The Black Crook

was very common. The character, Crooks, in Of Mice and Men was discriminated and the way he was nicknamed are examples of Crooks being an archetypal character. In the novella Of Mice and Men the author portrays Crooks as an archetype character. In the novella Of Mice and Men the character Crooks is an African American worker on a ranch in California. Crooks can be identified as an archetype character because of the nickname people gave him. Crooks is nicknamed “Crooks” due to his back injury that he

America who were marginalised were those with black skin. The character Crooks has been included in the novel to represent all black people at the time who were struggling in their fight for equality. He is the only black character in the novel and his name has criminal-like connotations. While working, he was kicked in the back by a

in the novella; Curlys wife, Lennie, and finally Crooks. Although Curly’s wife and Crooks are at the bottom of this chain they do in fact display elements of power within chapter 4, as the reader gains

these 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

commentary about racism in America with the situation with Crooks. In the scene where Lenny comes into Crooks room Crooks said “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(68)”. Crooks represents black Americans at the time and how they’re segregated even in California, a state that is seen as forward compared to the rest of America and especially the south. This is shown when Crooks said “I ain’t a southern negro, he said. I was born

Steinbeck illustrates Crooks having an aggressive and defensive character when he and Lennie meet each other for the first time. This expresses Crooks since he uses a defence mechanism through loneliness to keep people away from him to stop him from getting into trouble. “‘a guy goes nuts when he ain’t got nobody’” this reflects upon Crooks miss having company and makes him jealous of George and Lennie’s relationship therefore suggesting to Lennie that George will leave him. This affects the reader

(Except that Slim contradicts this view seeing as he has allocated himself as an associate of Crooks). As we journey through the narrative of chapter 4, we see that the power of physical strength thrives in Lennie. The way that Lennie is introduced into chapter 4 by Steinbeck displays a remarkable theory of power in 1930s America. ‘Noiselessly Lennie

period of time. They can become consumed by it and they may become mad and insecure. This is what happens to Steinbeck’s character, Crooks, in Of Mice and Men. Crooks’s insecurity in the novella comes solely from a lifetime of being treated differently than other men. Crooks is described as a dark man with a “crooked spine” and “his lean face lined with deep black wrinkles” (67). He is a stable buck who lives in a shed on the side of the barn. Since he’s so isolated he fills his room with more

men that work on a ranch and struggle with their impairments everyday. For example Crooks is black, Candy is missing a limb, and Lennie is dumber than a door knob. Therefore these characters have disabilities they deal with everyday but their not the only ones. Crooks is one of the many characters who has to deal with an impairment everyday but his impairment is not like the others impairments. With Crooks being black no one likes him because the time this book is set in is when slavery is still taking

reader can learn numerous things about Crook from the first two paragraphs of chapter four. Crooks room has “books, too: a tattered dictionary and a maued copy of the California civil code for 1905.” This tells the reader that Crooks can read, which is something not everyone could do in the 1930s, when the book takes place. Furthermore, it was very difficult for a black person to learn how to read during that time. This information tells the reader that Crooks is a hardworking man and has put forth