Of Mice And Men Speech

I overheard Ms. Migdall saying that you do not have enough money to teach both Of Mice and Men and To Kill A Mockingbird. I am writing to you to tell you that there should be no doubt in your minds that To Kill A Mockingbird is the book for your high school students to read. To start, To Kill A Mockingbird touches on many important social issues like racism and sexism and subtly convinces the reader that these are terrible things. To Kill A Mockingbird drew me in and coached me into wanting to fight against the double standards in the 1930’s. I found that while I was reading Of Mice and Men I was not being drawn in by the horrid circumstances, but instead by my dislike of the book.

Also, the women in To Kill a Mockingbird play a huge role in the plot. For one, the novel is told in the point of view of a young girl who is learning about the abhorrent world we live in. This young girl-- Jean Louise “Scout” Finch-- Is learning from a strong, black women who acts as her mother figure. Calpurnia defies racist and sexist stereotypes by working for an all
There is Lennie, the mentally disabled man who is constantly termed “dumb as a rock” and “stupid”. As a person with mentally ill and disabled family members, this bothered me to no end. No person should ever be called those terms--mentally disabled or not. Lennie's best friend George is seemingly abusive and never defends Lennie. In Of Mice and Men the only female character is dubbed Curley’s Wife which one, objectifies a human being and two, dehumanizes a woman. The entire book the male characters are sexulizing the only female character-- calling her “jailbait and “tart”. John Steinbeck portrayed Curley’s Wife as weak and whiny instead of strong and independent like women should be seen. The only black character is constantly called the N word and is discriminated against Crooks isn't allowed in the bunkhouse to play cards with the other