I suppose my love of literature came from my parents, who read to me often as a child. It is a common sight for me to walk into my parents' house and see my dad reading The New Yorker in the living room, and my mom, the latest crime thriller in her bed. It is also common for dad to cut out articles to send along with me to read in my precious spare time. Last week, he gave me the inside cover of his New Yorker which was an advertisement for a Broadway revival of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. This couldn't have been more timely, as I am currently wrapping up my unit on this novel with my Writing Through Literature I class.
As I left for work this morning, I grabbed the ad and figured I'd show it to my kids. What happened next is one of those moments most teachers dream of. After the bell rang and the announcements concluded I asked my students to take out their copy of the novel and look up when it was published. Yes, I actually made them look in the book instead of google it on their smartphones. The first time Of Mice and Men was published was in 1937. Doing some quick math, my kids figured that was 77 years ago. Then I held up the advertisement. Some of the girls were very excited to see James Franco headlining as George Milton. It appears they feel about him the way I felt about Heath Ledger or Freddie Prinze Jr. circa the late 1990s. The boys in the room were impressed to see Chris O'Dowd of Bridesmaids fame in the role of Lennie Small. Leighton Meester, of Gossip Girl, will be starring as Curley's Wife. These aren't new, struggling actors trying to make names for themselves. These are stars in their own right, portraying some of the most notable characters in American Literature.
But why? I asked my students, why after 77 years and two film adaptations would anyone bother to turn this book into a play? Why after 77 years, when there is so much literature in the world do we still teach this novel? I asked them to think about that for a minute. And the response I got after a minute or so of silence blew me away. One of my students raised his hand and said, "because it will always endure." I shouted, "yes!" - like I had never heard anything so brilliant in all my life. I asked this young man to explain what he meant by that and he went on to describe the various motifs we've discussed in class: prejudice, friendship, loneliness, and dreams.
As our brief discussion continued, the kids made a lot of great connections to prejudice and loneliness in today's society. It is evident in the media how much prejudice is still part of our every day lives. But the true enduring themes of this novel are friendship and dreams. George's final act in the novel was one of complete selflessness. He chose to protect Lennie the only way he could. But the dream of the little ranch could not exist without Lennie, so the dream died. But as my students came to understand from this story - dreams provide hope.
77 years later, people still have dreams. My students have dreams - many of them are big dreams, too. And I hope as they grow and try to achieve them, they will always remember the importance of friendship and allow their dreams to give them hope.
Thank you, Mr. Steinbeck, for a novel that will always endure.
-MR
No comments:
Post a Comment