Brotherhood In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Lennie’s mental problems are what get him in trouble and force him to rely on George for the basic necessities of life. Crooks’ skin colour keeps him separated from the rest of society and causes him a great deal of anger. The feelings of loneliness that most of the characters feel makes them intrude onto other people’s relationships in an attempt to find some form of companionship. The hardest part about seeing the struggles that Steinbeck presents us with is that we see people struggle in the same way

In addition, Crooks also does not know how to relate and function normally anymore because of how his loneliness has effected him. Crooks 's animosity was exemplified when Lennie comes into his room unannounced. He greets Lennie with: "Come on in and set a while... 'Long as you won 't get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down." Crooks has been lonely for so long that he expects people not to talk to him. When Lennie comes in and does not have any intention of hurting him, he realizes it and he let 's his guard down. It may seem that he doesn 't desire friendships or affection, but he no longer knows how to deal with his loneliness. It has made him into another person, one that obtains a relentless hostility toward anyone and everyone that gets close to

Lennie disarms Crooks’ initial hostility with his simplicity which results in Crooks becoming softened by Lennie’s smile. Due to the fact he has been discriminated against and been isolated for so long, Crooks torments Lennie by suggesting George may not come back from town. His cynical behaviour isn’t deliberate but I think Crooks feels like Lennie has invaded his personal space to insult or bully him.

Lennie being mentally much less able gives the ideal opportunity to help exercise some authority in Crooks‘ life. Page 71 for instance, “S’pose George don’t come back no more. (…) What’ll you do then?” is terminative. By this stage of the chapter, there has been a power shift. Crooks is fully aware of the distress this would cause Lennie, as he would struggle to manage alone. The terminative comments are cruel and are linked to his jealousy of the companionship of George and Lennie, page 71 one quotes a “private victory” and even pleasure in some way. Steinbeck is presenting the bad streak that loneliness is drawing from Crooks, as a minority character.

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.

What do you think Steinbeck says about the theme of friendship in Of Mice and Men?

This attachment is made towards Lennie by both Crooks and Curley’s wife. They take advantage of Lennie’s disability, and use him to assuage their solitude. Curley’s wife complains to Lennie of her isolation while in the barn, saying, “I get lonely,’(...) ‘You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.” (Steinbeck, 87) She establishes outright that she is lonely, and uses that to persuade Lennie to speak to her. This was, however, unhealthy because she didn’t actually care about Lennie. When he stayed with her, she only talked about her past, and vented her issues, without a care for Lennie. In the same fashion, Crooks also chose to ignore any emotional needs that Lennie may have, preferring to speak only to alleviate his loneliness. When Lennie comes to Crooks’ room, Crooks is so desperate for another person to talk to-for a chance to be social-that it doesn’t matter to him that his words fall on deaf ears. He revels in the company, explaining, “So it don’t mean nothing, see? You couldn’t remember it anyways. I seen it over an’ over- a guy talkin’ to another guy and it don’t make no difference if he don’t hear or understand.”(Steinbeck, 71) This encounter between Crooks and Lennie affirms the fact that theirs isn’t a symbiotic relationship. Crooks is fueled by his need for human contact, and it makes absolutely no difference to him what Lennie feels or thinks. He is dependent on Lennie’s defective brain for assurance that he can just talk without having to worry, though a healthy relationship should include mutual understanding and care. Isolation is evidently not best relieved through a flimsy form of

As Thomas Aquinas states, “There is nothing on this earth more prized than true friendship.” Friends cheer each other up when they are sad and support them when they are happy. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, two migrant workers, George and Lennie, arrive as newcomers on the ranch. Throughout the story, different problems are thrown their way, and their friendship is tested with each one. George shows how true friendship requires sacrifice because friends sacrifice personal freedom, they protect each other, and they sacrifice emotional energy.

     Crooks is fascinated by the strength of the friendship of Lennie and George especially how close they are. Crooks said, "Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?" (Steinbeck, 79) Crooks asks these questions because he does not have any friends. He was curious about the friendship of Lennie and George. He wants the people to feel the way that he did when he was lonely, having nobody with them. He is striving to achieve sympathy and understanding from others. Crooks would work for

Of Mice and Men may be the most thrilling, suspenseful story of its era. The theme builds on friendship. How are some of the characters are lonely? Also how Steinbeck portrays friendship in this novel. What I think this book is about is having life long friends and, is it always the way to go even if you have to do something so bad I will end the friendship.

But despite Crooks being isolated from the other workers, he still values friendship, perhaps more so than most of the other workers. When Crooks is talking to Lennie in the stables, he confesses, “'A guy needs somebody – to be near him. […] A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you'” (72). Crooks values companionship, but is all alone as an adult. He is jealous of Lennie, who has always had George to look after him. Lennie doesn't understand what it's like for Crooks not to have anyone who is always there for him. He tries to make Lennie understand by saying “S'pose George don't come back no more” (71). Lennie can't imagine what it would be like without George, and can't understand Crooks' loneliness.In addition, when Candy asks Crooks if he wants to come into the barn, Crooks replies, “'Come on in. If ever'body's comin' in, you might just as well.' It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with

     In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the character named Crooks was segregated from the other men because he is black. This caused him to be lonely. He was forced to sleep in a separate bunk than the others. Trapped in solitude all night long; he resorts to books as his only companion. Trying to portray himself as proud and aloof by his own will, but inside is happy to be around the other men. Crooks first tried to make Lennie leave his room but then he decided that Lennie would not understand and that he actually wanted someone to talk with. During his conversation with Lennie Crooks reveals his loneliness on the ranch. “I seen it over an’ over

In the novel of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses multiple characters to show how companionship is valuable in rough times. The author places the setting during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. The Dust Bowl was a time of intense hardship and caused many people to lose hope. In the book, George and Lennie are ranch hands. They have been through, and taken care of each other in the rough times throughout the dustbowl. Steinbeck uses multiple unique characters to prove that people should learn how much companionship is valuable in rough times.

We see the interview with the boss, George becomes protective toward Lennie, “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.”(P43) and when Curley’s wife enters into the attention George is seriously apprehensive about Lennie, “Listen to me… you leave her be.”(P54). Later on, when George finds Lennie in Crook’s, the stable buck’s, room, he looks disapprovingly at Lennie, “George stood framed in the door, and he looked disapprovingly.”(P115), this is very parent like. Steinbeck reinforces the contrast between them and everybody else. Slims says “Ain’t many guys travel around together”(P57)

Imagine going through life without having any friends. The story Of Mice and Men, by