In the novel of mice and men John Steinbeck (the author) use the character crooks to represent racism and symbolize the marginalization of the black community occurring at the time which the novel was set. Crooks is significant as he provides am insight into reality of the American dream and the feeling of all the ranchers. Crooks got his name from his ‘crooked back’ this suggest that he repeats something different, a hard life and he is not your average ranch hand. It was common for white and black people to be segregated in the 1930s; black people had no civil rights and couldn’t use most of the facilities for example going to school and library. John Steinbeck explores this in the novel through crooks.
Limiting the selection of quotations to pages 98-99, analyse how Steinbeck presents the character ‘Crooks’ from the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ In ‘Of Mice and Men’, Crooks is the black stable buck who suffered from prejudicial treatment from others on the ranch. Throughout the introduction of Crooks, racism is cardinal theme, “Crooks, the negro stable buck…” ‘Crooks’ was the name assigned to him as he has a crooked back, the idea that he was ‘assigned’ a name turns back to the times of slavery where slaves were often given a name by their owners. By being ‘given’ this name, Crooks is disempowered; it is thought that names given an identity and to be recognised by a disability, it would be thought that Crooks may have a low self-esteem. As aforementioned, this also lays emphasis on how Crooks is dominated by the other white ranch hands as they provided him this name. “…The negro stable buck…” The term ‘negro’ denotes black and Steinbeck defines Crooks by his race before bringing in his profession.
In 1866 the Civil Rights Act was passed. This act was suppose to drop all racial inequalities between blacks and whites; but this still remained a difficult time for blacks. Even after the Civil Rights Act not much changed. Blacks still sat at different tables, their wages at work were still lower and they were still mistreated. We can relate a lot of what was going on to the book To Kill a Mockingbird.
When members of society are discriminated, they start to develop feelings of loneliness which affect their self-esteem and general self worth. Crooks, the African American was discriminated due to his race which caused him to be seen as a lonely, bitter, quiet individual, the insecurity that possessed Curley’s wife caused her to be seen as a superficial, flirtatious female character but readers learnt that loneliness caused this persona and Candy who had only one companionship experienced solitude due to the loss of his dog and because of being an elder, disabled worker. Often in our society, we are discriminated due to our physical characteristics, race and genders; this makes us vulnerable to the feeling of loneliness. To overcome this, we need to seek companionship in someone who will make us feel accepted and
This highlights the main theme of the novel: loneliness. Living alone in his room Crooks craves the company of others but, because of his coloured skin and the era he lived in, he is shown to be separated from the other ranch workers and thus suffering from loneliness more than his colleagues. Because of his skin colour, Crooks is shown to have “kept his distance and demanded that other people kept theirs.” Steinbeck describes how crooks wants others to stay away from him and reciprocates their feelings towards him but, later in the novel, he reveals that he is very lonely all by himself and would like to have someone to talk to. However, because he is so used to being shunted away by society, he pushes everyone away from him before they have the chance to do the same, portraying him as a “proud, aloof man”. Again, this fact highlights Crooks' loneliness and, even though he has convinced himself he doesn’t need anyone else, he knows the pleasure of having company and this is something that can’t be replaced by the many possessions he has acquired.
Treatment of the Inferior In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, a social hierarchy controls the ranch. The boss is the most powerful and recognized while Curley is second, followed by lim, the white ranch workers, Candy, Curley’s wife, and lastly, Crooks. Society views and treats the three bottom tiers of the social ladder, the elderly and crippled, women, and African Americans, each in a distinct and disrespectful way because of their physical ability, gender, and race, which also leads to depriving them of their dreams. Candy works at the ranch as a swamper, but because he is old and crippled, the rest of the ranch workers see him as useless. Candy’s injury causing the loss of his hard makes his worth as a ranch worker lessen, and he says so himself, claiming that, “I ain’t much good with on’y one
He explains some issues he faces in this town where the only idea they have of black men are the worst assumptions. He also explores his thoughts on white culture versus black culture focusing on slavery, and touches on where these ideas came from. The village was up in the mountains, where very few tourists
He is ignored by everyone on the ranch because he is black , this makes his character bitter and mean"Books ain't no good . A guy need somebody to be near him . "Crooks mainly keeps his distance between himself and the other men at the ranch to ensure he doesn't cause any problems . When Lennie approaches him in his bunk house his first reaction to him is fuelled by envy by his and Georges friendship .Crooks teases Lennie and makes out that George wont be coming back for him *quote*. He only does this to Lennie to show him what it like for him having nobody there and how he needs a companion , like Lennie and George ."
However, much of the land consisted of swampy wetlands or unfertile pinewoods unsuitable for farming. To make things worse, by 1866 bureau officials tried to force freedmen to sign labor contracts with white landowners, returning black people to white authority. Black men who refused to sign contracts could be arrested. Families were often cheated out of their fair share of the crop. Without land of their own, they remained under white authority well into the twentieth century.
The significance of Crooks in of mice and men The significance of Crooks in of mice and men is clearly prevalent throughout the novella, from the start when all the characters name him as ‘the stable buck’ to the end where we see his reaction towards Lennie and are presented with his own room. Crooks is clearly an important character, as Steinbeck utilises him and other ranch workers opinions of him to portray to us a clear image of the racial prejudice in America in the 1930s. At the start of the novella, Steinbeck shows Crooks characters through other people’s sentiments of him. We notice that he is the only character who Steinbeck makes the reader understand him through the thoughts of others. I find this interesting, as it almost creates an insight into the African-American lives throughout America in the 1930’s.