Of Mice And Men Chapter 4 Essay

John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was an American author wrote many novels including one of his most famous, Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men teaches many lessons about the nature of human existence. Each relationship grows throughout this short story and end with a dramatic experience. All of the characters, including Lennie, George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, admit, at one time or another, to having a profound sense of isolation, seclusion and loneliness.

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.

I believe that Crooks is most similar to Candy as in the social hierarchy of the ranch, both suffer from a disability that places them in the lowest rank. As mentioned, Crooks is lonely and isolated from the others due to the colour of his skin, yet Candy is lonely because he’s not as abled as the other workers. Because he is handicapped, he cannot do the work that the other men do, so when they go off to do work, Candy is left behind. The theme of loneliness is conveyed throughout the novel. Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. He uses sexism, racism and ageism to get his message across. When George talks to Candy and his antiquated dog, Candy states to the inarticulate George:

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

Crooks is a minority character introduced in chapter 4. Page 66 reads “negro stable buck.” Crooks’ character is introduced exactly the way he would be seen by other ranch workers. Steinbeck’s intentions of presenting

Steinbeck used more than just indirect and direct characterizations to show Crooks’ personality, he also used literary devices. Steinbeck used tone to relay Crooks realistic down to earth side. When talking to Lennie, Crooks had a more realistic down to earth feeling, while Lennie’s tone was more dreamlike, with everything working out in the end and everyone happy. While talking to Lennie and Candy about the dream, Crooks says, “You guys kiddin’ yourself. You’ll talk about it a hell of a lot, but you won’t get no land.” Although Steinbeck doesn’t say it directly, he shows us through Crooks and Lennie’s dialogue that Crooks is a very down to earth person. While Candy and Lennie are both fooled by the dream, Crooks shows himself not to be so gullible. Steinbeck also uses the setting to show Crooks’ loneliness. Crooks’ shack is literally separated from everyone else. The setting is detached from everyone else, just as Crooks’ is. Even though Lennie comes and gives Crooks some company, that does not help him at the root of the problem; Crooks lives being separated from everyone else, all he did was bring comfort with the ideas of a dream, one that Crooks knew would not happen.

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

Steinbeck uses symbolism in his book very well. The most prominent to me was what owning land meant to each of the men. It was the hope and freedom for their unhappy lives. This seems to be a constant theme throughout the book. The more George and Lennie speak of their dream of owning a house on a farm, the more you realize that is the ultimate commodity to these constantly working men. Many of the men expressed how unrealistic their dream was, but relished in the idea nevertheless. Lennie held on to the dream even the seconds before his death. I would

     Friendship played a big part in the story. All the incidents that happened between friends throughout the book led to the tragic end . One thing can make you believe you can accomplish anything in the world. George believed in himself to accomplish his goal of having a farm , but at the end

John Steinback’s Of Mice and Men is a book that describes the chase of the American Dream. Although achieving the American Dream is a great desire for all, seldom does it actually come true. George and Lennie, the two main characters in the book, have a goal of pursuing their version of the American Dream, as do many other characters. However, due to relationships and other conflicts, that dream is not achieved.

other hand, is the taller of the two, but also the dumbest, due to his

The realistic fiction novella Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck explains the journey of two migrant farm workers. Lennie and George are forced to overcome the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression around 1938. This makes jobs even harder to come by because everyone wanted one. Lennie and George were kicked out of Weed and they now work at a ranch in Soledad. At the new farm the friendship between Lennie and George becomes harder to maintain. The people on the farm are all different shapes, sizes, and are from different backgrounds, yet they all are very familiar with one concept: loneliness. The character most familiar with this concept is Crooks. In Of mice and men, John Steinbeck creates the isolated characterization of Crooks by describing how he looks, what he says, and his actions to emphasize the theme of loneliness and how it can make people harsh and sad that occurs throughout the book.

Of Mice And Men The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ reveal life in the 1930’s. A time very diverse to ours. Steinback, the author of this novel wrote about various issues such as lifestyle of the travelling ranchmen, loneliness, friendship, the American dream, racism and sexism. The book is about two migrant labourers, George Milton and Lennie Small in California.

Crooks is the stable buck. He is different from the rest because he is black, in a time where racial prejudice is strong. He has also been crippled, and so his life is very bad. He lives separately to the others in his own room, the harness room. He has books on his shelves, which shows that he is more intellectual than the others. He has fond memories of his past, when he and his white friends would play on their chicken ranch, and were oblivious as to why their parents didn't like it. Now he knows why, and he hates the fact that he can't come into the bunkhouse to play cards, but has to spend all his free time by himself. The white people exclude him, so instead of pleading with them he decides he is going to exclude them as well.

While Of Mice and Men may be an incredibly crappy novel, there is one thing that isn´t so bad, being that the reader can somewhat relate to the characters, or at least understand them. In the story, two friends, Lennie and George, decide to work on a ranch for some quick money. However, Lennie, being slow on the draw, accidently kills one of the people on the ranch. George decides to kill his friend before the others do. Lennie, George, and Crooks are the three characters come to mind in terms of affinity.