Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Of Mice and Men

Reading this in school was an awful experience which I can still remember. As a disabled student, watching your peers laugh at the death of a disabled person and have their idea of disabled people as dangerous and animalistic is disheartening to say the least. Of course, adult readers can have different takeaways of the book and come away it’s a more nuanced understanding; however, I found that the book doesn’t convey the injustices well enough to be required reading, and does more harm than good.

Content Warnings

haven101g's review

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

camortiz26's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

kirsten1999's review

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

montsebens's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.75

Content Warnings

theabee's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

mattyvreads's review

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dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

It goes without saying that this book is an absolute classic. Scholars and ninth graders can agree.

This latest read through was maybe my fifth or sixth time enjoying this short story. Every time I read it, I catch some new detail that I missed the time before.

George and Lenny’s love for each other is palpable. It is a timeless story and message, yet paradoxically, might only be able to exist in its time. Much like all of Steinbeck’s work, it is a brilliant and human critique of the cruelty of capitalism. How it “breaks a man’s back” only to “shoot them in the back of the damn head” so to speak…

I am obsessed with the age old question, which might never have an answer. Is “Curly’s wife” named such because Steinbeck was a misogynist, who didn’t care to give her an actual name -or- is that a purposeful statement, pointing to the inherent misogyny of the time and setting and circumstance? If I had to bet, I’d say a little column A, little column B.

(As a side note: damn! Y’all can’t leave Crooks alone?)

Readers beware that this book uses the N word about 56,000 times in a total of 3 pages. (I’m not an idiot. I do understand the unfortunate contextual use within the setting and historical precedent. Still though, as a modern reader, it is jarring to say the least.)

Content Warnings

tita_loves_literature's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

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