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Claire Tantengco

Mrs. Eaton

9 Honors Literature and Composition I

14 December 2021

Of Mice and Men In-Class Paragraph

Some may argue that 9th graders should be exposed to John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men due to

its portrayal of racism, but I think that the young and impressionable minds of teenagers should

not be shown such be a raw and unfiltered display of racial discrimination in their curriculum,

especially in a novel that does not differentiate these acts from right or wrong. Those who

advocate for this book to be kept in 9th grade curriculum say it is important for teenagers to be

shown racism as to not leave them blind-sided when they transition into society. Unjust acts such

as racism are still pertinent nowadays, and Of Mice and Men provides an example of it. Crooks,

the only black character on the farm is endlessly discriminated by the other workers and is a

valid example of racism for it shows the clear hate and unfairness directed at his character solely

for the color of his skin. However, John Steinbeck does not label these acts of racism as wrong,

but simply demonstrates it as a norm during that time period. And many examples such as

Crooks’ living conditions may instill harmful ideologies if a line is not drawn between the just

and unjust actions exhibited. Within the novel, Crook’s living conditions pale in comparison to

the other struggling white migrant workers. He works the labor-intensive job of stable buck

despite his injured back, sleeps in with the animals in the barn, and is lonely because of his

separation from the other workers during social hours. This novel portrays Crooks at the lowest

position in the farm as a black man, and it is harmful to show young teenagers that people belong
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at lower places than others just for the color of their skin, despite the time period the novel takes

place in. Another detrimental action shown throughout the story is the normalized use of racial

slurs, particularly the n-word. When Crooks is introduced into the story, the white characters

refer to him as a nice person but continue to call him the n-word both to his face and to the other

workers. The n-word is written as a malicious adjective that always exists in the characters’

vocabulary and is said in normalcy during conversations. This term was highly offensive both

during the Great Depression and now. Without proper guidance that the book lacks, other than

simply being exposed to such a word, 9th graders may be misled to believe that racial slurs like

the n-word are socially acceptable to use no matter their race or context. Another extremely

damaging deed is also illustrated into the novel through threats made at Crooks by white

characters for lynching. Lynching was an act of violence by mass groups of people to kill

someone—typically black people during this period—for alleged offenses without a proper trial.

This type of violence was especially brutal, and its severity is not something to be overlooked.

And aside from lynching being a topic within the novel, many characters such as Curley’s wife,

make threats to Crooks by blowing his simple actions out of proportion. After Crooks stands up

for another character after they are ridiculed by Curley’s wife, and asks her to leave his room,

she does not hesitate to drop such a loaded threat. Saying, “...You keep your place then, n—r, I

could you get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 81). After such a

response Crooks shrinks back into himself, beyond scared for what could happen if he opened

his mouth again. Lynching is such a severe and messed- up threat, yet characters in Of Mice and

Men are making them over trivial matters. The topic of lynching is beyond any violence that any

9th grader should be exposed to, especially due to its severity and regular usage in the novel.

Without proper guidance, such a book packed with heavy topics can easily be lost in translation
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and can instill harmful ideologies into teenagers and expose them to actions too violent for their

age. The portrayal of racism includes unjust living conditions, racial slurs, and lynching, which

are likely topics that we cannot assume all classrooms to address properly by differentiating the

right from wrong. Of Mice and Men is not a suitable novel for 9th graders, therefore concluding

to that it should be banned in their curriculum.