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.
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. Crooks refuses to say Curley’s wife is wrong, he accepts the fact that he lives with ever-present racial discrimination, and says he had "forgotten himself" because they’d treated him so well. Crooks self-opinion isn’t based on what he believes he’s worth, but on knowing that no matter how he feels, others around him will always value him as less. As quickly as he got excited about the
The dreams in “Of Mice and Men” are used by Steinbeck to signify characters in the book that have the potential to aspire to something better. Many people on the ranch are individuals who live in the reality that their lives are very isolated and often futile as they work for The Boss on the ranch and he has absolute control. None of the workers
This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” (68) He is acting this way because this is the way that everybody else treats him. Crooks is secluded to a small room of his own and he never is allowed to go to the barn and play with the other guys. The author’s characterization of Crooks is also negative. He calls him a nigger and says he doesn’t mind getting hell from the others.
Lennie is considered as an outsider because of his mental disability. Crooks is considered an outsider because he is an old black man whom back is hurt and can’t really stand up straight the reason why he’s even working in the ranch is because he’s the only one who knows how to keep the stables in control. Candy is considered an outsider because he’s an old man with one of his hands disabled. Curley’s wife was considered as an outsider
“’Jem, I ain’t ever heard of a nigger snowman,’ I said.” (Scout, pg. 72) It shows that Negroes aren’t important in society, but when you take a closer look at it, there would be no civilisation in Maycomb without the hard work of Negroes. “’He won’t be black long,’ He grunted” (Jem, pg.72) White men will simply be treated better and with more royalty, even if they had done the same sin as a black man has done; For instance in Tom Robinson’s case with Bob Ewell’s daughter Mayella. Everyone knows that the white man Bob, will win. A black man never has a chance up against a white man.
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). Crooks’ deformed back deprive him of working with the other men, thus denying him an opportunity for personal contact with them. Next, Crooks becomes accustomed to seclusion and begins to be suspicious of any man who tries to make friends with him. Crooks cannot go in the bunkhouse of the white ranch hands; therefore, he turns Lennie away from his own place. His longing for company wins over and he then invites Lennie to accompany him (68).
Another example is how he must live away from other workers. He has his own room in the harness room and he is not allowed in the bunkhouse. Another example in the story Candy tells about how Crooks was brought into the bunkhouse on Christmas to fight with the drunken farm workers. Candy said ‘they let the nigger come in that night’. These examples show racism was very acceptable on the ranch in the 1930’s.
Also by referring to the quote ‘Three walls there were small.. .’ and ‘against the walls were eight bunks’ this suggest that it’s very crowded and unhygienic. It also shows that all the ranch workers sleep in the bunkhouse. We also get a feeling that they try to make the place more homely by adding personal things in the apple box. We know this because it says ‘these shelves were loaded with little articles, soap and talcum powder, razor and those Western magazines ranch men love to read, scoff at
In Of Mice and Men, racism is displayed upon the negro on the farm. Within the farm it’s basically segregated. Crooks, the negro, is isolated on from the other men on the farm, with his own room and no one to socialize too. Loneliness haunts Crooks deep inside. As the novel goes on we see that Crooks accepts things the way they overall are.