Theme Of Racial Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Crooks is an African-American migrant worker that has to sleep in a different area then the rest of the workers just because of his skin color. Crooks says to Lennie “S’pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse an’ play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that” (71)? Crooks does not want to be lonely anymore and does not like being separated. Many of the men on the farm are racist so they have no compassion for Crooks.

Due to the characteristics of Crooks, Lennie, and Candy, they are the outsiders of society in this novel. To begin, Crooks is an outsider as he is not of white descent and the only colored man that works on the ranch. Crooks is discriminated upon by the workers on the ranch and sleeps in a room segregated from the others that sleep in the bunkhouse together. Moreover, he is not allowed to play cards with the men who live in the bunkhouse because in their words, he “stinks”; it is not the fact that Crooks stinks, but the fact that he is black. In section four of Of Mice and Men, Crooks’ character says, “‘S’pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black,’” (Steinbeck 72).

One of the people that gets discriminated in the book is Crooks. Crooks is an African American that gets mistreated because of race. There are a few examples that the author really highlights, when we find out that Crooks is living away from all of the white men, nobody comes to visit him, and he gets referred to by the other men with racist slurs. He also works by himself on jobs that are difficult to him since his was crippled by a horse. There are some striking

Jealously, like how it is shown in the video, is evident within Crooks. Although it is not blatantly said that Crooks is jealous, we can assume he is from his words and actions. For example, on page 68, Crooks goes on to say that he isn’t allowed in the bunkhouse since he is black, then later on, on page 74, he goes on about how, someone can go crazy if they have no one to talk to, and that too much loneliness will make you sick. From these two examples, we can see that Crook’s is jealous of the other farm workers and on a more specific level, George and Lennie. He is jealous because they have someone to talk to, and although he has many possessions, none of them can fill his void of loneliness.

Loneliness is something no living thing wants, unfortunately for Crooks and Curley's wife they feel lonesome. Crooks is a black colored man, he is not allowed to go in the bunk house or around the house because he is a “negro”. He owns many objects that a bindlestiffs would obtain, he owns a copy of the california civil code for 1905, and books and magazines.In Chapter 4 John steinbeck exports Crooks in loneliness; Crooks clearly states he is lonely in chapter 4 by saying “ A guy goes nuts if he got nobody. Don't make a difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, he cried, I tell ya a guy gets lonely an’ he gets sick”(72-73).

Crooks experiences force alienation from his fellow workers on the ranch, causing him to become obscure and astringent. Crooks is a stable buck, the only African American living on the ranch. He is treated poorly and is perceived as inferior.”’Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you

Crooks is a black man who isn’t allowed to be in the house with all the men. The men won’t allow him to come in because of his color. Crooks is lonely and he doesn’t bother the men. One night Lennie came in and was talking to Crooks and telling them about the farm that they were going to get. For once Crooks thought well maybe I won’t be lonely I could go with them and don’t have worry about none of them.

After talking with Lennie for awhile, Crooks reveals that he is often lonely. As a child, Crooks was part of the only black family for miles, but he still played with the white boys. Now that he is on the farm, the white men feel superior. Apparently, Crooks smells bad and is black, so the men do not allow him in the bunkhouse. Crooks hates the other men, so he gets mad at Lennie for invading his privacy.

Among the many characters throughout the novel, Crooks behavior is demonstrated when he isolates himself from others and becomes lonely because of his skin color. Racism is an on-going issue for generations, especially towards the blacks. The author strongly portrays loneliness within Crookes

Halfway through Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses dialogue to demonstrate the theme of the loneliness and human companionship felt by the ranchers. When Lennie visits the bunkhouse to see his pups, he strikes up a conversation with Crooks and in the conversation he turns to his personal upbringing: “There wasn’t another colored family for miles around.” When Crooks was a child, he would play with the white kids. He didn’t feel isolated then. “...there ain’t a colored man on this ranch” Crooks now is physically divided. He is sequestered due to his race.