Should books be banned?

Banning books is absolutely nonsense. The written word has been around for thousands of years and have recorded our history, kept us entertained, and are used to teach students in schools. These ideas made up by some of the most intelligent writers are now being deprived from readers all over the United States. A free society made up of numerous cultures and ideas is being sheltered from each other due to the offensiveness towards certain individuals. Entertainment in books is also hidden from citizens because a minority is either the main character or the writer, and generally hated because they are different, thus keeping their work masked and undiscovered. Banning books also keep people unaware of some important information, and reserve their precious history.


One of the major problems with today’s nation is people get too offended by material expressed in books. There are textbooks such as “Earth Science” by Edward J. Tarbuck that are banned because of the teaching of the theory of evolution. Christians believed that the book contradicted their religion and basically said that god did not create life. Yet, the book does not say anywhere that god does not exist nor does it say that evolution is fact but a theory, with some evidence to support it. Other religions do exist and some people just don’t believe in god so why shouldn’t they be able to learn science as a theory? "Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it." - Mark Twain, that is exactly what these people are doing, letting the baby keep the man from eating his steak; or in other words keeping people from reading what they want.


Another issue regarding the banning of books is the voice of the minority. It seems as though the below the surface reason for getting rid of an authors art is simply because it has another side that people wont accept. A gay character such as Stephan Jones in the story “The drowning of Stephan Jones” by Bette Greene, consists of a gay couple Stephan Jones and Frank Montgomery. The hatred that a group of kids have towards them directly results in Stephan’s death, and an excuse for the banning of the book. Other books such as “I know why the caged bird sings” by Maya Angelou, are also restricted because this author is a black woman and is gaining a significant role in the African-American, woman community, something the “Man” wants to keep in the dark.


Who ever knew of Andersonville? You know that concentration camp in Richmond, Virginia, that was much like the ones in Germany? Well, in the civil war, the confederate alliance established this camp that was originally Fort Sumter where thousands of Union soldiers died from horrible conditions, diseases, and the obvious lack of food and supplies. This book is probably not mentioned very much in history class rooms for the clear reason that America wants to push that into a small closet and just shush about the whole event that took place on its precious soil.


America has a fallacy that is yet to be destroyed and that is that “All men are created equal”. Novels written to educate the students, are taken away because one group who does not represent the “We” clan don’t like the way it has evolution in it and some sense dismiss the intelligent design theory, that not everyone believes in anyway. The different, or less popular subjects are also the cause of banning books whether segregation is over and blacks are still knocked down, or homosexuals trying to gain rights, and still face hatred. Hidden aspects of the United States history, is hushed to preserve the image of such a great nation. When is equality going to actually be reached? And not just in books, but for everywhere?

Between The line question: How does Lenny and Candy's dog relate?

In most of the novel, Lenny is constantly relates to a dog, or another animal, like Lenny's dog. As the story progresses, all the men at the ranch continuously tell Candy that his dog "Ain't no good to himself or no one else", therefore, getting shot in the head to end his misery. Lenny is also told numerous times that he is also not good for himself oir no one else, resulting in his death with a bullet in his skull. These characters are also companions to two men being Candy and George and are the other half of the men as well when it comes to dreams and goals.

Beyond the line question: How do the card games in of mice and men represent life?

the guys who work on the ranch in of mice and men, are constantly playing card games. Now, the game these gentlemen play are rummy, a game you have to either be good at, lucky, or just cheat to win. In some sense, the card games represent life and some characters in this story represent these personalities to match "the card game of life". Slim, you can say he's "good" at life, because he is respectable, and the epitome of a man. George and Lenny are are considered lucky, because they have each other in such a lonely world. Curly is neither good or lucky but a cheater at life due to teh fact that he does not due much for himself.

Slim is a man who is looked up to on the ranch by many of the men including George and even Curly. He is brave, and does not take much from anyone including Curly, even if he is the boss's son. As life throws out it's downfalls, he always manages to be untouchable like in a time of a depression, he is still cool and collected throughout the story. Even if Curly gets into Slims face and yells at him, he is always holding his head up and showing he is a symbol to be "good" at life.

Lenny and George are sought out to be lucky, because everyone on the ranch is lonely, but not them says Lenny "We're not like that, because you got me to look after you and I got you to look after me" is what he says to George. They have each other for protection even in a bad state of life. While they work to achieve their dream to live "off the fatta' the land", they are lucky to have each other and even get that money to but the dream house with the money they both plan to make. They are the men who are not lonely in the story and the guys who actually give a dam about each other.

Curly is the "man" in the story who walks around on the high horse with his nice hat and fancy cow boy boots. If it were not for his father's success, Curly would be out on his ass like the rest of the men like George and Slim, and even Lenny. He bosses everyone around and picks on them because he believes he is able to handle himself until Lenny crushes his hand= ). All these men bust their butts to make ends meet, but not Curly, he lives off of daddy's money which is how he is a "cheater" at life.

In conclusion, the card game that is played constantly in the book does represent life. The characters who live their lives link to the cards, whether Slim is "Good" at the game and valiant. George and Lenny having one another for support and being "lucky" to have that luxury. And Curly the "Cheater" who is only successful becuase of his daddy.

on the line questions

Character questions:
1. what is candys companion?
a. cat
b. horse
c. dog
d. Lenny

2. who is the black guy who manages the horses on the ranch?
a. Curly
b. bosss
c. Slim
d. Crooks

3. what animal does Lenny look forward to on the future farm?
a. cats
b. mice
c. rabbits
d. puppies

4. Who finds curlys wife dead?
a. George
b. Candy
C. Curly
d. Crooks

setting questions
1. where was Lenny and George run out of?
a. Salinas
b. Soledad
c. Texas
d. Bridget's a dork

2. where was Lenny and George headed in the first chapter?
a. a ranch south
b. a ranch north
c. a ranch west
d. a ranch east

3. Where does George tell Lenny to hide if he got in trouble?
a. tree
b. lake
c. raccoon nest
d. a brush

4. where did curly meet his wife?
a. lakeside dance
b. riverside dance
c. ranch
d. cat house

Conflict questions
1. Who's hand does Lenny crush?
a. Curly
b. George
c. candy
d. curly's wife

2. how did Lenny kill curly's wife?
a. broke her spirit
b. broke her neck
c. crushed her hand
d. shot her

What is the overall theme of all the characters at the ranch?

Loneliness is the best-fit theme for the characters in of mice and men. As the story begins, George explains to Lenny “ Ranch workers are the loneliest people”. When the events unfold and the men actually go to the farm, they come across three people who admit to their loneliness. Curly’s wife is a prime example, and even as a married woman, she still finds herself companionless, as she saunters around the farm in a desperate attempt to speak with another being. Crooks are a black man who is often referred to “Nigger” also suffers from loneliness when he has nothing but books to alleviate that pain. As well as these people, candy is another who is alone, and the only companion he has is killed due to age. Everyone faces vacancy of companionship; even George at the end.

Curly’s wife is always wondering around the ranch as an effort to converse with the guys who are working around the fields, because she is the only woman for miles. She is the wife of curly obviously and even as a partner to someone, she is always alone, and unhappy with her life. The only man she can come into contact with is curly and she even concedes that “ He isn’t’ a nice feller”. When she is finally able to speak to Lenny, she pours out her feelings and exposes her life toward him and tells him how utterly sad she is with curly and she could have made something better of herself.

Crooks is a black man in the early 1900’s, so you can imagine how is life is played due to his race in a farm of a majority of white males. He does not play rummy with the guys or even bunk with them due to his race. He has a room dedicated to books, a way to escape his existence. This character also displays his loneliness to Lenny and tells him “a man goes nuts when he ain’t got no one to talk to”. All he wanted was a friend to “measure the world with” and even tells Lenny, a complete stranger this dark feeling.

Candy is an older man who has an old dog. When the story unfolds further, candy’s dog gets shot in the head because he was described as smelly and no good to himself or nobody else. After his dog is killed, he latches onto Lenny and Georges dream to own a small farm. He even offers to pay $350 to escape his loneliness and join the two in a small fantasy to reach this goal and be happy.

As a result of this book, everyone is lonely. Curly’s wife died because she wanted another person to talk to but it just so happened to go against her and result with her neck busted. Crooks never changed throughout the story besides the one chapter he expresses his feelings towards Lenny. Candy is let down and unable to further grasp that small dream to live on that farm and hoe the garden. As for George and Lenny, They are alone at the end; George kills Lenny and all the dreams created by the men die with Lenny.

Civil War

While thousands of men fought and died in the bloody battles of the civil war, it was the women who were greatly affected. They performed dangerous tasks and filled in the absences of men, and working under the demands of the civil war in factories and farms. Women also played cautious roles of spies and fought secretly in combat. Medical care, provided by women, came with the first hand sights of the horrors of the civil war that these women had experienced. Most women also supplied the soldiers with war tools, food, and a strong source of comfort for the men that were warring off so far from home. These contributions prepared the women early for the struggles they would face, gaining equality.
As the men were off to war, the women assumed jobs in, farms, and took over factories. Some of these duties, however, were very dangerous and caused death to many. One dangerous job women held, was working in munitions factories, making bullets and artillery shells for the union and the confederate armies. In Richmond Virginia, An explosion caused a tragic death of forty women and this was not the first or last time.(1,2)
Both the Union and Confederate forces had successful spies. Women worked well under this title, because they were not suspected as quickly as the men. Rose O’Neil, a successful confederate agent, was responsible for the victory of the battle of Bull Run (1861) with a ten-word secret message that she had sent to general Pierre G.T Beauregard. With her charm, intellect and ambition, she got connected with the Washington society, and used her pack to gain information about the Union troops, thus, transferring her reports to the Confederate troops and eventually Rose got discovered and was thrown in jail. Another spy was Elizabeth Van Lew, who worked for the Union. She was another who charmed her way in. When her foot was in the door to confederate doors, she gleaned military information from Confederate soldiers, guards and prisoners. Her former slave Mary Elizabeth Bowser occupied the white house of the south and received information about the confederacy. While in The home of Jefferson Davis, Mary and Elizabeth accessed war tactics of the south. Elizabeth helped soldiers escape and had them live in a small space in her home, and on February of 1864, she assisted prisoners to escape through a sixty-foot tunnel. To avoid getting caught, Lew stopped brushing her hair, and began to talk to herself to portray that she was mentally unstable. People on the streets called her “Crazy Bet”. In 1865, when Union soldiers took Richmond, she halted the act and was rewarded a Hero. (1,3)
It was absolutely forbidden by both the Union and Confederate Armies that women were not allowed to enlist into battle. Families also disowned women if she had entered into war because it was classified as “ unladylike”. Many women disregarded those rules and joined anyhow. There is no record of exactly how many women actually signed up, but there were accounts of females coming revealed. Frances hook, a 14 year-old girl signed up and was discovered. Like all women, Frances cut her hair short, bounded her breasts, wore pants, and put on the act of walking, talking, and cursing like a man. She transformed into private Frank Miller and told the recruiting officer she was 22 years old. Hook joined to be with her brother; the only person she has left, as most women justified their action. Miller was part of the 11th Illinois regiment and served for 90 days without her gender becoming unmasked. Frank fought in the battle of Fort Henry, and Fort Donelson. While in the battle of Frederickson, Missouri, she was hit in the shoulder where she became hospitalized, and she was discovered. The union discharged her and she then enlisted into the 90th Illinois Infantry, and while looking for food in an abandoned house, she was imprisoned in Atlanta Georgia by the confederacy. Her gender was yet again revealed and she was sent back North. Most women refused treatment in the civil war in fear of becoming discovered. The civil war was much more than the man’s war, but the people of the United but United states fight.

A saw cut through the leg as the man screamed of agony for mercy, and begged for death. The Medical provider undoes the clotted lint, removes the slough, and washes off the blood and matter off the wound. 1 For ten minutes an amputation would occur on the screaming, anaesthetized man. He dares not to look down at the bloody stump, and remains pale, devastated, and full of excruciating pain. Piles of precious parts of the human body lay in a corner stacked from four to five feet. Bloody fingers acted as probes and stained, bloody knives replaced scalpels. Diseases crawled around the hospital set homes and churches such as Aysentery, Measasles, small pox, maleria, pnenmonia, and typhoid fever. Nurses obviously worked under these difficult surroundings, seeing the first hand horrors of the civil war. Doctors were few, giving chances to thousands of women, North and South to help out in the hospitals, working all night long until they passed out from fatigue. Chances like these, utilized women to prove that they can work under these conditions and to show they were smart and strong enough as well. Such women as Clara Barton and Sally Tompkins aided hundreds of troops during the course of the Civil War. Clara Barton (North) initially requested to work in the battles territory and provide medical care to those who were wounded and sick. William A Hammond, a surgeon during the civil war, approved Clara’s deadly movement and Barton took an abundant wagon of water, food and medical supplies and went on her way to battle. Risking her life, Clara dodged bullets and ran for the fallen brothers, and nursed them. After her brave actions, Clara became the founder of the American Red Cross in 1881. Sally Tompkins (South) however, established a hospital in a private home, caring for more than 1300 troops. While in the medical field, Sally had only reported 73 deaths. She was later rewarded to become a captain in the confederate army, when Jefferson Davis, president of the confederate states appointed her. This position made Tompkins the first woman officer in the war. Another bunch of women who contributed to the war and had an immense affect was the sisters at St. josephs of Emmetsburg, Maryland went to the battlefields to aid wounded and sick soldiers for both alliances. They searched for long periods of time for hurt soldiers and helped transport them to hospitals. Women played an enormous role in the medical aspect in the war and still participated in many more activities.
Materials for soldiers were scarce. One group of Georgia women along with many other groups formed raffles, concerts, fairs, and societies to raise money and provide soldiers with supplies. These actions led to soldiers receiving socks, undergarments, shirts, gloves, blankets, shoes, bandages, and more importantly food.4
Women whose sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands were off to war became the source of comfort to those men through letters. A letter dated October 3, 1862, is from a Union officer John P. Jones to his wife Mary Jones. In this letter he describes that Mary Is the center of his happiness in the little time he is given to write to her. John expresses everything he is feeling to this woman and tells her about politics, slavery, battle, and writes to tell her he is worried about her health because she is sick. Jones provides information revealing that he will appreciate home like never before. Writing letters was the troops principal connection to the homes and families they left behind.5
In conclusion, women contributed to many aspects of the civil war and helped many men in combat, helping out in the business world, fighting next to them, nursing the wounded and sick, and leaving a source of comfort for those who were alone, and most of all, proved that they were smart and strong. They were now noticed and perceived as equals.


1.The Nation Splits: A Step Closer to the Civil War
Novi Meadows Elementary, 2002
2. Hart, Diane. Pursuing American Ideals. Palo Alto: Teachers Curriculum Institute, 2008.
3. "Elizabeth Van Lew biography." Lakewood Public Library (Lakewood, Ohio). 16 Mar. 2009 .
4. Frank, Lisa T. "Women during the Civil War." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 15 June 2004. University of Florida, Gainesville. 16 Mar. 2009 .
5. Basker, James and Justine Ahlsrtom, ed. I Take Up My Pen. New York: Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2008.

Don't Be Silly Wrap Your Willy

Condom- A flexible sheath, usually made of thin rubber or latex, designed to cover the penis during sexual intercourse for contraceptive purposes or as a means of preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s), or pregnancy. Without condoms however, teenagers stand a better chance of facing adolescent parenthood and fatal diseases. 2400 Philadelphia Public School students give birth to babies in the course of a year. According to the United States centers for disease control and prevention (CDD) an average of 40,000 to 80,000 new cases of HIV are reported each year in the United States and estimate of one half of these cases are among people younger than 25. Teens are having sex whether we like it or not. On top of that, these young men and women are carrying dangerous diseases such as HIV, AIDS, and HPV. “ I work with young boy and girls who have contracted AIDS,” says 26-year-old Megan Hannah. “ I always supply people with condoms I keep in my car, and hopefully prevent a day’s work”. Another issue everyone faces, is the amount of pregnant teens that are appearing in High schools. “Students are sometime too young for this responsibility and too small pocketed for abortions,” says Helen Jackson a mother of 8. Condoms however are not given out at Constitution High school, but under the school district of Philadelphia board policy number 123: Adolescent sexuality states: schools should provide in-school availability of condoms. So why don’t Constitution high school, which is under the school district, not provided condoms for their students?
“Our school has condoms, It’s nice to be able to get them there for free rather than paying like $5.00 for 3” says Damian Brown, a 17 year old JR. in North East High School, a school also under the School District of Philadelphia.
“It has never been brought to my attention,” says Gina Sedgwick, a 3-year counselor at Constitution High School. “I didn’t even know that other schools even provided condoms”.
Problem solved, Constitution High does not provide in- school availability of condoms because no one has ever mentioned it to any authority figure.