BOOK: Criticism from the west

Congratulations, curriculum review committee, you’ve made the News Tribune in Tacoma because Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is, in committee member Ms. Finney’s opinion, “neither a quality story nor a page-turner.” So much for the author’s Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes; the poor man simply cannot compete with James Patterson or Jodi Piccoult. However, I think they may use profanity in their pursuit of “page-turner” status, so I’m not sure what your committee will do with them. Empty the libraries?

OMAM, as the students at my local high school affectionately (or not) term the book, gives a timely window on the state of the American Dream and the difficulties faced by those who have been denied that dream. It is a beautiful, honest book that leads to deep thinking and seminal questions. Why would the school board listen to anyone who wants to ban it? True, it does contain profanity, but so do the halls and locker rooms of your schools, and the homes most of your students come from.

I worked 14 years in Sumner High School’s Writing Center, helping kids understand great literature like Steinbeck’s novella. I rejoiced in the growth I saw as students grappled with the hard questions the story raises. Our sophomores, worldly creatures that they are, read it, and a majority of them said they had read it before. Strangely, none of them seemed damaged by an early brush with great literature. Perhaps the board should read the book, not just count the swear words.

MARY YOUNG

Lake Tapps, Wash.