He has his own room in the barn because he is prohibited from sharing a room with the white men. Candy, looking in awe at Crooks’ room, says “Must be nice to have a room all to yourself”’ Crooks answers with “And a manure pile under the window, Sure it’s swell” (82). This separation makes Crooks more isolated than any other characters because of his lack of human interaction, which causes him extreme loneliness. “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick” (80). This also causes him extreme loneliness.
To save himself Crooks tries to explain to Lennie how it feels to be lonely, ‘Maybe you can see now, you got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back.’ This monologue is important Crooks is lonely in many ways: he is crippled so he is isolated from society, he is black and he is intelligent all of which set him apart from anyone else on the ranch. At this point animal language is used again for Lennie. Crooks discusses how life would be for Lennie if he was on his own, ‘They’ll tie you up with a collar, like a dog.’ Words like ‘growled’ also show how Lennie’s temperament changes. Please note that animal language is used the most during tense scenes.
How does Steinbeck use characters and events, to show the social tensions and problems in real California at the time the novel is set? “I’m black, they say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me.” This quote highlights two of the main issues involved in ‘Of Mice and Men,’ that of inequality and racism. Early on in the book we see great prejudice against the stable buck because he is black, he is labelled a “nigger” and is disregarded by other white workers. There are also many other important issues and problems brought up in the book that were linked directly to the real life social problems in rural California which Steinbeck brings to life in a variety of techniques and language styles.
These characters struggle to gain acceptance in the community and become outcasts in which they are forced to live alone. Crooks in a middle aged ex-stable buck who damaged his spine during work, this resulted in his “nick name”. He is also African American which automatically diminishes all rights and brings the threat of a public lynching. “Nigger, I could get you stung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” was yelled by Curley’s wife. This point is further demonstrated by the hatred given off
Crooks is a African American man from Southern California. He is on the farm in Northern California that Lennie and George are working on. Crooks is segregated into his own room in the barn because he “smells” but in all honesty between the characters it is because of them discriminating against the colour of Crooks’ skin. In the early 1930’s in which this story takes place the African American people were still very much discriminated against even a century after slavery was abolished. The farm that the story is set on is with a significant number of white males along with Curley’s wife.
Multiply Crooks a million times, it points out the barriers and artificial obstacles people and society build against each other. Adding to Crooks' sense of powerlessness is his position, which is made clear by Curley's wife when she breaks up their little gathering, in fact, once she uses her position as Curley's white wife as a weapon, Crooks dissolves into nothingness. He grows smaller, pressing himself against the wall, and trying to avoid the hurt. Steinbeck has now assembled for us the outsiders of his cast of characters, Crooks had retired into the terrible protective dignity of the Negro." Candy with his old age, Lennie with his retardation, Crooks with his race, Curley's wife with her gender: all are victims of the attitudes and prejudices of
Initially, they are unsure of each other, and of just how much they can share with each other, but as the story unfolds, we see more of a friendship beginning to evolve, for example George defends Candy when Carlson is threatening to kill his dog. Also, when George disapproves of Candy and Lennie spending time with Crooks, we see an interesting authority from George over the other men, and Candy is ‘crestfallen’ when George scolds him. ‘Well you guys get outta here. Jesus, seems like I can’t go away for a minute.’ This shows the power George holds over them, perhaps because he is the leader almost of the dream, and they all greatly trust him. In comparison, the relationship with George and Curley’s wife is almost the opposite to his friendship with Candy, as there is no trust or ease between them.
Everybody refers to Crooks as a “nigger”, and although using that slang is common in that era, it is still derogatory. Even Candy, who is relatively polite and nice to Crooks, still refers to Crooks as a “nigger”. He also tells of other people’s view of Crooks by saying, “The boss gives him (Crooks) hell when he’s mad,” (22). The boss obviously sees Crooks differently than some other low class ranch workers, and then specifically picks on Crooks. The workers also segregate Crooks from their activities and game.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee In To Kill a Mockingbird, the oppressed and misunderstood are portrayed in the characters Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Though the lives of the two characters are very different, they both share many common experiences and who do nothing but try to live their lives as good people, Tom is killed and Boo is almost destroyed by the ignorant people that live in Maycomb. The book is set in the South of America in the 1930’s. Racial discrimination against black people was not against the law in the south. Black slaves were not entitled to the education and laws that their white masters had and to put up with brutality because of this.
Not only is Lennie discriminated, but when George and Lennie enter the farm, discrimination has already occurred. Lennie is often prejudiced from his mental disability. Especially at the ending of the book when Lennie is killed by George. Other victims of discrimination in this novel are: Crooks, a black stable buck; Curley’s Wife, the farm owner’s neglected daughter-in-law; and Candy, an old, disabled housekeeper. Crooks is discriminated from his skin color.