At the beginning of the scene we get a detailed description about Crooks’s room and his way of life. From the very beginning of the scene we know Crooks is a Black slave working on the ranch. “ Crooks, the Negro stable buck…” (Page 66) We also know that Crooks has been on the ranch for quite some time and will be there for many years to come. “…he was more permanent then the other men, and he had accumulated more possessions than he could carry on his back.”(Page 66) we also know he is crippled, “His body was bent over to the left because of his crooked spine…” (Page 67) Which is probably where his name originated from for having a crooked spine.
Crooks is black and this is established early on in the scene, because of this insignificant he is segregated from the other men on the ranch and is marginalized. During the 1920’s black people in America were treated very harshly just because of the colour of their skin.
During the Crooks’s scene we learn a lot about the various characters in the novel. From the very beginning of the novel we know Lennie is mentally challenged, “…Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all…”(page 5), however he also seems oblivious the world around him and the hurdles that some people have to overcome to get through life like Crook’s. “…I ain’t wanted in the bunk house… why ain’t you wanted?… Cause I’m black…” (Page 68).
Crooks and Curleys wife may seem completely different which is true but in some ways they are both very similar. They both share the same hopes and dreams of making something of themselves one day. Both Crooks and Curleys wife are rejected from society, but for different reasons. Crooks is rejected from society because of the colour of his skin and Curleys wife is rejected from society because she is seen as a “bait-trap”.
There is a lot of mistrust between Crooks and the other people on the ranch. Crooks mistrusts people for both the wrong and right reasons. He mistrusts people because of the dislike that is felt for him, it is one of the rare feelings that he can feel for the other men on the ranch. He cannot feel compassion or hatred, as those are too extreme. However he mistrusts them on the basis that he is mistrusted himself by them. This is because he is black and due to the segregation laws. ”You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.”(Page 68)
Curleys wife does not mistrust the other men on the ranch but she is mistrusted by the men. They are scared of the consequences they may have to face if Curley catches any of them talking to his wife. Curleys wife is often referred to as “jail bait”. She seems to be a very resentful person and regretful at the way her life turned out.
Lennie is not accepted within the society that is set in the novel. He like Curleys wife and crooks is also marginalized but this is because Lennie is quite mentally challenged, however he knows how to manipulate George. “Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back.” (Page 5).
During the 1920’s stock market crash every one had to fight for survival, people only thought about them selves and how they were going to earn the money to put the food on the table, the novel “Of mice and men” is based on real life experiences. People did not have time to show each other empathy they were too busy with their own lives and every day problems. The Crooks scene tells us what life was like not only on the ranch in the novel but also what real life was like on a real ranch.
