Thread: Of Mice And Men

Hi. We're studying Of Mice And Men in english at the moment and it is really annoying me. My teacher said it is the type of book that everyone likes, no matter what your personal preference is, but to be honest I think it's crap.

Ok, here's my question. If you have read the book in question, what did you think of it? Why did you like/hate it? And why do you think it is used for GCSE english?

The last question is mainly for the British.

Thanks, Fantasy Girl

I'm sorry...how is that short novel crap? Please explain. Steinbeck's language is economical, the plotting profound, the characterization excellent and well-defined.
Is SoCal Okie hobo culture so far outside your own frame of reference that you're uninterested? That doesn't make a book crap, it means your cage is pretty small.

In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other.
John Steinbeck, 1938.

I think Of Mice and Men is an excellent novel, with deep characterization on a thought-provoking theme. Perhaps it is one of those books that should be kept for a slightly older audience, but I actually enjoyed it much the first time I read it in secondary school. Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath is one of the finest novels ever written, and I'd definitely give it a try. Sometimes, more exposure is the key to more enjoyment out of a particular author.

Originally Posted by Mr. Madeleine

...Perhaps it is one of those books that should be kept for a slightly older audience, but I actually enjoyed it much the first time I read it in secondary school...

*nods* I did too...that short novel and The Pearl were my introduction to Steinbeck in junior high. I can understand not liking something but I have trouble with calling something that is competently executed "crap". Terms like that I reserve for the likes of "Twilight".

@ Moderan, we all have the right to show our opinions, do we not? I'm not saying his characterisation isn't excellent - I wish my characterisation skills were half as good -and his use of language isn't brilliant, but the actuall plot is not to my tast. So me saying that the book is crap means my cage is small?

As for the term "crap" being in better use with Twilight, I couldn't agree less with that because I happen to LOVE the Twilight Saga.

@ Mr. Madeleine, you said that the book maybe better for older audiences, we are studying the book a year earlier than most people, so maybe that is why. I don't know.

Fantasy Girl

Of course you have a right to your opinions...and you've shown where your tastes lie by this response.

A piece of literature comes to life when there is a contact between the writer and the reader. How the reader responds is not only determined by the piece at hand but also by the reader's experience, background, mood at the moment of reading etc. Promise yourself to read Of Mice and Men again in 5, 10, 15 years time. My teachers had a gift at making the finest in life seem awful. If your teachers are the same, they can well spoil a class, but do not let them spoil your own private reading pleasures.

Also, this has just dawned on me. Have you grown up in an urban area? If so, perhaps the images are just not materializing for you. We live in different times.The society for which Steinbeck wrote was a rural one; and not necessarily uneducated...those people who are not spending their life running in the city have got the time to sit down and read. By the way, there was a film based on the novel that was actually well-made. You should look it up

My daughter 'did' this for her English GCSE. Luckily she thought it was great, she says she found it so 'realistic', went round for months saying, "Tell me about the rabbits", says it made the whole 1930's America thing 'come alive' for her.
I am really ambivalent about books for exams, it's ok if it happens to be something you like or if you have a teacher who can make you see the point, if not it can totally turn you off something, despite the fact that it may be really good in itself. That is a real shame, there are so many good books you could spend your whole life reading and never have to read something you did not enjoy.
Not being ready for something is part of it sometimes I am sure; I did not read Jane Austen until I was in my fifties, when I did I thought she was wonderful and read all of them. One of the things that appealed most was her sense of humour, but I am sure that if I had read them as a young man it would have gone straight over my head, and humour explained is simply not funny.
Try to appreciate it on an intellectual level, it may not make that book great for you but you will learn things that should enhance your enjoyment of other books.
My mother taught English Lit. and used to say it did not matter what you read, so long as you applied your critical ability you got something from anything.
Twilight is not written to appeal to us Moderan, it appeals greatly to the people it is written for, which makes it good in my book. It is a clever metaphore for teenage sexuality and sexuality is hugely important, but taboo, for teenagers. However, a really good book retains it's appeal, infact you find new things in it to appeal on different levels as you grow and mature, you may find this is not the case with Twilight if you re-read in a few years time.

I didn't like the book very much. I won't go so far as to say it is crap. I found it a bit boring in some areas, though. I liked Grapes better, but it's not something I would read again.




Olly, what's the metaphor and what's clever about it? 'Cept for the sparkly, there's basically nothing orginal or creative in Twilight at all.

Originally Posted by fantasy girl

Hi. We're studying Of Mice And Men in english at the moment and it is really annoying me. My teacher said it is the type of book that everyone likes, no matter what your personal preference is, but to be honest I think it's crap.

I'm not keen on schools putting kids off books by forcing adult fiction down their throats. I had to read bits of Watership Down at school and hated it. A few years later I read it and loved it. I really enjoyed Of Mice and Men, But I probably wouldn't, were I being force-fed it at school.

Originally Posted by fantasy girl

Ok, here's my question. If you have read the book in question, what did you think of it? Why did you like/hate it? And why do you think it is used for GCSE english?

The last question is mainly for the British.

Thanks, Fantasy Girl

At a guess, it's a short book (novella) so perhaps not intimidating, or hour consuming, for the pupils. Also, a teacher can praise the writing to the skies, safe in the knowledge that no one can, or will, disagree. Another thing is it shows moral and emotional issues, with the two main characters. Anyone who reads Steinbeck will be left in no doubt that here's a man who is incredibly compassionate towards the desperate and hardworking poor.

I adored that book. I was so happy to read it in I think it was 8th grade. I had already read it previously. I will have to check out Grapes of Wrath, I've never read it.

Books like Of Mice & Men,To Kill A Mockingbird, & all of the Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer books- they all have a similarity (maybe the era's are close) that really pull me in. I just love them!

What exactly do you not like about the plot?

I'm not quite sure what I don't like about the plot. Maybe it is the fact that it is predictable, you could tell where and when something was goint to happen long before it actually did. Another thing is, it is a clasic case of telling not showing.

"for Lennie had broken her neck." Steinbeck tells us this, before we know Curleys wife was dead. I think it would be better if Slim had told us how she had died when he checks for her pulse.

I will do what I have to do with the book, and I will defenatly read it again in a few years time. Maybe it was just my teacher, I don't know.

Fantasy Girl xx