Analysis Of Curley 's ' Of Mice And Men '

The character in Of Mice and Men that is most similar to Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is Curley. Curley and Tom Buchanan have many similarities throughout both books. These shared characteristics stem from one thing both men have an abundance of: privilege. Curley and Tom are easily two characters with the least amount of struggle in The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men.

In the book, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the Author makes the point that men are going to achieve their dream over the women in the novel by using Curley and his wife as examples. Curley wanted to become a boxer, so he did. Curley’s wife wanted to become and actress, but the execution of her dream relied on other people. Curley wanted a wife, so he set out to find one. Curley’s wife only married Curley because she couldn’t pursue her dream. Curley didn’t have to work for his position on the ranch because his father is the boss. Steinbeck is saying through the book Of Mice and Men that the American dream during the 1930s was only attainable by men that pursued it, Steinbeck uses the characters of Curley and his wife to prove this point.

Curley is one of ‘Of Mice and Men’s’ major characters. Although he does not appear to hold a central role, he is very important in other respects. The first of these is the way in which he treats George and Lennie, and the ranch workers in general on the ranch. Curley is the boss’ son. Therefore he acts like he is the boss himself. He orders the others around, and, although it is true that he does hold some power on the ranch, he does not hold any respect from the workers. He is nasty towards them, treating as though they are them below him, and often trying to pick fights.

Crooks is a literate black man who tends horses on the ranch. He has long been the victim of oppressive violence and prejudice and has retired behind a facade of aloofness and reserve, his natural personality deadened and suppressed by years of antagonism. Crooks is the only black man in the novel. He has a cynical intelligence and a contemptuous demeanor that he uses to prevent others from inevitably excluding him because of his race. This sign of intelligence is conveyed when Steinbeck describes Crook’s bunkhouse:

The character of Crooks is a victim of intolerance and discrimination throughout the novel. Society takes advantage of Crooks and neglects him because of the stereotypes of his skin colour. Crooks is not allowed to enter the bunk house where the white men sleep, or dine with them. He is left with the animals, isolated from everyone and exploited by most of the men on the

In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses Curley to portray the many hardships throughout the Great Depression. His actions are the basis of daily life during this unfortunate time, as well as the mini battles between characters. It is critical to understand one’s perspective on life through examples experienced by each and every character. Curley had many conflicts within himself as well as with other people and society around him, the Great Depression sparks the never ending fire that fuels the internal and external conflicts surrounding Curley. During the book, Curley cannot figure out how to win the battle against himself, despite the help floating in the air he is unable to grasp a hold on the civilized version of Curley. However, it doesn’t contribute to the fact that he is having problem with everybody else as well. Starting at taking advantage of his very own wife to bullying George and Lennie for being bigger and stronger. Curley wants to control everybody and when the power is taken away from him, his temper grows to become a scramble of fear and anger causing

This essay will uncover information about the “Negro Stable Buck”, named Crooks in of Mice and Men. The essay will analyze information regarding crooks, in link to themes such as the unattainable American dream, themes of racial discrimination , as well as themes such as loneliness and isolation. An understanding of the character of Crooks requires an understanding of the status of black people in the West during the time of when the book is set, during the 1920s Depression, as it can be seen during the novel, and especially throughout Chapter 4, that Crook’s experiences on the ranch were those almost indistinguishable from the rest of Black Americans during the era when

Crooks is the stable boy, he is neat, likes books and is pretty quiet. He is also black, because of this he is discriminated be the other men at the farm. This prejudice leads Crooks to be extreme isolated, left to tend the horses alone. When Lennie tries to make friends with Crooks he reacts defensively, as the text states, “Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him. "Come on in and set a while," Crooks said. "'Long as you won't get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down." His tone was a little more friendly.” This quote shows that since Crooks hasn’t had any friends for so long that he almost can't deal with someone trying to be nice and interact with him.

The character of Crooks is used to symbolize the social standing of the black community occurring during the time at which the novel is set. Crooks is a lonely African American on the farm that feels out of place. As George and Lennie explain their dream to Crooks he brushes them off and says that no one around here can implement their dreams. This realism gives the reader an impression that Crooks has absolutely no hope. However, Crooks may be pessimistic, but yet even he has a dream, which is the hope of one day experiencing the joys of his childhood again. Crooks' character is portrayed as very lonely in the novel, this is evident when Crooks explains, "A guy needs someone." (Mice 77). Crooks is telling the reader the need of human interaction. This realism that Steinbeck uses shows the reader the harsh realities of the black community during the time of the depression in the 1930's

"'Cause I'm black.” (Stienbeck,2002). This is exemplifies how he is racially isolated. When Crooks was younger he had family but he was part of the only non-white family in the area and therefore had little companionship from an early age. While you could argue that because he has known nothing but loneliness he would therefore have no knowledge of another way of being it is hinted that Crooks used to be part of a relatively wealthy family with companions. He says, “"I remember when I was a little kid on my old man's chicken ranch. Had two brothers. They was always near me, always there.” (Stienbeck,2002). These examples both paint Crooks as a mournful person missing his old life and feeling constant loneliness regarding his current life. Crooks is also isolated by his community.

Crooks was a colored man which made him set apart from the others at the ranch. Crooks came off as character who was ornery, and wanted to spend his time alone. But as we learn more about him we begin to realize that as much as he makes it seem like he wants to be alone he really doesn’t want to and this quote shows that. “ ‘Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down.” (pg.69) Crooks was in some ways similar to Whit because Whit was someone who for a while Lennie and George didn’t even know about until Candy told them that he quit and he didn’t even for sure know why he was quitting, just assumed it was the food. It shows that some of the men at the ranch are kind of just left on their own and the other guys don’t really care to involve themselves in the other guy’s lives. So Crooks dream was to not be lonely that is why he finally agreed and casually says that he would come along so they would have an extra set of helping hands. Crooks says “ I aint so crippled I can’t work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to.”(pg.76) This just goes to show that even if someone doesn’t say their exact thoughts that there aren’t more intentions behind

The character Crooks has shown loneliness throughout the whole story and that drives him to a point where he doesn’t want to be existent to all the other men. In the middle of the book Lennie and Crooks start a conversation and Crooks explains how he’s feeling. Steinbeck writes, “‘They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me’”(68). Crooks doesn’t get much sympathy from the men because he is black. He is so desperate to play cards with the guys, but all of them leave him out and makes him feel even more lonely. Crooks experiences the most desolation because the men tell him that he “stinks” and can’t play cards because he’s “black. In addition to the last example, the novel also explains in the story how separated Crooks is from everybody else and shows us how alone he actually is. Crooks is the most lonely character in the novel and it shows by his actions and personality. Steinbeck shows, “This room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs” (67). He felt desperate enough to tell the men to keep their distance so he

Deep down inside, each person has a strong desire for a companion. Someone you can trust, who you can learn from and teach, but most importantly, one who can always be there for you no matter what happens. The relationship between the intelligent and feeble George Milton and the imbecile, but vigorous Lennie Small is displayed as the main objective in Steinbeck 's novel, Of Mice and Men. The description among these two characters is a form of juxtaposition because the two characters vary in several ways. The author’s intention of using this technique points out the differences between characters and how their personalities counteract each other significantly.

Crooks is mentioned in chapter four as the black guy who has his own living area due to the color of his skin. Because of Crooks’ age and race, readers can learn that he is isolated from from white people and made “invisible” by society. Despite his experiences, Crooks longs to

Crooks is different from the previous two characters in that he is affected by power not because he has it, but because he has none. Crooks has absolutely no power when it comes to daily life on the ranch. He is not even able to come into the house with everyone else. His lack of power originates from his skin color. This book takes place during the Great Depression, an era where slavery was abolished but racism was still very common in daily life. Blacks and Whites were still segregated and African Americans were still treated very poorly. When Crooks is explaining how he has nobody to talk to and all he can do is play horseshoes and read books, he tells Lennie “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely” (Steinbeck 73). This passage can lead to inferences such as: he feels that because he is black he cannot do many activities and cannot be with others. His lack of power is used against him by Curley and his Wife. In the same section of the book as above, when Curley’s wife comes in, Crooks tells her to get out of his room and she responds by threatening to get him hanged by the neck. Crooks’s lack of power is bad for him as it limits his choices in life and doesn’t allow him to follow his