In years to come, we might call it the Steinbeck problem. Of Mice and Men is one of the most banned books in the United States and will no longer be studied at GCSE in Wales from September – a reaction to the racism and use of racial slurs within the text.
Is this something to mourn, or cause for wild celebration? It is complicated. Indeed, it represents a near perfect literary and moral conundrum for the education system of a multicultural, multiracial society. Especially one plagued with culture wars fought in bad faith.
