Analysis Of Crooks Room In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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This chapter begins with the description of a place; this time, it is Crooks' room in the stable. Crooks, the black stable hand, lives by himself in the harness room, a shed attached to the barn. Injured when a horse kicked him, Crooks has a body that is bent to the left because of his crooked spine. The stable hand has many horse care items in his room, as well as personal belongings he keeps because he is a more permanent tenant. It is a room for one man alone, Crooks is always alone, in a discriminatory point of view, Crooks does not feel wanted, Lennie asks Crooks why does he feel that way and he answers, “Cause I'm black. They play cards in there but I can't play because I'm black.” (75) When Crooks has an opportunity to wield some…show more content…
Crooks irritably lets Candy come in and Candy begins to talk to Lennie about the farm, also forgetting about the promise to keep it a secret, Candy and Lennie are so happy to leave their American Dream. Crooks again chides them: "You guys is just kiddin' yourself" (83). But Candy and Lennie stubbornly assert that they have the money and that they're actually going to get a place. Crooks finally becomes convinced and, allured by the reality of the dream, asks for a share in it: "If you . . . . guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand"…show more content…
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
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