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.
He has shown this throughout the novel by showing how Curley’s wife was ignored by the men, how Crooks was discriminated against because of the color of his skin, and how Lennie ultimately died because no one understood him. John Steinbeck masterfully used symbolism to reflect society during the 1930’s. Because of this novel we get a true view on how life was during this time. He had a true realist perspective and it unquestionably was evident throughout the novel. Even in today’s society, though, the message that Steinbeck wished to display would have been seen as applicable.
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).
Prominent themes of disappointment exist in John Steinbeck’s award winning novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. They are as deeply rooted in the story as the plot itself and as superficial as the individual character’s qualms. It is fitting, as the tragedy is set in the universally disappointing Great Depression and documents the lives of two migrant workers with a seemingly unattainable dream. However, the main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, are not the only ones with a reason to be disappointed. Steinbeck masterfully interweaves the dashed hopes and dreams of all his characters to create a community of hopeless ranch hands and regretful wannabe actresses.
He explained that white men always win and cheat, so the white men are the victors but the white man is always a bad man. This shows that it can be prejudice because Tom`s story was not heard and he was accused of being guilty and so he was killed. In cases of Tom being wrongly accused, harassment by others, on Scout and Atticus defending the jail can have an opinion of people that is destructive. When the group of men came to kill Tom, it shows that if Scout and Jem did not have a father would be the same thing for Walter Cunningham.
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.
Loneliness is a basic part of human life. Everyone becomes lonely once in a while but in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, he illustrates the loneliness of ranch life in the early 1930's and shows how people are driven to try and find friendship in order to escape from loneliness. Steinbeck creates a lonely and blue atmosphere at many times in the book. He uses names and words such as the town near the ranch called "Soledad", which means loneliness and the card game "Solitaire" Which means by oneself. He makes it clear that all the men on the ranch are lonely, with particular people lonelier than others.
In contrast to Mayella, Tom Robinson was treated as if he were not worth anything, for example he was being called Boy, big buck, when he was being questioned. When Mr Gilmer asked for Tom’s reason for helping Mayella, Tom admitted he had felt sorry for her. “ ‘.. I felt sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em-‘ ..‘You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?’ Mr Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling”. (Page 217/218) No black man should feel sorry for 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.
As the result, the poverty was inherited to next generation repeatedly. Roger represents the group of the poor black men. His face was “dirty” and he was “frail and willow-wild” in his clothes. In addition, he tried to steal money from Mrs. Jones illegally. About these problems, the writer tried to enlighten the poor black men through Mrs. Jones’ words although it is faint and indirect.