Explore the Ways Steinbeck Presents and Develops Relationships Between Crooks and the Other Characters in the Novel ‘of Mice and Men’

For example, Steinbeck writes, “‘A guy needs somebody—to be near him.’ He [Crooks] whined, ‘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. I tell ya,’ he cried, ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick’” (Steinbeck 72). The words “whined” and cried” reveal the sheer desperation Crooks feels. He is internally afraid, as suggested by calling himself “guy” instead of using “I” or “me.” Furthermore, Crooks initially shows a desire to be a part of Candy’s dream, but after Curley’s wife mentions that she “could get you [Crooks] strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 81), Crooks later says, “I didn't mean it. Jus’ foolin’” (Steinbeck 83). After Curley’s wife threatens Crooks racially, he quickly stops and considers his position in a racist society, realizing that his aspirations are futile. Steinbeck does not merely show Crooks’ “weak” side, since Crooks does exhibit a hostile nature: “Crooks said darkly, “Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much. Nobody been here but Slim'...Candy quickly changed the subject" (Steinbeck 75). Crooks talking “darkly” implies a threatening nature, and whenever a white man intrudes, due to all the racism he has endured, Crooks takes the chance to speak against them. His actions seem to work, since Candy “quickly changed the subject,” demonstrating his fear of entering Crooks’ room. Though he never directly mentions that he

Just as Havisham and Curley’s wife’s isolation is because of their gender, Crooks in “Of Mice and Men” is presented as the epitome of the frustration and loneliness caused by isolation. However, Crooks’s isolation is not due to his gender, but his colour and race. In “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck presents Crooks as an isolated character due to his race. He names Crooks as Crooks because he has a crooked back and he is called “Nigger” implying that he is unimportant. Steinbeck portrays Crooks’s loneliness through “this is just a nigger talking a bust-back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing” and “nobody’d listen to you”, these can be inferred as Crooks has a low status in the ranch, no one has ever listened to him. This can also be referred to the

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:

One night when George goes out with the other men he leaves Lennie alone to play with his pup when he wanders into Crook’s room. Even though the majority of the time Crooks plays mind games with Lennie he ends up expressing his dream of equality. At this time period black people are still heavily discriminated against which effects how others treat him and how he accepts others. "'Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me." (Steinbeck ___). Even though Crooks is just like all the other men on the farm he is still viewed in a negative way because of his skin colour. Afterwards, Crooks begins to describe his child hood discrimination does not exist and giving him a sense of

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

Chapter 4 of the ‘Of Mice and Men’ novella introduces a character named Crooks. Crooks isn’t shown as a main character of the story, but is given much light in this chapter. Crooks is a black man set on a 1930’s ranch, working as a stable buck. Steinbeck presents the Character of Crooks to us as he wouldn’t of been considered during the times of the ‘Great Depression’ and shows us the negative stereotypes of black people in an American 1930’s society.

Steinbeck initially presents Crooks in a dialogue between George and Candy though he himself was absent. This signifies that they may not have been friends with Crooks because they were discussing him without his presence. Steinbeck possibly did this to give the audience secondary insight on Crooks’ character before he is

Loneliness is one of many central themes in John Steinbeck’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the story many characters sought after the company and attention of others. Each character has a certain barrier that keeps them isolated from the outside world. Three characters who portray this loneliness throughout the novella are Crooks, Curly’s wife, and Candy. Each having a different wall between them and society.

He yearns to be seen as an equal to everyone else, wishes to be self-sufficient, to have a companion, and to be able to live a life of his own choosing. This dream is significant to Crooks since it provides him with a feeling of confidence, self- dignity, and pride that was not so often appreciated during the time when he was feeling lonely. To be specific, in Chapter Four, when he is conversing with Lennie and Candy about the dream farm that Lennie frequently speaks about, Crooks promises to work for nothing as long as he can live his life out there without the fear of being put out (Steinbeck). Perhaps, with the help of Lennie and the others, it could have been a true reality to be free and successful. But, the undeniable circumstances, such as the discrimination Crooks faced, would not have gotten him very far as he would have liked to. To illustrate, Crooks is “put in his place” by Curley’s wife, when he voices out his feelings, causing him to lose his pride and hope to be seen as an equal to the other white men at the ranch. Due to the prejudice Crooks faces because of his race, the overpowering circumstance dooms his desires to be independent and equal. After all, he wishes to acquire the perfect American Dream. But, there is no security for anyone in a prejudiced world, least of all a black stable hand with a crooked back. Hence, the cruel and unequal circumstances Crooks encounters in Of Mice And Men restricts him from fulfilling his dreams and

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

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

In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, the character of Crooks is used by John Steinbeck, the author, to symbolise the downgrading of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel was set. Crooks is also significant as he provides an insight into the reality of the American Dream and the feelings of the people in the ranch; their loneliness and need for company.

In the novella, ‘Of Mice and Men’, the characters of Slim and Curley are created to have a strong influence on the other workers’ lives. While both the characters make an impact with the way they are presented, Steinbeck portrays them both very differently. He does this by giving the reader different impressions when each of the characters are introduced, the idiosyncrasies the author has given them, the way they treat others, how the rest of the characters react to the characteristics of Curley and Slim and why they influence particular characters.

John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men is an extraordinary novel with unique characteristics. The novel is about an uncommon friendship between two extremely different individuals who are living and working together. This story belong to the genres tragic realistic fiction, historical fiction and drama. The linking between the novel and The Great Depression emphasizes throughout the story, which makes the novel very realistic and down to earth. The author touches on several themes such as: the unreachable American dream, the economic injustices, loneliness, friendship and people’s propensity for cruelty. In this book review, we will get into a deeper understanding of what the actual story means.

This key root involved George and Lennie dream of handling their own ranch; however, Lennie’s tragic end was the result of his innocence that caused the death of Curley’s wife making his death inevitable by George that ultimately crushed their dream. In addition to, the reader witnesses how Curley’s wife had her own aspirations and dreams of becoming an actress ever since she grew up in Salinas (Steinbeck’s hometown), but it was crushed due to her mother’s hegemony and her marriage with Curley which she opposes. On the other hand, Attell’s analysis also validates social realism with Crooks. Crooks, a black man, is shunned out by the white society because of his race that led him to his unfortunate fate of being discriminated from the prejudiced