CliffsNotes-Abridged

I spoke quite awhile ago on the role of modern education in the slow and painful death of joy in the act of reading.

I even believe I spoke of Steinbeck.

And I thought about it today as I listened to MPR discuss young adult fiction.


And then my kids discussed the wonderful fact that my daughter would not have to reread "Of Mice and Men" for high school. She not only read it in middle school, but read most of it aloud in middle school.

And here I thought they activly tried to prevent suicide in that age group...

So as we discussed the book, she gave me her "concise" book report on John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". Not necessarily politically correct, but I love it nonetheless.

Ladies and gentlemen, my daughter...

What "Of Mice and Men" is really about:

So basically this normal guy and this retard want a farm, so they go to
work on some other guys farm to make money.
The retard gets wood for crushing mice and also this guys wife who has
a really crotchety attitude for the retardeds.
Inevitably the retard goes and breaks the guys wife and they go to
shoot the retarded. His friend finds him first and
shoots him in the head.

John Steinbeck gets a shit load of literary cock for the short story
about retarded people and how they fuck up your plans.

God bless us, one and all.

I'd love to get her breakdown on "Look Homeward Angel" but I have to admit, I love her too much.