best novels in our generations.
I'm glad my parents never stopped me reading anything. Indeed, not eve the Catholic nuns and brothers who ran my schools interfered to do that, even when they must have suspected, at least in high school, that I was reading material likely to destroy my belief in the Christian religion.
DeletePerhaps they just didn't realise how dangerous philosophy and science could be. Not to mention the threats in such great literature as Homer, the Bible and Shakespeare.
My afternoon coffee is long past, but one more quick comment: when we write an academic essay on the novel this week, I'm sure we'll come to a much deeper understanding of Of Mice and Men.
DeleteI think it may be dangerous for some people like the children because I found that it has some points of the story in which can lead a child to do bad thing like some character.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think it still good novel for reader ,but the parent should advise carefully with some action of a character.
Gift, do you mean Harry Potter or Of Mice and Men is dangerous for children?
DeleteWhat are the points in the story "which can lead a child to do bad thing like some character"?
I mean "Of Mice and Men" is quite dangerous for children because it has some main character which do bad thing such as telling a lie or killing people for escape his mistake.
DeletePeople do bad things in the Bible and in Shakespeare, and of course in Harry Potter as well as most (all?) other great literature. Is this a good reason to ban great literature?
DeleteIs there any great fiction or other literature where people don't do bad things?
The Bible's book of Exodus, which narrates the Jews' escape from slavery in Egypt and the arrival from god of the morally awful Ten Commandments, is a terrorist manual! And Homer is ... Homer - is there anything more violent, bloody and full of immoral acts, by the humans and the gods? Must we, therefore, ban this great human art, or must we just ban gods, heroes and hero stories?
I didn't mean that we have to ban that novel because of the bad thing, I know most of the story like movies,drama or novel always have both characters that doing bad and good thing. Moreover, I believe that every stories give us a point to think about the virtues and badness which some children are not understand clearly about the bad action so they might act like bad character to get what they want. Therefore, this is the reason why I thought it's dangerous for them ;however, we have to teach them what the right you should do and what is the punishment of doing bad so they will understand the story clearly and get advantage it efficiently.
DeleteAre children that delicate? Are children so easily susceptible to bad influences?
DeleteI don't see many kids who watch Iron Man or Superman who believe that they can actually fly, however strongly they might fantasize about that rather wonderful possibility.
I guess what I'm wondering is: do kids really need parents and teachers telling them what's right and wrong?
And are parents and teachers very good at this anyway? If the parents and teachers in a country such as Afghanistan are telling their kids that it's wrong to criticise the Koran or that abortion is evil, or that homosexuals should be killed, then those parents and teachers are teaching seriously wrong moral ideas.
I've read chapter 1 of Of Mice and Men [How could I make this word in Italic?] and still don't know the reason why this novel was banned in US. However, after I read your article, It makes me more exciting about how the rest of the story is and can't wait to continue reading it in chapter 2.
ReplyDeleteAs I read my friend's comment, they have known some reasons but I haven't known yet. I may have to read chapter 1 again.
DeleteDude just watch the movie version of it and it will save your time to find the answer for "Why this novel was banned in U.S." It's kinda good movie, I would say that's it is not too bad and also not too good.
DeleteOK, that sounds a very good idea. Thanks Pom.
DeleteI've put some notes on how to format text in comments on the page you can access from the Menu bar above: Comments - italics, bold, links, ¶.
ReplyDeleteI think if we let the children read something that be called a bad thing, and teach them what is good and bad things and what is the result of someone to do something, the children will understande the life and it is a better way to do than ban them.
ReplyDeleteI knew the end of this story. It's such a sad story. Sometimes, you have to choose the right thing even if it's so cruel. It seems like George and Lennie's friendship. Although, Lennie has a brain problem and he always makes a trouble but George never ever left him alone. Because of they have a strong friendship.
ReplyDeleteAs human being is not easy. Sometimes,you have to fight for whatever you want by doing a terribly thing and also lack of morality.
If you have to choose between friendship and the benefits in front of you, everybody will choose the benefits. Because of humans are selfish people. You better know that a real world are always brutal. It's not the same as the dream world that everybody will have happy ending.
Damn I thought watching the movie version would be a good idea to understand the story and then the whole story is just so sad that it makes me cry a little inside of my heart. Damn Curley you lil short bastard, Damn Curley's wife you lil slut, Damn Lennie why did you have to be so dumb and strong and Why Candy you have to be so old and look sad all the time it make me want to cry you know, God damn it!!I shouldn't have watch it .
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched the movie for a while. Thanks for reminding me. Maybe it's time I watched it again.
DeleteI have a memory of enjoying the Gary Sinise film, but I can't actually remember it well enough to be sure that it's a good film.
The numerous guides on the Internet can also be helpful. Although I don't think you need look at any such source, it doesn't worry me if you do - they won't help you much with the essay question this week, or with the in-class exam question next week.