Significance Of Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Steinbeck uses structure in of Mice and Men to present Crooks as an intriguing character. The reader doesn’t meet Crooks properly until Chapter 4 but hear of him through the other ranch workers, so they’re forced to judge Crooks even before anything is known about him in detail. Steinbeck does this to stress the prejudice towards people of colour in the 1930’s and how they would be judged by skin not personality. In chapter two, the reader hears of Crooks in the conversation between Candy and George, as they discuss the boss’s anger at George’s and Lennie’s late arrival to the ranch. Candy says the boss ‘gave the stable-buck hell’, and justifies the action by replying that the

In the novel "Of Mice and Men" the character of Crooks is used by John Steinbeck, the author, to symbolise the marginalisation of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set. Crooks is also 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. The reader has to decide whether Crooks deserves sympathy, or if he is just a cruel, bitter and gruff stable-buck.

Finally, Steinbeck uses Crooks to prove the failure of the American Dream. Crooks is an African American who gets his name because of his crooked back. Everyone discriminates him because he is an African American. His dream is to have a friend. He hopes that maybe Lennie is different from the others and he can be his friend. Steinbeck explains, “Crooks scowled, but Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him. “Come on in and set a while,” Crooks said”

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

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

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

“Nobody got any right,” this is a form of irony as Crooks himself has no ‘right’ and claims ‘rights’ in the small, segregated place he lives. Beyond this he has no rights. It is his final protection, final dignity and sense of power. Another quotation proves this point “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room,” therefore, although he is put against a number of racist migrant workers, he has the power to inflict the same isolation upon them although he is alone. Steinbeck successfully uses vocabulary repeatedly, particularly in verbs: “Crooks scowled,” indicates his protectiveness over his personal space.

The character Crooks is not accepted due to the fact that he is an African American male in a white dominated society. The ranch owner has Crooks segregated from the rest of the workers, and in his own separate room. All of the people treat him unfairly by the things they say to him just because of the color of his skin. Referring to Crooks as the n-word quite often, they only see this situation from their point of view. “‘Sure. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger’” (20). Because of these characteristics of Crooks he is lower than the typical man in society. Crooks also does not fit society’s ideal image of a person because he is also handicap. When Crooks was younger he was kicked in the back by a horse, and now he has a crooked back. “‘Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him’” (20). One night, when George and all the other guys went out to town, they left Lennie behind at the barn with the puppies. Later on, Lennie found his way into Crooks’ bedroom in the back of the barn. Of course it was different at first, and they did not seem

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

Steinbeck describes Crooks as black and harsh. In this time period, being a different color than everyone else was not a benefit. The color of skin is a simple aspect enough. However, it separates him in ways beyond imaginable, making Crooks very lonely. Steinbeck made it seem so important that he was a different color, which sets the scene of the prejudice in the time of the dust bowl. The author first characterizes Crooks as black , by saying; "Crooks, the Negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn" (33). The color of his

In this time period, being a different color than everyone else was not a benefit. The color of skin is a simple aspect enough. However, it separates him in ways beyond imaginable, making Crooks very lonely. Steinbeck made it seem so important that he was a different color sets the scene of the prejudice in the time of the dust bowl. When Crooks is first mentioned, one of the first things mentioned

In Of Mice of Men, John Steinbeck presents the theme that Crooks is upset because he is discriminated against using diction and dialogue throughout chapter four. Steinbeck explores Crooks’ feelings about life as a black man during the time when Crooks is encountered by Lennie. Crooks explains that “ [He] ain’t wanted in the bunk house”... and “ can’t play because … [He’s] black.” (Steinbeck 68) because of this he was alone while everyone else went out to

Crooks is different from the previous two characters in that he is affected by power not because he has it, but because he has none. Crooks has absolutely no power when it comes to daily life on the ranch. He is not even able to come into the house with everyone else. His lack of power originates from his skin color. This book takes place during the Great Depression, an era where slavery was abolished but racism was still very common in daily life. Blacks and Whites were still segregated and African Americans were still treated very poorly. When Crooks is explaining how he has nobody to talk to and all he can do is play horseshoes and read books, he tells Lennie “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely” (Steinbeck 73). This passage can lead to inferences such as: he feels that because he is black he cannot do many activities and cannot be with others. His lack of power is used against him by Curley and his Wife. In the same section of the book as above, when Curley’s wife comes in, Crooks tells her to get out of his room and she responds by threatening to get him hanged by the neck. Crooks’s lack of power is bad for him as it limits his choices in life and doesn’t allow him to follow his

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.