The banned and the challenged

John Steinbeck was one of the best writers of all time. Pick up one of his books and instantly his prose pulls you right into the story. One of his most famous novels is Of Mice and Men, about two migrant field workers in California named George and Lennie. Set during the Great Depression, the novel follows their trials and tribulations at a ranch they find employment at.

Sounds like a novel nobody would have any objections to, right? Wrong. It appears on this list of classic books that were banned or challenged. This page at the same site contains the reasons why each book on the list wound up there. For Of Mice and Men, it has been challenged for everything from "lurid sex scenes" (there are none; Steinbeck was not a peddler of explicit material like E.L. James) to being “derogatory toward African Americans, women and the developmentally disabled” (Say what?! Steinbeck shows great sympathy for all three, especially Lennie, the mentally retarded friend of George) and just about every other accusation under the sun.  

The biggest complaint though, concerns a certain word that became known as "the N word" after the O.J. Simpson murder trial. This word is used by some characters in the book regarding Crooks, the ranch's black stable buck. First, that is not spite on Steinbeck's part, but an accurate depiction of the times. Nor does he make Crooks out to be a racial caricature, either: Crooks is an intelligent man who is highly literate.  

Sadly, he also lives a highly isolated life due to his ethnicity; only Lennie (an outcast himself) expresses friendliness. Steinbeck's depiction of Crooks at once captures his sympathy for African Americans as well as acknowledges the injustices heaped on them.  It is very unfortunate the book's inclusion of "the N word" has gotten it so much flak.   Steinbeck was not a racist, as his non-fiction book Travels with Charley makes loud and clear when he discusses a racist crowd he saw taunting black schoolchildren protected by U.S. Marshalls while on their way to an integrated school. 

Should books like Of Mice and Men be banned? I say no. What do you think?

Article image courtesy Wikimedia.