Power In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

While Lennie’s disability is invisible, Crooks’ obstacle is his skin. For his whole life, his family had been separated from the rest of their community. And since Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, he is still being isolated from the rest of the workers and

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.

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

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.

Throughout the book, Curley’s wife is known as an evil temptation just because she’s a girl; however, when she is at her strongest it’s not because she is a girl it’s because she strips away Crooks power and tears him down to nothing. Curley’s wife walks into the stable where “all the weak ones [are]” (Steinbeck 77), and when they tell her to get out because shes no good, she threatens Crooks. She states, “‘Listen, nigger… You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’... She closed in on him… ‘Well you keep your place then, nigger

The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck emphasizes the division in social classes and social structure based on power. The novel and its themes are based around the characters’ interactions and decisions. Their motivations come directly from other characters, and the social construct on the ranch that controls the characters within the novel. Each character has their own journey of giving into the powers that control their society and lives which leads to each of their own inescapable demises.

Unlike Crooks, Lennie and George share a bond and a life filled with optimism which Crooks is never able to hold with anyone else. George’s only chance to live differently than the other men is to have a relationship with Lennie which will set him apart from others. George and Lennie, though opposites in their physical description care very much about each other which comes off as a surprise for the ranchers they work with. It merely appears to be a surprise because Lennie, a retarded man, and George, a smart man, look after each other. Even Slim is perplexed that “one guy would take so much trouble for another guy” and believes Lennie is crazy. George, a devoted friend stands up for Lennie and protests against Slim’s beliefs to inform him that “[Lennie] is not cuckoo, he’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy.” George stands up for Lennie when anybody says anything bad about him. George has always been the first to make sure that Lennie is not subjected to pain. George also gives Lennie advice and helps him when terrifying forces such as Curley scare

The long, hard war of human equality in society, has been a war since the beginning of civilization. The Great Depression, a tragic time in America’s history, reflects American determination, but also social inequality. In the fiction novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses symbolism and characterization to address ableism and sexism in society. Steinbeck addresses these flaws in society in an attempt to ultimately bring awareness these riffs before society falls.

The obvious interpretation would be the connection it holds to the racism that existed at the time, but I perceived a deeper connection behind his response. Although Crooks is a diligent and hardworking stable buck, he experiences loneliness from unequal treatment by others. Thus, his impetuous response to Lennie came from the hardships he went through for being the only African American on the ranch. To some extent, people’s comments and actions reflect

As Candy, the housekeeper mentions to George, ?Well, I think Curley?s married?a tart.? (p. 14) What the men do not know is that Curley?s wife is just incredibly lonely, once having dreamt to be a star, and marrying Curley after the failure of that dream. She is all alone in the secluded world of the ranch. Having a husband who pays no attention to her, she tries to find someone to talk to among the men in the ranch, dressing provocatively for that reason only. Unfortunately, the combination of misunderstanding and their knowledge of only one type of women ? the kind they encounter at ?cat-houses? ? drives the men away from Curley?s wife.

The act of helping Lennie comes from George’s thoughtfulness that aids Lennie in certain situations. Moreover, George’s care makes others question the compassion he feels for Lennie, for instance, Crooks says “” Well, I never seen one guy take so much so much trouble for another guy”” (Steinbeck 22). Other characters such as Crooks share the pain of loneliness. Crooks race places a part of why he is alone as well as Candy’s relationship with his dog. The deep connection in which George and Lennie have is rare in the novella’s time period and location. The protection that Lennie receives from George demonstrates the sacrifice for life and brotherhood.

One night all of the younger men on the farm went into town aside from Lennie and Crooks, a dark man who's the consistent hand. Criminals had to dissatisfied Lennie and asked him what might he do if George got hurt of slaughtered that night. This made Lennie extraordinarily frantic that Crooks would even state that George could get hurt and he revealed to Crooks,"Ain't nobody goin' to count on no hurt to George. "(72)Lennie appreciates George and he doesn't want everybody notwithstanding thinking of harming

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

Since he was a negro, he was isolated into tiny living quarters off the side of the barn, away from all the other men. No men ever really came to visit. As a result, he had personal items scattered across the floor and many books and magazines. When someone did finally come around (Lennie), Crooks could only express the anger that built up inside of him. While they talked, Crooks tried convincing Lennie that George wouldn’t come back for him eventually and he would soon feel the pain of loneliness.