Sarah James Mrs. Lewis AP Lang. October 21, 2013 Isolation of Crooks In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men isolation is the central theme throughout the text. Many of the characters are alone and have no one who truly cares about them, but the most isolated character is the stable hand, Crooks. Crooks is black, which sets him apart from all other characters, and is looked down on by almost everyone due to this. He has his own room in the barn because he is not permitted to sleep in the same room as a white person.
American English March 3, 2014 The Bane of Happiness John Steinbeck uses Loneliness and Isolation as two main themes in the novel Of Mice and Men, due to the effects of the Great Depression on ordinary people in the agricultural areas of America. Loneliness is a dominant theme in the novel Of Mice and Men. In this novel, John Steinbeck introduces the essentialness of loneliness of the life of many men during the Great Depression. Steinbeck uses concepts such as ageism, racism, and sexism to portray loneliness. Throughout the book we are introduced to many characters that display loneliness and isolation, some more than others.
Crooks has to go through life on the ranch without any real friends and no one to talk to. Crooks spends his time reading books but this is not enough as he would like someone to talk to. None of the men in the ranch talk to crooks, as he is black. Another example of a character being lonely would be Curley’s wife. She is an example as she is the only woman on the ranch and tries to make friends by flirting with the other men.
Crooks, named for his crooked back, is one of the most vulnerable characters on the ranch, mostly due to his race combined with general racist attitudes at the time. He lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch, and he has been so beaten down by loneliness and prejudicial treatment of that he is now suspicious of any kindness he receives. Crooks is painfully aware that his skin color is all that keeps him separate in this culture. This outsider status causes him to lament his loneliness, but he also delights in seeing the loneliness of others, perhaps because misery loves company. When Lennie arrives at his room, he turns him away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him.
The other men would not allow him to use his feet due to Crooks’ back but thought it perfectly fine to be fighting him. When Crooks comes into the novel he is described as a “lean negro head, lined with pain,” this is important because it’s the introduction of the many pains which Crooks has. Crooks is both in emotional and physical pain. The emotional pain which Crooks carries with him is due to his loneliness; his isolation from man is causing him to go mad, “guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody”. In isolation from the other men Crooks begins to doubt what he sees.
This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” (68) He is acting this way because this is the way that everybody else treats him. Crooks is secluded to a small room of his own and he never is allowed to go to the barn and play with the other guys. The author’s characterization of Crooks is also negative. He calls him a nigger and says he doesn’t mind getting hell from the others.
Crooks notes- For Controlled Assesment- 21st Feb 2012- Of Mice and Men · He has seen many men come and go, all dreaming of buying a piece of land, but is now cynical, as no one has ever achieved it. · He is always called the 'nigger' by the men, which shows how racism is taken for granted. The men don't mean to insult Crooks every time they call him this, but they never think to use his name. · This shows signs of isolation. He feels isolated and bitter.
The loneliest person on the ranch has to be Crooks, who suffers from extreme loneliness because he is black and he is living in a ranch and the surrounding area which is very racist. He lives by himself, because the other men do not like him. He does not take part in any of the social activities in the ranch and is left out completely. He is so lonely that he turns to books, which soon becomes boring and
What is loneliness? Loneliness is when you have nobody there for you when you feel like it’s only you in the world and you keep everything inside you. Of Mice and Men, a novel by John Steinbeck, relates to loneliness because of the character Crooks. Crooks is discriminated against everyday. Everyone stays away from him because he’s black.
Crooks, a black stable-hand, is segregated because of the pigment of his skin. Steinbeck depicts discrimination through Crooks’ isolation from other men, his desire for friendship, and his way of turning his vulnerability into a weapon. First, Steinbeck demonstrates Crooks’ loneliness through his separation from the other men on the ranch. Initially, the other ranch hands discriminate Crooks because of his disability that sets him apart from them. Steinbeck describes Crooks’ living condition to be, “For being alone…Crooks could leave his things about, and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men” (67).