Of Mice And Men Crooks Loneliness

During the great depression many men were lonely as the went from job to job, never making stable relationships. One character in Of Mice and Men, Crooks, is especially lonely because he is the only negro on the farm. He is separated completely from all the white men except during work hours. He is not allowed to play cards or talk with them unless its work related. He even has to sleep with the animals in the barn instead of in the bunk house with all the white men. This causes Crooks to be unfriendly, lonely and to lose all hope. In John Steinberg’s Of Mice and Men, Crooks exemplifies the degrading effects of loneliness and segregation on men.
Since Crooks is always separated from the group he has a negative attitude towards everyone who

is friendly to him. The first instance is when Lennie walks into Crooks room looking for companionship. All the white men went to town except Lennie and Candy leaving them behind with Crooks. Right after Lennie walks into the room Crooks says, “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room” (Steinberg 68). Crooks imediatly assumes Lennie is one of the men to blame for him having to sleep in the barn instead of in the bunkhouse with the other men. Lennie has a hard time processing this idea because he has a mental disability making him a little slower. So when Lennie asks why, he replies with another harsh answer that, “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but i cant cause im black. They say i stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink” (Steinberg 68). When explaining to Lennie why he can't be in the bunk house he mocks all the reason the white men gave him for why he has to sleep in the barn. He sees no reason just because of his race that he cant play cards and talk with them in the bunkhouse. He also doesn't understand how his color can make him smell, how he can smell like all the other men working outside in the sun but still be segregated for it. After analyzing Lennie’s situation and how he relies on George so much he sees how easy it is to torment Lennie. So to have power over a white man and to get pay back at all the white men who put him there, he torments Lennie with the idea that George isn't coming back no more. The book says every time Crooks say “S’pose George don’t come back no more” Crooks has a “Private victory” or “Pleasure in his torture” (Steinberg 71). This shows he would rather see Lennie as a weaker white man then a friend. How Lennie’s friendship means nothing to him now that Crooks is so unfriendly in all of his actions.
Crooks is the only man who has to stay almost everyday alone except for when the boss or slim has to do work in the barn.

When talking to Lennie he explains how the whole situation of not being allowed to sleep or hang out in the bunkhouse makes him feel lonely. So Lennie could understand how he felt, Crooks made Lennie believe that George wasn't coming back. Crooks then said to explain why he made Lennie believe George was gone he said, “S’pose you have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d that make you feel?” (Steinberg 72).He tries to make Lennie understand how he is feeling because it makes himself feel unwanted and unneeded. That just because of his color he cant have any interaction at all. He wants Lennie to feel sympathy for him and become his friend. Crooks then explains why everyone needs a companion by their side when saying, “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” (Steinberg 72-73). Crooks is trying to make Lennie understand that without anyone he is lonely and bored of doing things all by himself. That his solo activities of reading and playing horseshoes wasn’t appeasing and he needed a companion before he went crazy. Crooks was the loneliest person on the farm but he could never change that because of his skin color. Since Crooks is so lonely he has no hope that he’ll ever have really have a friend again. He wishes things were like his childhood again. He says, “Had two brothers. They was always near me, always there” (Steinberg 73). He wants his childhood back because that was the only time in his life that he had companionship. Crooks misses having people always surrendering him like all the white men have in the bunkhouse. But now Crooks knows he will never have friendship until another black man comes. So he loses hope on ever having a companion with one of the white

men.
From the constant segregation and loneliness, Crooks has become unfriendly and hopeless that he will ever find a friend. He is harsh and sarcastic to anyone who comes into his space without a work related reason. Crooks feels unwanted by them so he doesnt show any need or want for them when then come to him. Crooks is so lonely that he is practically going crazy with his thoughts and boredom. He has lost all hope of finding a friend in one of the white men because of how racist they are towards him. Overall, in Of Mice and Men, Crooks exemplifies the degrading effects of loneliness and segregation on men.