Crooks Relationship Between Of Mice And Men

“Guys don’t come in a colored man’s room very often”(71). With Crooks being the only Colored guy on the ranch he has his own room in the barn. Most of the other men don’t go in his room very much because of his race. “ S’pose you didn’t have nobody”(80). Crooks really doesn’t have anyone to really do things with, like play games or go to town with.

Because Crooks is black he is seen as having less worth than the white ranch hands, because of this he is excluded from the rest of the ranch hands and seen as an outcast. Because he was injured he and his ability to work was lessend he cant work as hard ans the other ranch hands. Crooks always seems like he is angry at every one when he is realy just lonely and wanting to be friends with the other ranch hands. Crooks, Lennie and Candy end up getting to know each other more and helping each others lonelyness.

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

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:

Crooks, the African American stable hand of the Tyler ranch, was discriminated for his skin color and could not imagine his dreams would ever to come true because of it. Crooks grew up on his father’s ranch with his brothers and they were happy. He worked hard for his American Dream of eventually living off the ‘fat of the land’ with George and Lennie. Crooks' home is, a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn “This suggests that he is isolated from the other men and treated like the animals he cares for and as such is made to live with them” (“Effects of Segregation and Racism in Of Mice and Men Chapter 4”). He came to the quick realization that it is impossible to go along with George and Lennie and he does not see any dream with white men possible.

Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, and is often discriminated against by all the other workers at the ranch. He is usually excluded from many activities that all the other men participate in, and is ignored by most of the workers. “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house…cause I’m black…” This quote shows how the other men who work at the ranch reject and isolate Crooks, and how he is forced to have his own bunk house, since he isn’t allowed to reside in the same bunk house as the other workers. Crooks leads a harsh, lonely life, only because the

Being in most ways isolated, Crooks has excitement and great curiosity due to his desperation for social interaction. In chapter 4, page 69, he questions Lennie, “You travel around’ with George don’t ya?”. Crooks is being shown as curious and nosy into Lennie’s relationship with George. However, this is suggesting more into Crooks enjoyment into having a conversation with someone other than himself, by asking questions he keeps the interaction going because he isn’t used to having company.

Crooks has the dream of having a friend and being treated as an equal. Being black, Crooks was born with a disadvantage in achieving the American Dream. Crooks race makes him oppressed, he’s seen as inferior to the white race. “‘If I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it […] This is just a nigger talkin’, an’ a busted-back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing, see?’” (70/71). Crooks is clearly bitter about the fact that he doesn’t have basic human rights like the other white men on the farm, simply because he’s black. Secondly, because of his skin color, he’s isolated to his barn with no one to talk to. “‘A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ or thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to some other guy and last him if he sees it too. He can’t tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn’t drunk. I don't know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an’ then it would be all right. But i jus’ don’t know.’” (73). Crooks longs to have someone be by his side, so he doesn’t have to keep imagining things. Finally, Crooks has a bad back, which makes working thoroughly and affectively much

His distance and impoliteness is simply a defence mechanism against hurt and pain that others impose upon him, and it grows stronger with every criticism. When Lennie is continuously struggling to enter Crooks’ room, he is constantly aiming at Lennie hoping for him to leave. However, Lennie manages to “disarm” him, a connotation can be made between disarming someone and weaponry. This

Even though Crooks, a black stable hand, has been around the Ranch longer than most people and he is still probably one of the most lonely. This lack of contact with other people has made him severely bitter especially when people enter his personal space. He creates his personal space with books because it helps him cope with the loneliness. So when Lennie tries to befriend him he freaks out by exclaiming, “You got no right to come in to my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in her but me.”(68) In addition to Crooks being lonely he is also segregated from all the other workers. He lives in the barn with the animals instead of the bunkhouse with the others. It’s also very hard for Crooks to associate with the others, because during the time period blacks are seen as a lower class of people. When Crooks states, “Guys don’t come in to a colored man’s room very much.”(75) It shows how little contact he has with the others because of how segregated he is. This segregation mirrors the Jim Crow laws that were active during this period. Crooks’s treatment on the ranch represents the racial discrimination against blacks in

Crooks the stable hand at the ranch that George and Lennie come to work at. Crooks has an American Dream just like George and Lennie. Crooks is African American so during this time period some people at the ranch are discriminating against him because of his race. “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (p.81). Even though Crooks supposed to be free from all discrimination people still haven’t changed. Crooks someday dreams of playing cards with the other fellows at the ranch but mostly he wants to be equal. “S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black...A guy needs somebody-to be near him” (p.72). Crooks wants to be treated just like the other people on the ranch. He’s not allowed in the bunkhouse because of his race. Crooks has been forced to sleep alone, away from the other workers on the ranch who sleep and play cards together in the bunkhouse. “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black” (p.68). The dream of all becoming equal is very common with many African Americans during this time period. Curley’s Wife also discriminating Crooks. “You know what I could do to you if you open up your trap” (p.80). Every time Crooks stands up for himself he just gets pushed over and never really acknowledged. Crooks also threatened by Curley's wife. She’s nearly at the bottom of the pile in the leadership of the ranch, but she still has power over Crooks. Crooks dreams that there will be a place and time where people won’t judge people by the color of their skin. Even though Crooks has a great American dream in mind he’s likely to not complete his dream. The Boss and Curley have shown that they do not trust Crooks at

Chapter 4: “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” [223]

     Crooks is also a proud man, sometimes causing him to forget his lack of authority of the ranch. Crooks grew up on a farm owned by his father where he was respected as an equal to the white men. Now on this ranch on California he is discriminated against and segregated. His pride is shown when he defends Lennie against Curley’s wife, but when she lashed out at him, he knows he must back down or face the consequences. Those consequences would probably be being lynched. Inside he knows he is equal to every other man on the ranch, but if he expressed these thoughts he would probably be forced out of the farm, or even worse possibly. Crooks is a bright man. He knows his rights, but he also knows that being a black man in California his rights didn’t mean anything if he made a mistake and crossed his boundaries.

Crooks seems powerless because the other workers on the ranch isolate him as a result of his race. In the novella, Crooks has his own living space and bedroom that is separated from the others; he rarely lets anyone come into his room. One day, Lennie, an outsider with a mental disability enters his room and starts to talk with Crooks. “‘Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink’” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks knows that because he is

In the novel "Of Mice and Men" John Steinbeck, the author, uses the character of Crooks to represent racism and symbolize the marginalization of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set. Crooks is significant as he provides an insight into the reality of the American Dream and the feelings of all the ranchers: their loneliness and need for company and human interaction. Crooks got his name from his "crooked back," this suggests he represents something different and he is not your average ranch hand. The reader has to decide whether Crooks deserves sympathy, or if he is just a bitter, cruel and gruff stable-buck.