The book has been frequently banned since it was written in the 1930s but most bans had been lifted and it has been required reading in recent decades in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well by many UK exam boards.
The book is celebrated for addressing universal themes about pain, compassion, conscience, bullying and friendship in a short, powerful text that readers of all abilities can engage with.
But it is a product of its times with racial slurs and swearing.
Steinbeck's novella, which was published in 1937, tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, who are displaced migrant ranch workers that move across California in search of work during the Great Depression in the United States.
In Northern Ireland, Of Mice and Men is an optional text on the GCSE English literature course. In 2014, a major exam board in England dropped the novella when the UK education secretary at the time, Michael Gove, said more British works should be studied.
Rocio Cifuentes, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, has praised the decision, highlighting that the novel's classroom discussion had been "psychologically and emotionally" harmful for some black pupils.
The WJEC exam board said it had selected "a wide range" of "appropriate and inclusive texts" as part of a new English language and literature GCSE.
According to Rocio Cifuentes, research on racism in secondary schools found ...
The book is celebrated for addressing universal themes about pain, compassion, conscience, bullying and friendship in a short, powerful text that readers of all abilities can engage with.
But it is a product of its times with racial slurs and swearing.
Steinbeck's novella, which was published in 1937, tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, who are displaced migrant ranch workers that move across California in search of work during the Great Depression in the United States.
In Northern Ireland, Of Mice and Men is an optional text on the GCSE English literature course. In 2014, a major exam board in England dropped the novella when the UK education secretary at the time, Michael Gove, said more British works should be studied.
Rocio Cifuentes, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, has praised the decision, highlighting that the novel's classroom discussion had been "psychologically and emotionally" harmful for some black pupils.
The WJEC exam board said it had selected "a wide range" of "appropriate and inclusive texts" as part of a new English language and literature GCSE.
According to Rocio Cifuentes, research on racism in secondary schools found ...
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Daily Post (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 26, 2024