Underdogs in of Mice and MEn

This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.’ “ (Steinbeck 68). Since Crooks was black, he couldn’t play cards with the other men, which means he was isolated from the other men. In addition, he was already an outsider since he was a Negro. At first, he acted as if he hated Lennie’s presence by saying, “Well go see your pup, then. Don’t come in a place where your not wanted.” Crooks acts as if he is not happy that someone came into his room, but after a while, when Lennie was going to leave, “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.” Crook recognizes that he is lonely, "This is just a nigger talkin', an' a busted-back nigger. So it don't mean nothing, see?" He says this because that was the way he was treated, not fairly and equally with white men. Steinbeck represents all the colored people in the book as Crooks, and implies that they are lonely and hated being segregated from the mainstream. Crooks used to have friends that were white that he used to play with when he was young, but now he is on the edge of society, alone because he was a

The character of Crooks is used to symbolize the social standing of the black community occurring during the time at which the novel is set. Crooks is a lonely African American on the farm that feels out of place. As George and Lennie explain their dream to Crooks he brushes them off and says that no one around here can implement their dreams. This realism gives the reader an impression that Crooks has absolutely no hope. However, Crooks may be pessimistic, but yet even he has a dream, which is the hope of one day experiencing the joys of his childhood again. Crooks' character is portrayed as very lonely in the novel, this is evident when Crooks explains, "A guy needs someone." (Mice 77). Crooks is telling the reader the need of human interaction. This realism that Steinbeck uses shows the reader the harsh realities of the black community during the time of the depression in the 1930's

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’

Barbara Sher once said, “‘Isolation is a dream killer’” (qtd. in Wishcraft). In his novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck scrutinizes the effects that alienation can have on society. Many characters experience loneliness throughout the novel. He illustrates the results of individuals becoming isolated from their peers. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays characters alienated from society in order to illustrate the harmful effects of loneliness caused by discrimination.

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 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

For example, when Lennie approached Crooks and attempted to befriend him, “Crooks said sharply, You got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me” (4.7-8). Crooks has been isolated so long that he isn’t even willing to make a new friend. Although he can’t control his skin color, he can attempt to control his social interactions, but because he has been forced into a constant state of loneliness for the majority of his life, he automatically turns everyone away. Crooks details his childhood by saying, "I was born right here in Southern California. My old man had a chicken ranch, ‘bout ten acres. The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice. My ‘ol man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later why he didn’t like that. But I know now." He hesitated, and when he spoke again his voice was softer. "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" (4.37). Although he was a social kid, the realization of how his skin color would affect him in ways others don’t even have to worry about, sent him into isolation. The constant fear of racist actions and comments forced Crooks to be extremely lonely, and living in Soledad where only one other black family lived didn’t

The character Crooks has shown loneliness throughout the whole story and that drives him to a point where he doesn’t want to be existent to all the other men. In the middle of the book Lennie and Crooks start a conversation and Crooks explains how he’s feeling. Steinbeck writes, “‘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’”(68). Crooks doesn’t get much sympathy from the men because he is black. He is so desperate to play cards with the guys, but all of them leave him out and makes him feel even more lonely. Crooks experiences the most desolation because the men tell him that he “stinks” and can’t play cards because he’s “black. In addition to the last example, the novel also explains in the story how separated Crooks is from everybody else and shows us how alone he actually is. Crooks is the most lonely character in the novel and it shows by his actions and personality. Steinbeck shows, “This room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs” (67). He felt desperate enough to tell the men to keep their distance so he

In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he illustrates that when someone is thought of as being different, they tend to be left in the dust and not taken care of properly. Throughout the book he sets the tone as being negative towards those who might not be fit into the social norms. The characters Crooks and Curley's wife are depicted as being isolated and lonely, almost like they are outcasts because of who they are as people, which suggests that isolation from the world can cause people to yearn for a sense of belonging and lose their self-worth.

Also he tends to react in this way because he is insecure about himself. Crooks, and his character development, is the outcome of him being isolated, lonely, separated from others, and discriminated against. Loneliness drives the way that people think, and how they feel. As Crooks trys to explain to Lennie how lucky he is to have someone to lean on, he feels a sense of sorrow, because what he is telling Lennie, is his life. Crooks proclaims to Lennie, “Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that? Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody--to be near him.” He whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya,” he cried, “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick” (72-73). This quote specifically is talking about Crooks life, and what he goes through everyday. That day Lennie became Crooks somebody, which is something he has never experienced before. At first he was hesitant about Lennie, but because he never talks to anyone, Crooks let him in because he realized that Lennie could be that somebody, somebody to talk to and connect with. Crooks symbolically represents loneliness, and the negative effects of not building/having

The modern world, filled with loneliness and desperation portrayed by over 40% of the population. Loneliness, described as being isolated or having a feeling of little importance, or having little companionship with others. Everyone feels the loneliness creep upon them at some point in their lives. As we feel lonely, we feel the impact and must react some way to cope with the feeling and feel better with ourselves. As seen in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the devastating impact of loneliness on human beings is demonstrated through Curley’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy.

First, Steinbeck uses Crooks as a symbol to contribute to the overall theme of loneliness. Crooks is a nigger and also a stable buck. When the boss gets mad takes his anger out on him. They call him Crooks because he has a crooked back where a horse had kicked him. Candy explains, “... the boss gives him hell when he's mad…” (Steinbeck 20) . Candy says this because Crooks is all alone. They don't treat him right because he is the only colored on the farm. Because of this people don't relate to him and he tends to get left out. Crooks says, “come on in and set a while”. (Steinbeck 69) Crooks says this to Lennie when he comes in his room because the

Crooks worked around the farm, and takes care of the horses. His skin color differentiated him from others, resulting in Crooks living alone in the barn. Later in the book Steinbeck shows the wall between the races when Lennie attempts to speak with Crooks. “…You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room,” (Steinbeck, 68). By creating this conversation between Lennie and Crooks, Steinbeck reveals another large group of people treated unfairly, African Americans. Eventually, Candy and Curley’s wife enter the room leading into an argument. Finally, Crooks speaks up and says “You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus' get out, an' get out quick. If you don't, I'm gonna ast the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more,” (Steinbeck, 80). Irony pours out of this quote, for blacks were not respected by most white people and did not have the right to speak against them, yet Curley’s wife also is treated with disparity, like most women in the 1930s. All of the characters, now in Crooks room, coax Curley’s wife out. Confrontation with Curley and other characters was a catastrophe waiting to happen and most likely to of occurred if they had not made Curley’s wife leave. In fact, this conversation may have been a key factor

At some point in one’s life there is not only contentment or grief, but a state of loneliness. Loneliness is a part of human life, although some suffer from isolation more than others. Being lonely can lead to depression or create a different persona in oneself. Struggling through isolation can eventually kill one’s soul, expecting no hope or ending up in dangerous situations. The novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays the theme of loneliness especially through two characters. Crooks and Curley’s wife experience the state of isolation as they crave for a friend or someone they can talk with. Steinbeck urges readers to feel pathos when analyzing Crooks and Curley’s wife through the nature of their isolation, their actions and