Crooks is an important character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Crooks’ character is named for his crooked back caused by being kicked by a horse at the stable in which he works. He lives by himself on the ranch and Steinbeck uses his character to demonstrate discrimination through Crooks’ struggle with being separated from others on the ranch, his ironic enjoyment of power, and his inconsistent view of himself in society. There are times in life when we meet people who seem so shut off from the rest of the world that we wonder how they continue.
The couple fails to admit to each other that they are not in love for fear of losing their power and status as individuals. Curley’s marriage is revealed to be a sham through his wife’s conversation with Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn 't to. I don’ like Curley.” (pg. 89 Steinbeck)
John Steinbeck uses Crooks, an african american man, as an example of discrimination. An example is, “’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.”
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck possesses many themes. For example friendship, racism, innocence, false trust, betrayal, and the sexism, are a few themes in this novel. Additionally, another theme that appears incessantly is prejudice. Prejudice is the act of judging someone for his/her race, gender, sexual orientation, social status, appearance, or speech without truly meeting or knowing him/her. An example of prejudice would be if one were to assume another person was stupid because he/she stuttered.
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Thoroughly explaining prejudice in an abstract way, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck displays considerable amount of prejudice. It’s significance lies where Steinbeck conveys vital messages about the society we live in and showcases crucial themes beneath the overall story. Themes such as justice, dreams and prejudice are all displayed through the characters’ thoughts and dialogue. It symbolizes how our society was in the 1900s and what the human race has followed through and developed from experiences, such as sexism, racism, stereotypes, criticism, etc.
Of Mice and Men Interpretive Essay The novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is set during the Great Depression around the 1930’s. The Great Depression started when the production of more goods and rising amounts of debts were too much for the system to balance out. This left over 15 million people unemployed, so many people decided to move to California to start a new life. People wanted money to buy land so they can work off their own land. Many workers would travel alone to avoid any competition, which would make them lonely over time.
“Of Mice and Men” is a poignant novella written by John Steinbeck, the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. Steinbeck was well educated and came from an affluent family. He was born in Salinas. Steinbeck had great insight into the life of a migrant worker as he, similarly to George and Lennie, had travelled through California working on ranches. He was well aware of the loneliness and isolation that the ranchers faced quotidianly.
he is mentioned as a black migrant worker. Crooks loneliness and isolation is because that he is the only black man on the ranch, who got nobody to talk to. He is separated from other migrant workers that he lives near the barn unlike other workers those lives in the bunkhouse. We still see a discriminated society as Steinbeck used crooks as the African American man in the novel. For example, when Lennie came into crooks room, he states that “you got no right to come in my room.
“I never get to talk to no-body, I get awful lonely”. Crooks experiences the isolation and lack of companionship more than anyone else as he is forced to live alone on the other side of the ranch so no one has to have any interaction with him. For example even when the ranchers come to play cards in the barn, he is not permitted to join in or converse with any of them just because he has different color skin. Clearly during the 1930’s the black people were seen as inferior to the white people and Steinbeck demonstrates this throughout this novel by showing the difficulties his character Crooks
(77) He is angry because the only private thing he has is his room which is in the barn, now that is being invaded by Lennie. Indirectly Steinbeck is saying that Crook can be compared to an animal as his room is the barn, symbolising the stereotyping and inequality of the society. In relation to the history of slavery, when the Great Depression the role of African Americans and women in society had been pushed back to the marginalised ways of the 1700s. In conclusion the statement to be validated is correct as the society has a feudal system where white men are on top and women not considered wise or equal. African Americans considered no more than animals’ life is tremendously difficult, making dreams out of
Loneliness is a state of sadness caused by a lack of friends or company, it is the quality of being remote and isolated from people whether it was by choice or not. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are hired at a ranch for a new job. They meet Curley, the boss’ son, who does not like Lennie and always wants to start problems with him. They also meet other interesting people such as Candy, Crooks, and Curley 's wife. They open up and offer their thoughts and feelings to George and Lennie that they have never spoke about before to anyone, which accidently causes Curley’s wife to be killed by Lennie resulting in Lennie being shot by George.
We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not.
John Steinbeck is a famous novelist who was born and raised in the country seat of Monterey Country in Salinas, California. The familiar geography and demographics inspired Steinbeck’s later novels and short stories. In his early adolescence, Steinbeck showed a growing interest in writing. He would work late at night in his attic, sometimes inviting friends over to read aloud to them. Hoping to sharpen his skills, Steinbeck enrolled at Sanford University in 1919.
One’s self has experienced loneliness from choice or forced into isolation. The novel ¨Of Mice and Men¨ written by John Steinbeck, took place during the Great Depression, near Soledad, California. The protagonist, George and the antagonist, Lennie are mid aged, white men who are working on a ranch with other mid aged, white men. Along with ones who aren’t as focused at the time, such as Crooks, the negro or black, Curley’s wife, the woman and, Candy, the old and weak man were treated differently from all the white, strong males in the novel due to the setting the novel. This making distance in relationships in Of Mice and Men, isolating these characters into loneliness.
Racism and Loneliness: Two Components for Bitterness Norman Cousins once said, “The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness.” Crooks, one character from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, battles with loneliness. He is forced to deal with racial segregation and live in a confined space isolated. Since Crooks is secluded he becomes an unpleasant human being and treats others poorly. Crooks’ method for coping with his loneliness, hurts him as a person instead of helping him.