How Does John Steinbeck Present Crooks in of Mice and Men Essay

Crooks himself says, “This is just a nigger talkin’, an’ a busted-back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing, see? You couldn’t remember it anyways. I seen it over an’ over” (Steinbeck 71). His words show the prejudiced and unsympathetic opinions of society towards blacks. Nobody cares about what he says, simply due to his skin color, revealing an external conflict between Crooks and white society. In addition, Crooks further explains his treatment on the farm: "'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, all of you stink to me'" (Steinbeck 68). He is denied entertainment and the company with the fellow farm workers. "They say I stink" refers to their disapproval of Crooks, likely due to his race. However, Crooks shows his own negative feelings towards others on the farm when Lennie tries to talk to him, saying “‘Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room’” (Steinbeck 68). Since the whites on the farm physically isolate Crooks, in return, he dislikes any of their attempts to enter his room. For Crooks, his internal and external conflicts stem from racism, and the suffering that results is described

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

Also he tends to react in this way because he is insecure about himself. Crooks, and his character development, is the outcome of him being isolated, lonely, separated from others, and discriminated against. Loneliness drives the way that people think, and how they feel. As Crooks trys to explain to Lennie how lucky he is to have someone to lean on, he feels a sense of sorrow, because what he is telling Lennie, is his life. Crooks proclaims to Lennie, “Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that? Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody--to be near him.” He 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” (72-73). This quote specifically is talking about Crooks life, and what he goes through everyday. That day Lennie became Crooks somebody, which is something he has never experienced before. At first he was hesitant about Lennie, but because he never talks to anyone, Crooks let him in because he realized that Lennie could be that somebody, somebody to talk to and connect with. Crooks symbolically represents loneliness, and the negative effects of not building/having

Chapter Four of John Steinbeck's emotionally moving, but bleak, novel, Of Mice and Men, is devoted to the character of Crooks. The chapter begins and ends with this recluse character applying liniment, a medicinal fluid rubbed into the skin to soothe pain or relieve stiffness, to his "crooked" back. One of the first impressions given to readers is of his physical pain- which presumable parallels his emotional, or spiritual pain. More to the point, however, the first five words of the chapter, "Crooks, the negro stable buck.." (66), characterize the key element driving this characters particular shade of lonliness. For in contrast to the lonliness of Candy or of Curly's wife, Crooks is devided from the world by his race. So, on one level,

In the novella Of Mice and Men the character Crooks is an African American worker on a ranch in California. Crooks can be identified as an archetype character because of the nickname people gave him. Crooks is nicknamed “Crooks” due to his back injury that he suffered when a horse kicked his back. After his injury he could not walk normal as he used to, and he began to walk with difficulties. People began calling him “Crooks” due to his crooked back, and people usually nickname other people due to their physical appearance.

     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

Crooks talks about being black sucks, because you are secluded and alone. All of the guys go into Crooks room and he talks about how Loneliness can kill a man. “A guy needs somebody--to be near him.” He 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 guys gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” (Steinbeck 78). It is very clear how lonely Crooks is, he just wants somebody with him and he doesn’t care who it is, but another theme back then is the strong vs. the

Crooks was treated completely over skin color and he was going crazy living our with the Mules and Horses. He was talking completely pessimistic about completely everything to Lennie about George because he was going crazy, Crooks was angry that they segregated him completely and all he wanted to do was talk to everyone and play cards. They made him read books for fun, he talked to Lennie like he was a crazy old idiot. He finally had somebody to talk to but he was rude to him, he was telling Lennie that George wasn’t going to come back and he left you here on the farm. Crooks was lonely he said, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody don’t make a difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you,” (72).

Everyone feels lonely and left out at some point in their lives. This feeling may only be in one’s head and they may have no good reasons to believe they're being excluded or treated differently than others, but most of the time there is a good reason for them to feel this way. If this feeling of being left out continues for a long period of time. They can become consumed by it and they may become mad and insecure. This is what happens to Steinbeck’s character, Crooks, in Of Mice and Men. Crooks’s insecurity in the novella comes solely from a lifetime of being treated differently than other men.

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Crooks, the African-American stable buck, is very different from the other ranch hands for many reasons. When Lennie goes into Crook’s shed, the reader learns that Crooks has a “‘busted-back’” (71) man, who is “more permanent than the other men” (67), due to him being a cripple. Other than Candy, the other men on the ranch seem to be young and healthy, which is a stark contrast from Crooks. In addition, Crooks is also the only black man on the ranch, and he is discriminated against because of it. When Lennie asks him why he can't play cards with the others, Crooks replies, “‘They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink’” (68). It is clear that Crooks wants to be included,

In the early 1900’s African Americans were treated very cruely. In the story Of Mice and Men a farm worker explains and shows the difficulties of being a black man in this time period. Being a African American in the time period of the story was rough, blacks were treated poorly and not many people cared about them and there well being. The character in the novel name is Crooks, and he is living with a negative impression because being alone makes him go crazy. Crooks is a quiet character throughout the novel but he is powerful in explaining how being alone causes a man to become insane.

The novel Of Mice and Men was set during The Great Depression and after the 1929 Wall Street Crash in California. There was a great deal of financial instability in America during the time and this resulted in many individuals looking out solely for themselves. Some minority groups in society were pushed to the periphery as individuals continued their pursuits for the elusive American Dream. One such group in America who were marginalised were those with black skin. The character Crooks has been included in the novel to represent all black people at the time who were struggling in their fight for equality.

Another lonely character is Crooks, the African- American stable hand who works on the ranch. Sadly, Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, so he is cast aside for his skin color. One day, Lennie goes into Crook’s little shack, and Crooks gets angry. He knows that he is not welcome in the bunkhouse so he doesn't know why Lennie is aloud in his room. In the end, he is happy for the company, as the none of the other ranch hands talk to him. Knowing Lennie will not pick up on anything he says, Crooks rambles about his plight. Having nobody like you or that you can identify with is extremely isolating and annoying, especially during the Great Depression when black people are not thought of positively. Crooks even admits. Although in vain,

Crooks works hard all of his life, and is the only black man on the ranch. The men on the ranch treat him poorly because of his race. This is shown when he says, “cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink,” (Pg 68).

It reflects the loneliness Crooks has to bear. The light seems to be almost swallowed up by the darkness in the same way that Crooks is swallowed up by loneliness. This makes him appear weak and vulnerable, just like the light. The depth of despair described by Steinbeck makes the reader think that Crooks will never be able to achieve the American Dream. The fewpossessions Crooks has are described as ‘mauled’, ‘battered’ and ‘tattered’, adjectives that reflect the poverty he lives in, in which nothing is new.