Of mice and men: censorship English 12

Where’s waldo?

Did you find waldo?

Did anyone notice this person? Because of this image, the Where’s Waldo book containing this puzzle was banned from many libraries.

Class outline Today we are starting our unit on John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men. Specifically, we will be looking into the book’s controversial history with censorship issues. Our outline for today is: A video and discussion on banned books A read aloud on Steinbeck and Censorship An article reading on banning Of Mice and Men An activity on whether or not banning the book is the right thing to do.

Banning books Sometimes, the most innocent seeming books get banned from use in schools. We are going to watch a short video that lists some of these books, and highlights the reasons they have been banned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQq3MOwMTvA

Banning books Another book that has been banned that was not mentioned in this video is Harry Potter. In some parts of the United States and United Kingdom, the Potter books have been banned from being read in school, taken out of libraries, and even burned in public. The most prominent objections to Harry Potter fall into three categories: they promote witchcraft; they set bad examples; and they're too dark

With a neighbour discuss: Do you know any of these books from the video? Was it reasonable to want them banned? Can you see where people are coming from for wanting them banned?

Why censor steinbeck? Like the many books outlined in our video, the novella we are about to study, Of Mice and Men, has been on the banning hot spot several times since its publication. But... Why censor Steinbeck? We are going to read a short blurb on the novella’s history with censorship.

Article reading We are going to read through an article that discusses a recent case of someone wanting to ban Of Mice and Men. Independently or in pairs, answer the following questions: What arguments are made for banning the book? What arguments are made for not banning the book? And what is the stance of the author?

To ban or not to ban? Now you can have a say – Should this book be banned from schools? I have provided you with some excerpts from the novel that include some of the language people have been upset about. Independently or in pairs, read through the excerpts and see what you think – is this language too inappropriate for school? Does it serve any educational purpose?   Record your thoughts on a t-chart with one side being “It should be banned” and the other “it should not be banned”. Even if you are heavily leaning towards one side, try to consider arguments for both. Once we have created our t-charts, you will contribute points to develop a collective chart on the white board.

What does our chart say?

discussion While there is language in the novella that we would not consider appropriate for our everyday speech, this language does not reflect the views of Steinbeck. Instead, it reflects the views and norms of the time that Steinbeck is trying to convey. For instance, as we saw with our excerpts, the use of the word “nigger” is used throughout the story – in using this term, Steinbeck is reflecting the attitudes of a time when that particular word, even though offensive, was in common use.

summary Today we looked into the issue of censorship and banning, and explored Of Mice and Men’s controversial history in this area. Tomorrow, we will look into the novel’s historical context by exploring the era and the people its based on.