The New York World 's Fair Corporation

The 1893 Chicago, Illinois World’s Fair, also known as the Columbian Exposition, was an extended celebration in memory of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America. The World’s Fair was a major milestone in  history because it gave insight to what Americans could  accomplish in the future, when pushed to their full extent. It came with many firsts, allowing Americans to take part in, and experience things that were, at the time, unheard of to humans. It greatly accelerated the urbanization of America. Although at the time it was just a celebration, the six-month sensation had a far greater significance. The influence it had on American society in the coming years had been far greater than anyone could have imagined, as well as the role it played in the American Gilded Age, and the debatable topic it devised, concerning whether the World’s Fair was viewed as a “white city,” “black city,” or both. The World’s Fair changed American society in more ways than not. For instance, everyone doubted them. They did not think that Americans had what it took to successfully construct and manage the fair, let alone outdo the Eiffel Tower, (built for the 1889 Paris Exposition) but in constructing the Ferris Wheel, they accomplished just that. This widely changed the perception of Chicago, and America as well. The World’s Fair had transformed Chicago from a nothing town, to one of the main points of interest in America. The fair’s sanitary conditions set an

Though Crooks is a Black man he is a hell of a good worker, so he says himself. When he talks to Lennie and Candy he feels pleasure mixed with anger. When Curley 's wife comes in and threatens him, he feels small and scared and feels like he lost power and privileges over his room and realizes he is black and shouldn 't have back talked her. He knows what she could do to him for what he did, so she says her self. “She closed on him. “You know what I could do?”.....“Well, you keep your place then....I could get you strung up so easy it ain 't funny. '”(80, 81). Because she was a white female and the boss ' son 's Wife she had superiority over him and so he felt alone at that moment. He didn 't realize the cruelness of white folk when he was younger but as he grew older he did, mainly because of where he slept and the way he was treated. “ 'Why ain 't you wanted?”...“Cause I 'm black. They play cards in there, but I can 't play because I 'm black... '”(68). This

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

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 the stable boy, he is neat, likes books and is pretty quiet. He is also black, because of this he is discriminated be the other men at the farm. This prejudice leads Crooks to be extreme isolated, left to tend the horses alone. When Lennie tries to make friends with Crooks he reacts defensively, as the text states, “Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him. "Come on in and set a while," Crooks said. "'Long as you won't get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down." His tone was a little more friendly.” This quote shows that since Crooks hasn’t had any friends for so long that he almost can't deal with someone trying to be nice and interact with him.

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

Crooks experiences discrimination on the ranch. Crooks sleeps in a barn instead of the bunkhouse where all of the other men sleep. When Lennie first walks into Crooks’ room, Crooks gets defensive and announces, “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room’” (65). Crooks alienates himself from society, because he thinks that society has alienated him. He desires to be included. Crooks wants to punish the men for not allowing him in the bunk house. Crooks feels rejected. Crooks describes to Lennie why the ranch workers do not want him near them: “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink’” (65). Since the workers do not include him, Crooks thinks that he does not belong at the ranch. His self esteem diminishes when the men isolate him for something he can not change. Finally, Lennie reveals his dreams of owning a farm to Crooks. Crooks acts skeptical of the idea when he explains, “‘I seen hunderds of

There is a lot of racial prejudice shown in this novel towards Crooks, the black stable-hand. Crooks, the “more permanent than the other men” (67), had his own “little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” (66) with “more possessions than he could carry on his back” (67). He, "ain’t wanted in the bunk house" (68) just because he is "black, they play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black" (68). Curley’s wife would never call him by his name, and treated him awfully while abusing her position as the boss’ son’s wife. “’Listen, Nigger’, she said, ‘you know what I can do to you if you open you trap’"(80).

Crooks is also presented as powerless, as previously discussed it is perhaps this lack of power that leads to his bitterness. One quote shows how Curley’s wife threatens him and Crooks sits down and doesn’t fight back, “Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego-nothing to arouse either like or dislike”. Steinbeck tries to use metaphorical language to show that Crooks doesn’t want to be seen and that he fears for himself. It also shows that he is at the bottom of the social hierarchy mainly because he is the only black person on the ranch. The repetition of the word ‘no’ and ‘nothing’

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.

In Steinbeck’s novel, when individuals feel like someone doesn’t belong with them, their instinct is to treat that person cruelly. Crooks is a black stable buck that is discriminated against throughout the book because of his race. The other men believe that Crooks doesn’t belong because of his skin color, so they make him sleep with the horses. As a result of the torment they put him through, Crooks becomes a very bitter person. When he is talking to Lennie in the stable Crooks tells him, “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink.” (68) Their intentions are cruel. They treat Crooks like he is an animal. They feel uncomfortable around him, so they just ignore him completely. Crooks gets fed up with all of the negative treatment and his heart hardens. He feels like he is doesn’t fit in with the others on the farm. People have told Crooks that he is different throughout his life. He starts to believe

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.