Steinbeck presents the character Crooks as the ‘Negro Stable Buck’ at the ranch, Crooks is also the only black man in the novel. A proud and bitter man, Crooks has a cynical intelligence and a contemptuous demeanor that he uses to prevent others from inevitably excluding him because of his race. His defensive manner fades, however, as his character is dehumanized and segregated from the Ranch even more. We first meet Crooks in Chapter 2, where Candy describes him as a ‘Nigger’, who is treated differently to the other men. The language which Steinbeck shows here, represents the racist and discriminatory attitudes both socially and historically towards black people during the time in which the book is set (1930’s).
Prejudice is Everywhere “There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance” (Lee 221). Atticus, the narrator’s father in To Kill a Mockingbird, expresses his disgust in the manner of how white men treat the African-American race. This part of the novel is only one example of the prejudices observed in To Kill a Mockingbird, as the novel highlights the issue throughout. Racism was a major issue a large number of men, women, and even children had to face during the time periods of the novels To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Scout, the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird, is a young girl living in Maycomb, Alabama.
CROOKS DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF CROOKS IN THE NOVELLA OF MICE AND MEN. CONTEXT 1930’s America was a tough place to live in for black people, or in fact, anybody that was not white. During this time, black people were treated like second class citizens and frequently found themselves segregated and ostracised due only to the fact of the colour of their skin. They did not have the same rights as white people and in some parts of America were in fact considered no better than animals. The rise of white supremacist groups such as the KKK during this era also meant that black people had to ‘know their place’ for if they didn’t they often faced severe punishment.
In the novel "Of Mice and Men" the character of Crooks is used by John Steinbeck, the author,crooks presents the the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set. Crooks is also significant as he provides an insight into the reality of the American Dream and the feelings of all the ranchers: their loneliness and need for company and human interaction. I think that the reader gets a choice to decide whether Crooks deserves sympathy, or if he is just a cruel, bitter and gruff stable-buck. As there read the novella Crooks is a black man, but at the time the novel was written, blacks were referred to as "niggers", meant as a white insult. Being a nigger, Crooks is looked down upon by the whites at the ranch and he resents this.
Social Inequality: To Kill a Mockingbird In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how wrong and cruel social inequality can be, from White man’s decision to do the right thing to the accusation of rape because of a man’s color and to having rumors spread around about a man who has not left his home in seven years. This book takes place in the 1930s which is when it was very common in the South to find Black or Negro men treated as less than White men. Social inequality was extremely common because of the racism between the two and the White people feeling that they were better. It was also very common for small towns such as Maycomb to have everyone know each other and each other’s business. That also made it very capable of having social inequality because of people spreading rumors and giving the illusion to everyone including children that you’re something you are not.
Crooks is wary of being exploited even though he has not much to lose but it seems, like everyone else on the ranch, he is isolated by others and even himself because he is coloured. This links in with the 1930's america Great depression where people isolated each other. This also links in with the racism at the time where coloured people were thought as inferior to the white men. These two facts suggest it was difficult to live at those times
The author chose Crooks to be defined by colour and race whereas he chose Curley’s wife to be defined by her gender. Steinbeck presents both characters in very different, yet similar ways. In the novella "Of Mice and Men" the character Crooks is used by John Steinbeck to represent the isolation of the black community occurring in the 1930’s. Crooks also gives an offer for an insight into the actuality of the American Dream and the feelings of all the ranch workers: their loneliness and call for company and human communication. This allows the reader to chose whether they feel sympathy for the broken down, hard working, isolated stable buck or if he is just a cruel, malicious, bitter man.
In the novel "Of Mice and Men" the character of Crooks is used by John Steinbeck, the author, to symbolise the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set. Crooks is also significant as he provides an insight into the reality of the American Dream and the feelings of all the ranchers, their loneliness and need for company and human interaction. The reader has to decide whether Crooks deserves sympathy, or if he is just a cruel, bitter and gruff stable-buck. Crooks is a black man, but at the time the novel was written, blacks were referred to as "niggers", meant as a white insult. Being a nigger, Crooks is hated by the whites at the ranch and he resents this.
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.
Published in 1896, “We Wear the Mask” is a lyric poem about oppressed black Americans forced to conceal their pain and frustration behind a cloak of happiness. During the time of the poem's publication, hostility and hate towards blacks was widespread throughout America. Although the Civil War had granted blacks their freedom from slavery and federal laws gave them the right to vote, own property, etc., they still were not treated as equals. Segregation become a big problem among blacks and whites. Schools, restaurants, libraries, even insignificant things such as water fountains were all segregated.