Why is steinbeck controversial

This [museum] looks like a government building that excludes people. Steinbeck cherished the parochial quirks that gave each corner of the country a distinct local flavor; he mourned the standardization of America. He hobnobbed with presidents, socialites, film stars and poets as well as with Dust Bowl Okies. Given that enormous range, they say, it would be unfair to design the Steinbeck museum to suit the mood of one particular book.

Breathe deeply and you might nose out the pumped-in smell of fresh-picked iceberg. Or duck under a clothesline to explore a migrant camp set up by a family by the name of Joad. But some scholars worry that in its zest to make Steinbeck accessible, the museum may lose sight of his literary accomplishments. Steinbeck Center board members do plan an international marketing campaign.

And they have already held focus groups on how to stock the gift shop. The winner so far: writing-related items such as note cards and journals. But Leach insists that the center will not turn Steinbeck into a gimmick. We want to provoke.

There will be a biographical film on Steinbeck and a timeline of his life. The blinding flash and mushroom cloud of the suggestion that a Salinas school be given my name is shattering as a compliment. Those who knew him or have studied him agree: Steinbeck was very shy about honors. But he was amenable to flattery too. He was also remarkably low-key about the film and stage adaptations of his books. Again, the movie helped to keep Grapes of Wrath on the bestseller list.

Fast forward to The Swedish Academy was trying to choose a Nobel laureate for literature. Steinbeck had previously been nominated eight times, largely because of Grapes of Wrath. But in every instance, another author with a more impressive body of work had been selected. This year, the committee had a difficult choice: none of the candidates seemed like clear winners. Henry Olsson, a committee member, wrote, "There aren't any obvious candidates for the Nobel prize, and the prize committee is in an unenviable position.

Blixen passed away, rendering her ineligible. Anouilh was likely passed over because of his nationality; French poet Saint-John Perse had just won in , and Jean-Paul Sartre who won and declined the prize --in was seen as an up-and-coming prime candidate. The committee generally agreed that Durrell's work was not yet sufficient to merit a prize. And, according to an article in The Guardian , " Olsson was reluctant to award any Anglo-Saxon poet the prize before the death of Ezra Pound, believing that other writers did not match up to his mastery.

Thus Steinbeck remained. The Academy gave him the award for his "realistic and imaginative writing, combining Rather, it's an award for an author's body of work. In the case of Steinbeck, most people felt that his body of work was not strong enough to merit such a prestigious award. While his works had literary merit, Grapes of Wrath seemed to stand alone as Steinbeck's enduring contribution to literature.

Critics would rightfully argue that it's not enough to garner a Nobel Prize. But the Nobel Prize in Literature also has a history of being intertwined with politics. When Boris Pasternak won the prize in , his award was just as much about reviling Russian Communism as it was about honoring exceptional literature.

Alas, Pasternak was forced to decline the award. And the winner, Mo Yan , has made waves with his commentary on China's politics. Grapes of Wrath undoubtedly had equal--if not greater--impact on American politics at the time of its publication.

So what do you think? Students will understand the nature of censorship. Overview Even though some of the controversial issues in Of Mice and Men may not seem as controversial today as they were in the s, students still need to be prepared for what they will encounter in the classroom.

Teachers will need to copy and edit the documents so as not to give away important plot elements. Procedures Before showing the PowerPoint presentation , teachers should have an open discussion with the class about some of the controversies surrounding the novel.

Ask students why this term is offensive. The censorship history of the novel. Ask students to provide examples of censorship. This may be a sensitive issue, and teachers should use discretion.