Significance Of Crooks In 'Of Mice And Men'

When they leave the town the ‘undesirables’ are left behind like lennie for his actions and intelligence, Candy for his old age, Crooks of course for just being black and Curley’s Wife for being female. At first Crooks is alone in his room then lennie shows up and right of the bat he realizes Lennie is going to be easy prey for him to cheer his mood but then it escalates to the point where he realizes he’s gone too far when Candy joins only after reassuring uncomfortably with Crooks to come in. The way they treat each other in the ensuing scene follows a weird pattern of uncomfortability displayed by the characters where Candy is deeply sorrowful but doesn't show it about how he has never given a thought about going into Crooks room to chat

words, Crooks, a character from "Of Mice and Men," shows his pride for being the son of a landowner instead of a slave of the South. However, living in California does not liberate him from the clutches of racial prejudice during the Great Depression, the era in which "Of Mice and Men" was written by John Steinbeck. His novel depicts Crooks, an African-American farm worker, as a man threatened by the racism of the 1930s. Steinbeck describes the effects of discrimination on Crooks, including his loneliness, crushed aspirations, and bitter attitude, to illustrate the hopelessly bleak situation for African-Americans during the Great Depression.

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

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

Crooks frequently utters negatives (“nobody”, “ain’t”), this reflects on his pessimism and his negative outlook on life. On a larger perspective, this eventually mirrors why he has this specific attitude, which is as a result of peoples ill treated manner towards him because of his racial distinction. This shows how Crooks has evolved to survive in this world purely based on judgments.

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

This is shown in the following text evidence, “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” (68). Crooks isn't given a fair chance to show his capabilities, society automatically segregates him from the game because of his skin color. Not only was he not given the chance to interact in simple games with white people, he was ridiculed when he conversed with them. This is evident in the following text, “There wasn't another colored family for miles around. And now there ain't a colored man on this ranch an' there's jus' one family in Soledad. He laughed. If I say something, why it's just the nigger sayin' it” (70). At the end of this quote is obvious that the ranch hands and the boss mock Crooks because of his race, he is undoubtedly outcasted. Crooks is aware that he is a misfit at the ranch, the reader gets a sense of this when Crook says, “You go on and get outta my room. I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room” (68). This quote suggests that Crooks was segregated at the ranch, he is not even comfortable with people in his room due to his separation from white people. The deciding factor that makes Crooks an obvious social outcast in this period, is his race, causing discrimination against him, his segregation from the ranchers, and others mocking him, leaving him as a social outcast

Crooks is mentioned in chapter four as the black guy who has his own living area due to the color of his skin. Because of Crooks’ age and race, readers can learn that he is isolated from from white people and made “invisible” by society. Despite his experiences, Crooks longs to

Naoshad Pochkhanawala once said, “Feeling powerless and not acting, is like being hungry and choosing not to eat.”( http://goo.gl/p3Yj7e ) Feeling powerful is a great feeling, but feeling powerless has a feeling of being tied up and not ever getting cut loose. Unless you try and do something to set yourself free, they feel regretful of what you could have done to save yourself. Lennie has shown powerlessness throughout the whole book, but he just doesn't express he is powerless. In this time period there was a lot of racism, there still is today. Crooks has to deal with most of it because he is the only black man on the ranch. The economy back then was very different back then, the people, clothes style, and money perception. In the novel Of

Discrimination is a prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment of a human being based on age, sex, or race. This is one of the main themes of the novel. Crooks is discriminated because he is of African American decent. Many of the men on the farm were racist which was common at this time. Because of Crooks's color, he was not allowed to eat, sleep, or even in the others' cabin. Therefore, Crook is angry at society for oppressing him so severely.

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

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.

Understand that Crooks is black, and this book takes place in a time in which African Americans weren´t walking around with pockets full of cash. Crooks worked and lived on the ranch. Heś discriminated throughout portions of the book, and appears to have a bitter personality. This is evident when Crooks has a little conversation with Lennie; (¨Well, go see your pup then. Don´t come in a place you aren´t wanted.) Pg 69. As you may have been able to figure out, Crooks was not the only African American to be discriminated against during the mid 19th century. There is still a good amount of discrimination in the world today, and there are plenty of people who may not really be too happy with being treated poorly. Crooks’ social status is still relevent, and needs to be given some thought.