Reviews with content warning for Racism - Of Mice and Men

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

248 reviews

fastel's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

sentiment lourd de mélancolie et d’empathie pour les deux protagonistes en fermant ce livre
(à noter : emploi du n word …)

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ed_moore's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ is the short tale of two immigrant workers, George and his mentally disabled giant puppy of a friend Lennie. It follows the pair finding work on a ranch and trying to hold down the job as Lennie struggles to navigate what is socially appropriate and constantly speaking about his dreams to tend his own rabbits.

The prose of the novella was really well written in places, especially descriptions in the openings and conclusions, and in such a short story Steinbeck brings so much life and personality to each character. He does fall into stereotypes, Lennie’s inability to understand the concept of death relating mental disability to psychopathy, whereas the very fact such theme was addressed at the time of writing in 1937, and even not completely undermined and handled with some form of gentleness and sympathy, even though highly flawed, is a merit. Matters of race and gender in the characters aren’t treated so well however, the figure of Curley’s wife is the only woman in the book and remains unnamed in addition to fulfilling the stereotypes of a whore, and many racial slurs are used in relation to the only black character. Note ‘Of Mice and Men’ very liberally uses the ’N’ word. There is also, in Lennie’s lack of comprehension of death, a large amount of violence towards animals.

Parts of ‘Of Mice and Men’ were sweet and parts disgusting, parts brilliantly written and parts quite poorly written. In relating it to the other Steinbeck I have read exploring similar themes of a false American dream, seeking work and agriculture, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ was a much stronger piece of prose, but for how short ‘Of Mice and Men’ was (I read it in a single evening), it has its merits.

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amselot's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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thee_eclectic_eccentric's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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linestavland's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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praevalesco's review against another edition

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2.0

The premise was alright, but the execution was lacking to say the least. Taking a sad concept and writing it with the most surface level, stereotypical characters really ruins any potential the story could've had; the mentally impaired character was written as a stupid brute and the "caregiver" was written as dispassionate and irritated with the stupid brute's shortcomings. Let's not forget the unnecessary racism that added nothing to the story except telling what time it was written.
Good concept, terrible story.

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lay_kone's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

4.0

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caffinatedslug's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

At first, I did not enjoy the book as the strong language (including the n word) along with the rude treatment of Lennie turned me off. Even though I’m aware this is the language people used in the Great Depression era, it didn’t make me enjoy reading it. However, I still found myself intrigued and wasn’t able to put it down. Gradually, I came to enjoy the book and seeing George and Lennie piece their dreams together. The book did end on an incredibly sad note, but I thought it was well-written and nuanced. Overall, it’s a good story with the narration framed in the time period it takes place in, and even though it’s very short it conveys lots of meaning and nuance.

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avue's review against another edition

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adventurous sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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lilygrace1113's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

1.5

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