Argument Essay 2nd draft

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is an in depth, complicated book with mature content and language that can easily be questioned. Therefore, it should be taken of libraries for children under the age of 13. This book has very mature language for kids who may not understand the context in which they're using it as it relates back to the time period with language that is now questioned. This is one reason why it should be banned or cautioned for kids under 13. It also has quite a lot of graphic violence. Of Mice and Men is a book about two slightly troubled men so they run into situations leading up to fights, and Steinbeck described them with a lot of depth which got overwhelming at times. Some people might say that kids should decide if they're ready to read this themselves, but they might not know what's included, and by banning for under 13 we can somewhat guarantee that they're not being exposed before they're really ready. This is why Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck should be banned or cautioned for under 13.
The first example of why Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is because there's a lot of very mature language that many children won't understand while being used in context. Not only is this language inappropriate, but it also is hurtful in the present and could be not understood why or how it's being used if they didn't understand it. One example in the book of this is when Curley says: "Where the hell is that god damn n______?" To stable buck, a black (29). This shows bad language offensively and could easily upset people if they didn't understand the time period and segregation in that time. Another example of mature language is when Curley's wife uses "w___e house" (79) as a term. In those times there was more sexualism and kids need to understand that there was issues with this and that they have been fixed, it could possibly encourage them to use offensive terms towards women and by banning for kids under 13, before they understand the time period, we can make sure that kids don't use offensive terms and think it's ok. The Banned Books We Have Loved talks about how bad language is appearing in so many books and how parents and teachers are banning because of it. There are also terms in the book that may not be overly offensive, but aren't for kids to be using. The final example of mature language is when George says, "if that crazy bastard is messing around too much just kick him out, Slim" (50) referring to Lennie playing with the puppies. Kids need to be able to understand these topics and kids under 13 may not be able to. Therefore we should ban Of Mice and Men for kids under 13.
        Another reason why we should ban Of Mice and Men for kids under 13 is because there's a lot of graphic violence. One example of this is when Steinbeck is describing the fight between Curley and Lennie. They describe with so much detail that it could easily freak people put or even encourage them to start fights themselves. It describes the fight by saying, "But Lennie watched in terror at the flopping man whom he held. Blood ran down Lennie's face. One of his eyes was cut and closed." It described the harm so in detail that younger kids may either not feel comfortable or feel encouraged. The article Darkness too visible goes against The Hunger a Games by Suzanne Collins for its violence in content and the fact that it could encourage children, although not so extreme, the same message goes for Of Mice and Men. Finally, an example of graphic violence is when Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife. It describes this by saying "'Don't you go yellin' , he said, and he shook her; her body flipped like a fish and then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck'" (91). Although this was an accidental murder it could make people uncomfortable to read and have described. The violence in this book may be harmless to many but it's that small amount of people that will take it to heart and use it in their own life and up until 13 you can't completely guarantee the maturity needed to control themselves. This is another reason why we should ban Of Mice and Men for children under the age of 13.
        On the other hand of this argument, people may say that kids should be able to decide themselves if they're ready to read this book, however, they might not completely know if they're mature enough before they read it. Kids may think they're ready to read certain books and they may feel strongly that they should be able to decide but if there's no one telling them what's in the book and if they're ready, then they're exposed. Kids might be mature enough not to take the information to heart, but they should really understand classics when they're reading them and it's in 7th grade when you learn about segregation and why we don't use it any more, kids should understand features of Americas Great Depression (when the book is focused). We should be able to somewhat guarantee that kids aren't being exposed to books too early, especially classics, and by banning for under 13 we can help make a start on that. Therefore, even though kids may want to control what they are reading, they may be over exposed and this is why we should ban Of Mice and Men for kids under 13.
        All in all, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck should be banned for kids under the age of 13 because it contains mature language, graphic violence, and even though kids feel that they should make their own decisions when it comes to what they read, they may not be mature enough to read this book until they learn about Great Depression America, around the age of 13. Of Mice and Men should be banned it challenged for under 13 and these examples show why.