Crooks is wary of being exploited even though he has not much to lose but it seems, like everyone else on the ranch, he is isolated by others and even himself because he is coloured. This links in with the 1930's america Great depression where people isolated each other. This also links in with the racism at the time where coloured people were thought as inferior to the white men. These two facts suggest it was difficult to live at those times
Chapter 4 – Crooks’ bunk in the harness room. Saturday night. Lennie is left behind when George goes into town with the other ranch hands. This section of the novel focuses on Crooks as a character. Crooks is a bitter, cynical person, ‘being alone’ would not encourage him to be any other way.
Of Mice and Men Essay Plan Intro • In 1930’s American people had no work • Time of the great depression , Poverty and hardship • millions of people unemployed = looking for any work available - "Of Mice of Men," = set in this period • about two ranch workers Lennie and George who are migrant workers. • Migrant workers moved from place to place to find work • No proper relationship with others - loneliness is a theme in this novel • All the people on the ranch are lonely for different reasons • reflective of the time period in which the novel was written • shows the harsh reality of their lives. • book is set The American Dream • Each individual had their own interpretation of their ideal situation for life Section 1 • Chapter 2 begins with the introduction of a new setting •
Crooks has got his own bedroom which is in a “little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn”, this shows us that crooks has been mentally and also physically been separated from the white people. This reflects on how the black community had to live in the racial great depression period. We see that Crooks is a lonely character and the reasons for this are because he has been rejected in society by the white people because he is black. We can infer that crooks does not like to be alone and he would like to have someone to be with him because in a conversation between him and Lennie, crooks says “a guy needs somebody to be near him” which shows that he
Not only is Lennie discriminated, but when George and Lennie enter the farm, discrimination has already occurred. Lennie is often prejudiced from his mental disability. Especially at the ending of the book when Lennie is killed by George. Other victims of discrimination in this novel are: Crooks, a black stable buck; Curley’s Wife, the farm owner’s neglected daughter-in-law; and Candy, an old, disabled housekeeper. Crooks is discriminated from his skin color.
As a result he often can’t face reality and can’t react properly to situations because he isn’t used to proper human contact- except from George who treats him like a pet, and who lennie obeys. The men are afraid of Lennie because they know that if his great strength were ever to go uncontrolled, it could easily overwhelm any one of them. This constant rejection by others increases the depth of Lennie's loneliness and adds to the theme of loneliness running through the novel. Lennie and curley’s wife react to their lonliness and getting into trouble, this explains why many people do bad things and how it isn’t really their fault. This also suggests why society have to care for minorities or generally lonely people because otherwise bad things may happen.
Lennie is a social outcast because he is socially awkward. In his innocence and mental disability, he often gets into trouble, often violent trouble on account for not understanding his own strength. Candy is the aging ranch hand, fearful that he will be too old to work (in the eyes of others) and therefore he feels like a potential outcast (being fired) in the future. All three are treated as different, “other”, or unwanted in some way. Crooks is black, Candy is old, and Lennie is mentally challenged.
Loneliness Loneliness, a mental and physical state of mind, affects many of the ranch workers differently by isolation from society that changes how a character thinks and behaves towards others, from “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. The characters experience a lot of hatred and separation due to their current era which includes racism, that totally isolates the whites from the colored, and sexism, which Curley’s wife goes through when she gets near grown men. Crooks, who works with the ranch horses, lives by himself because of segregation, and since he is the only colored person there, he feels loneliness, which makes him paranoid about any interactions he has with humans. Being lonely makes Crooks mean, he puts Lennie in misery, telling
Outcasts in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men In the book Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the loneliness of California ranch life during the early 1900s. Throughout the story, Steinbeck introduces characters that are isolated and lonely as a result of discrimination and prejudice. The racism towards Crooks, the physical disability of both Crooks and Candy, and the fear towards Curley’s wife causes them to suffer from loneliness and the pain of being outcasts. Crooks is an outcast because of his race and physical disability. He is a black man, and black men were discriminated against during the early 1900s.
Crook works on a farm, he is quite intelligent and he can read. He also owns lots of books, and because he has his own room becomes very lonely. The other men won’t enter his room because he is black. Crook has a very distinctive crippled back which is where he gets his nick name Crook from referring to his crooked back and his character is seen as a lonely, crippled, black man. During the story his loneliness becomes obvious and he wants a close friend and is jealous of the relationship between George and Lennie and says to Lennie when George is out “S’pose he (George) gets hurt so he can’t come back”, maybe hoping if this is true he could be Lennie’s close friend.