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 way Curley’s wife speaks to Crooks shows how racist she is. For example she tells him ‘I could get strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’ This shows that she can be really nasty and gives a negative impression to her character. Therefore Crooks’ relationship with Curley’s wife is important in the book. Additionally, Crooks’ relationship with Lennie shows us how much Lennie relies on George. For example when Crook’s says ‘S’pose George don’t come back no more.’ The reader sees how upset Lennie gets, he almost gets violent with Crooks.
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.
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.
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.
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).
17. He is lonely. 18. "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you were black... A guy needs somebody - to be near
Albert does not allow Celie to see Shug Avery sing at the Juke Joint, and forces her to stay home. Bromden: Isolated from the world outside of the hospital. He was admitted to the hospital for a reason that is unknown, and he has been permanently deemed as ‘incurable’ and will never be allowed to leave. Point 3 (Prejudices of Racism & Sexism): Celie: Affected by extreme sexism as different men (her step-father Alphonso and husband Albert) decide her life choices. When asked why Albert beats her by his son Harpo, Albert replies with ‘cause she my wife.
Candy, like Crooks, also tried to reach out, yet he does it by trying to defend Crooks. Crooks and Curley's wife get into a climactic altercation, and Candy, acting on his loneliness, angrily discloses that they aren't "afraid of getting canned...because they got their own land". (Steinbeck 79) This reflects his reaching out because he put himself on the line for a man he had just met. Before the altercation with Crooks, Curley's wife uses her appeal to reach out. In a desperate attempt to make small talk with the men, she states
He lives in a ranch in the middle of nowhere, in a stable, far away from the rest of the workers. He gets discriminated against because of his skin color. When other workers are playing games like cards, he’s in his own little isolated space, reading. Just like his name, Crooks has a crooked back and life. Just like his back, his life is broken.