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Character study of mice and men
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Have you ever felt completely alone, yet you’ve been surrounded by people? In a popular novel by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, many farm laborers exhibit various characteristics. In particular, the quiet African-American stablehand struggles with his place on a ranch during the Great Depression. His continuous treatment and degradation result in him developing distinct attributes that shape him into who he is. Throughout the story, his unique qualities lead to an influence on the plotline. The seemingly insignificant character of Crooks has shown to have key traits such as loneliness and aloofness. One important characteristic displayed by Crooks is his loneliness. In specific, one example which proves that he is lonely is when he first meets Lennie at the …show more content…
barn. During their initial conversation, Crooks tries to explain to Lennie, “A guy needs somebody-to be near him..A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (72). This signifies how Crooks is trying to share his experiences of loneliness with Lennie. In addition, Crooks also reminisces about when he was a child, reflecting on how the company of his two brothers affected his happiness. Crooks dreamily recalls, “Had two brothers..always near me, always there” (73). His nostalgic tone and view of the memory demonstrates how he associates happiness with companionship. Another scene that reveals Crooks’ loneliness occurs after Candy enters the barn to tell Lennie what he figured out. After Candy persuades Crooks that George, Lennie and him will be able to get their own place, Crooks hopefully asks, “If you...want a hand...why I’d come an’ lend a hand” (76). By inquiring about accompanying Candy, Crooks contrasts his loneliness on the ranch to his dreams of friendship. Multiple occurrences have clearly shown the characteristic of loneliness by Crooks. Although Crooks is lonely, he also displays aloofness in his personality. Living as an African-American stablehand, Crooks often combats his unequal treatment with aloofness.
While teaching Geroge about the ranch, Candy briefly mentions Crooks. As George looks at his bedding, Candy remarks, “boss gives him hell when he’s mad. But the stable buck don’t give a...about that” (20). The reaction of not reacting to the boss’s treatment demonstrates Crooks’ aloofness. Another scene in which we see this trait of Crooks is when he reminds Slim about his tar being heated. After patiently waiting for a good opportunity, Crooks murmurs to Slim, “Mr. Slim...I can do it if you want” (50). In the demeanor of respectfully waiting and calmly asking for Slim, Crooks exhibits aloofness by asking if Slim would like him to do the work himself instead. One final example of his aloofness is when he is sitting in his room and notices Lennie peering in. As Lennie approaches Crooks attempting to be friendly, Crooks sharply retorts, “Nobody got any right in here but me...you ain’t wanted in my room” (68). In his acknowledgment of Lennie’s potentially amiable prospect, he responds in an aloof way. As a result of the numerous encounters both by and about Crooks, it is indicated that Crooks is an aloof
man. Consistently throughout the novel the inconspicuous character of Crooks proves to have the qualities of loneliness and aloofness. By reminiscing fondly about his childhood with brothers, and showing how Lennie was lucky to have George, he displays a strong sense of loneliness. Consequently, various interactions between Crooks and other characters have firmly established a feeling of aloofness as a facet of his personality. While he is seen as nothing more than a worthless, filthy “nigger”and measly stablehand, Crooks clearly demonstrates the characteristics of loneliness and aloofness frequently in the story.
Crooks also feels a great deal of loneliness, as he is an outcast on the ranch. He lives in his own room where hardly anybody ever bothers him. He is never invited to play cards or do anything fun with the other guys. One day a curious Lenny asked, “Why ain’t you wanted?” Crooks replies “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They think I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me” (pg. ). Crooks’ attitude towards this is shown when he saw Lennie playing with his puppy outside of Crooks’ quarters. Crooks states that “if me, as a black man, is not allowed in the white quarters, then white men are not allowed in mine” (pg. ). However this is merely a front as the more open side of Crooks is shown later on in the book.
Crooks talks with Lennie in the book, "Crooks laughed again. ‘A guy can talk to you an’ be sure you won’t
Loneliness has made Crook's a very bitter and isolated individual. Other than when they are working, the other men shut Crooks out off all of their activities except the horseshoe games. Crooks is very isolated and not welcome in leisure activities. Crooks’ emotions are displayed to the reader when he talks to Lennie in his room about having no one to relate to and communicate with. He says: "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 bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you was black...A guy needs somebody--to be near him". In a way, everyone needs someone to talk to, whether it is a friend, family member, or even a pet. This is a source of comfort and wealth for the person. Crooks does not have any of these sources. Crooks has never been treated well by any of his co-workers because he is black. This has affected Crooks greatly. He has become bitter and has obtained a passionate animosity toward everyone. He has a certain attitude toward everyone due to the way he is treated because of his race. In addition, Crooks also does not know ho...
Crooks, the most isolated character, is treated differently by everyone on the ranch. They treat Crooks with less respect than they do each other. They call him names, which might not have caused uproar, but still disrespectful. In fact, when Curley was looking for him, he demanded to know where Crooks was. Curley asked, "'Where the hell is that god damn nigger?'" (Steinbeck 29). Curley's harsh words, are some of the reasons Crooks...
“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.” (Page 72-73) As you can see, Crooks also spends most of his time alone because he is black. He is not allowed to enter the bunk house nor go to town with the guys. He is not allowed to enter the bunk house, he is not allowed to go to town with the guys and nobody likes him because he is black. This shows that he has no friendship and his whole life is filled with loneliness. His case is different from Lennie’s.
One main theme in Of Mice And Men is loneliness. George and Lennie have have just sat down to eat their dinner, when Lennie asks George to talk about their life in the future. George complies, and also describes their current situation. Steinbeck writes, “ Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They don't got no family. They don't belong no place.” (Steinbeck 13). George is speaking of the life of people in the 1930’s. Loneliness is a common trait amongst people, especially migrant workers. They have no family to travel with, and no friends. The only true friends George and Lennie have are each other. Crooks is another
Although discrimination is still present during the time period of the book, Crooks still attempts to make friends. Others treat Crooks unjust because he is different from others given that he is black. He does not know how to treat others because of the way others treat him; with disrespect. Furthermore, he does not know how to vent his frustration and as a result, lashes out at others because they are cruel to him. Crooks is not allowed to participate in daily events with white people. He is treated unfairly and therefore acts the same way toward the white people (the ones who offended him.)
Crooks suffers from loneliness, because he is black, not because he is an unfriendly person. Crooks, though, may seem mean, but he is just tired of being rejected and disrespected by everybody around him. Crooks has a horrible life. He will never have a companion or anybody that will respect him unless he meets another black person. Crooks says,” I’ll tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick. (Pg. 73)” He doesn’t even have the opportunity to have a companion, and that is sad.
Not having any friends is one of the reasons why Crooks is lonely. The other workers on the ranch take place in fun activities, such as horseshoes and card games. Crooks never gets invited to play. This resentment is due solely to the color of his skin. The other characters all have someone to talk to. George and Lennie have each other, Candy had both his dogs. The other workers are friends with one another. Curley’s wife is also lonely, but still has Curley. The men sit in the bunk house, talk and have fun on occasion. Meanwhile Crooks is in his shed all alone. Crooks tries to explain to Lennie in
And he also described by, “His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity. His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face.” ( “Of Mice and Men pg.67) Crooks is named because he has a crooked back that cause by kick from horse and is the stable hand who takes care of the horses and because he is the only black man on the ranch he lives by himself in his own bunk, which it suggest
During the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s, many people lost their jobs and became very lonely. This was around the time when John Steinbeck released his famous book about these “bindle stiffs”. The book was called, Of Mice and Men. Loneliness is one of the major themes of this novel. Several of the characters in the book are alone. In this novel, John Steinbeck shows how being alone affects different characters. Each is affected in a different way. Throughout the novel, the theme of loneliness is mostly expressed in the important characters of Candy, Curley’s wife and Crooks.
An example of how the men are discriminative towards Crooks is that he is forced to live in a shack away from the bunkhouse and also Crooks says that "They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say "I stink" and "I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse." An example of when Curley's Wife is critical towards Crooks is when she looks into his room to see what Lennie and Crooks are doing and then she states, shaking her head, that they left the weak ones behind. Also, she threatens to have Crooks hanged because a black man should never talk to a white woman the way he just had. As a result of all of these discriminatory acts against him, Crooks feels unwanted and lonely because of his color and placement on the farm.
Racial discrimination has been around for a long time, judging people for the color of their skin. Crooks is affected by this because he is black. Blacks in that time were thought as lesser than the white people. The racial discrimination affects Crooks' life in only negative ways. He is plagued by loneliness because of the color of his skin. His lack of company drives him crazy. Only when Lennie comes in to his room does he feel less lonely. He talked of his loneliness using a hypothetical scenario of George leaving Lennie. Crooks' responds to this discrimination by staying in his barn and being secluded. He doesn't want anyone to be in there but deep down he does so he can have some company. He isn't wanted in the bunk house or to play cards with the others because he is black. This effected the story by letting people walk all over him, letting them think they can do whatever they want, and ultimately making the people think they have a lot of power when really they do not.
...igger. Crooks is a character in the play that stands out because he is black where everyone else is white, crippled while everyone else is healthy, and good at horseshoes where nobody else is.
In the masterful story Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck there is a looming theme of loneliness. This theme is told to you through the words and actions of the characters in the story . This story is told through two characters Lennie and George. The setting is 1930’s America. The story involves traveling ranch workers that live only for the one purpose to get paid and waste their money on a few drinks and some pleasure. These men are consumed with loneliness. The care for nothing but themselves. They are very unlike George and Lennie who have each other and a dream. Lennie is a big man with the brain of a child. Lennie never meant to hurt anybody but managed to get himself and his only true friend George into trouble. George is a small smart man who has known Lennie all his life and knows to well that Lennie could not survive on his own lets him travel with him as a favor too Lennie’s aunt