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. Like Curley’s wife, Crooks is disempowered, but turns his vulnerability into a weapon to attack those who are even weaker. Crooks begins to pick on Lennie, suggesting George won’t come home, and a slight mean streak is exposed that has probably developed after being alone for so long. Lennie unwittingly soothes Crooks into feeling at ease, and Candy even gets him excited about the dream farm. Crooks’s little dream of the farm is shattered by Curley’s wife’s nasty comments, putting the black man right into his "place" as inferior to a white woman, somebody already seen as being inferior to everyone else on the ranch to begin with.
The room is made out to be a privilege because it keeps him closer to the horses, but in fact it is really because the other hands do not want him sharing a bunk house with them. As a result of this prejudice Crooks has become bitter and very lonely. When Lennie comes to pet puppies, not even knowing that Crooks’ room is ‘out of bounds’ he tries to enter it; Crooks instantly becomes uncivil “I ain’t wanted in the bunk room and you ain’t wanted in my room”(Steinbeck 68). Lennie with his childish innocence is completely without prejudice “Why ain’t you wanted” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks retaliates with this: “Cause I’m black, they play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black.
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.
I tell ya," he cried, "I'll tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (Steinbeck 72). Crooks does not have anyone to talk to, this shows another side of him. While he talks about men in general feeling lonely, he really is talking about the way he feels. Crooks is mostly affected because he is shut down from activities and the workers in the ranch mistreat him because he is black. While talking to Candy he says, ".
The authors of these stories are protesting common problems of the era. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, is protesting racism, sexism, and other issues of the day. This story is about two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who find work during the Great Depression. One example of protest that the author is expressing is racism. The theme of racism is expressed throughout the book by the black character, Crooks.
Therefore, the black community in Maycomb was crippled with fear. A fear that they will get lynched for a crime they did not commit. Stereotyping is a human instinct. We will always stereotype people's race, class and families. When Aunt Alexandra lived with the Finches, she said this to Scout about the Cunninghams, "Because he is trash, that's why you cant play with him.
The Ignorance was that Ray needed those schedules or he will have a fit. The Story Of Mice and Men and the movie “Rain man” both are examples of lack of knowledge towards mentally challenged. This resulted in anger at ignorance of mentally challenged, dependent needs required and mistakes made. This is all because people were ignorant and selfish and lacked knowledge of their friend or
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.
As the novel goes on we see that Crooks accepts things the way they overall are. Crooks doesn’t talk to the other men and they don’t talk to him. This causes the greatest amount of loneliness in Crooks out of all the characters. When Crooks states “I tell ya a guy get to lonely an he gets sick” ( Steinbeck; 73). This quote shows that rejection can cause most people to become crazy, as it did to Crooks.
They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me”(68). The point is Crooks is lonely because nobody wants to be his friend because hes black, showing that he is lonely. Another person showing loneliness is Curley’s Wife. Its because she wants to talk to somebody but no one wants to talk to her because of Curley.