"𝕲𝖊𝖔𝖗𝖌𝖊 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖊𝖙𝖑𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖆𝖇𝖇𝖎𝖙 𝖘𝖈𝖚𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝕷𝖊𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖊'𝖘 𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖓." - John Steinbeck 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯 Half an hour ago, I dreamt a rabbit-filled future for Lennie, George, Candy, and Crooks. There was alfalfa and sunshine and the carnival was in town. I knew it wouldn't end happily, but... but... 😢. 🐇 'Of Mice and Men' is a swift, little novella, crafted for the stage. Scenes are set with visual clarity, events are foreshadowed with mounting tension, and themes are explored with unbridled honesty. And yet, hope floats through each character - in glimpses. 🐇 Controversy has begun to swirl around the text. Representations of neurodiversity, race, and gender are unfavourable... but isn't that entirely the point? Doesn't Steinbeck draw the n word out of the mouths of racist characters? Doesn't Steinbeck write sexist language onto the lips of misogynistic characters? Doesn't Steinbeck explore oppressions of reality? I would argue that he is not creating oppressions of fiction - he is not celebrating the ignorance of some characters and damning the differences of others. Rather, he is exposing the lies of the American Dream, against a cold, harsh backdrop under the Californian sun. 🐇 I feel 'Of Mice and Men' in my chest. I know the land they live on, the land they dream of. I know that these characters and their stories will stay with me, perhaps forever. I believe that there absolutely remains space for this classic within academic discussion and education - to exclude it would be to deny its lessons and acknowledgement of our problematic past and its persisting shadows. 🐇 🕯What do you think? 🕯Is it time we turn our backs on Lennie and George? . #ofmiceandmen #steinbeck #steinbeckcountry #california #americangothic #americandream #johnsteinbeck #bookstagram #bookreview #classicliterature #americanliterature #bookchat https://www.instagram.com/p/CO7fLxAr6V2/?igshid=1xhu2y64386cr
