Read Of Mice and Men: Justification for Use of Challenged Books in the Classroom

Read Of Mice and Men:  Justification for Use of Challenged Books in the Classroom
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Student Readability (5 out of 5)

“Why are you crying?” I asked my favorite student.

She could only sob a reply, “Lennie–”

“Lennie?”

“and the woman–” she sobbed harder.

“Lennie and the woman?”

“Dead!” she screamed.

“Calm down! Just because your boyfriend, Lennie, cheated on you with another woman is no reason to kill him,” I replied.

She looked at me disgustedly, took her copy of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, threw it at me, and said, “Maybe if you’d actually teach an interesting book from time to time instead of boring stuff like sonnets, you’d know why I was crying.”

Although she’s no longer my favorite student I decided to read Of Mice and Men. I now teach it in all my 9th grade English classes–honors, regular, or basic.

Appropriateness (3 out of 5)

Many teachers wonder if there is justification for use of challenged books in the classroom. After all, it does require more preparation work and there is the potential for conflict. There are ways to avoid it, however.

Of Mice and Men may not be appropriate for all students. I recommend sending home a letter to have signed by a parent or guardian before beginning. Be sure to have an alternate novel to give those students who choose not to read it. The letter should include the following:

  • A respectful greeting
  • A summary of the novel
  • A statement of its literary worth
  • The acknowledgment of coarse language and situations
  • A literary explanation of why there is coarse language and situations
  • An encouragement for the parents to read the novel and discuss it with their children
  • The option of reading another literary work, with no penalty
  • A way to contact you with questions or problems
  • The deadline for opting out (usually after chapter 1 or 2 on account of the novel’s brevity)

Ultimately, it’s the parents’ and the student’s decision whether or not to read the novel. Be sure to emphasize there is no penalty for choosing not to read. In addition, don’t let them know what the other novel is. The decision should be based solely on whether or not the novel contains offensive material that would detract from the learning experience.

Literary Merit (5 out of 5)

It’s hard to imagine any semi-serious literature student not having read Of Mice and Men. It’s literary merit goes beyond the fact students enjoy reading it. The novel provides excellent opportunities to discuss the following literary terms:

  • characterization
  • setting
  • irony
  • allegory
  • symbolism
  • foreshadowing
  • plot
  • conflict
  • theme
  • tone
  • mood
  • and many more

In addition to literary devices, the novel contains several subjects worth discussing:

  • The Great Depression
  • Determinism vs Free Will
  • Societal Victims
  • The Effect of Environment
  • The Worth of Individuals
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • The Treatment of the Mentally Handicapped
  • Sin and Vice
  • Capitalism and Socialism
  • Good vs. Evil
  • and many more

Resources

For further analysis, check out the brighthub <em>Of Mice and Men</em> Study Guide.

Looking for a standards based syllabus for high school language arts? Click the link and find all the resources–lesson plans, unit plans, handouts, powerpoints–you need for an entire semester.

This post is part of the series: Of Mice and Men Lesson Plans

Students love Of Mice and Men. Help them develop critical thinking skills with these lesson plans.

  1. Teaching Allegory in Of Mice and Men
  2. Teaching Students to Analyze Imagery in &lsquo;Of Mice and Men&rsquo;
  3. The Best Laid (Lesson) Plans Of Mice and Men
  4. Lesson Plan: Analyzing Circular Plot in Of Mice and Men
  5. Of Mice and Men: Does it Belong in High Schools?