Of Mice and Men Crooks

Crooks In the novel "Of Mice and Men" the character of Crooks is used by John Steinbeck, the author, to symbolise the marginalisation of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set. Crooks is also significant as he provides an insight into the reality of the American Dream and the feelings of all the ranchers: their loneliness and need for company and human interaction. The reader has to decide whether Crooks deserves sympathy, or if he is just a cruel, bitter and gruff stable-buck. Crooks is a black man, but at the time the novel was written, blacks were referred to as "niggers", meant as a white insult. Being a nigger, Crooks is ostracised by the whites at the ranch and he resents this. As he says (p. 74) "If I say something, why it's just a nigger sayin' it" and this shows his anger at being pushed to the side. Being oppressed has made him seem cruel and gruff, but also has turned him to self-pity and the notion that he is a lesser human. He says to Lennie (p. 72) "You got no right to come in my room.....You go on get outa my room. I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse and you ain't wanted in my room." He continues by saying that the whites believe he stinks and one can interpret this as a way of saying that the whites would find it a disgrace that a nigger should breathe the same bunkhouse air as them."S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play

  • Word count: 776
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Crooks' Importance In Of Mice And Men

Crooks' importance in "Of Mice and Men" In "Of Mice and Men" Crooks is a black stable back segregated from the rest of the men on the ranch because of the fact that he is black. Crooks' name suggests that there is something physically wrong with him. His physical disability is one of the many ways that he suffers on the ranch. We see Crooks mostly in chapter four. He is not shown much in the first three paragraphs and this indicates his position in society as very low because he is not noticed, and therefore is not important. At the begin of chapter four we see Crooks in a room of his own from this we see he is separated from all the other men. His room is simple and small to suit his needs: "Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with hay" The fact that his room is so basic shows that he is lower than rest of the men on the ranch. Although that he is seen as less of a person, he looks after his room which shows he is "a proud, aloof man." Although he is separated from the other men, he still has many personal possessions. Like the other men on the ranch his possessions say a lot about him. In his room he has "rubber boots", "a big alarm clock", and "a shot gun" which shows that although he is a cripple he is very active and practical. He also has many tools; here John Steinback is trying to show that although he is black he is very skilled and capable with his hands. This

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 861
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Of Mice & Men : Crooks analysis

Of Mice & Men: Crooks Crooks is introduced to us in a very unique way. Steinbeck describes all his belongings, creating a strong vivid picture in the readers head. Crooks the 'negro stable buck' lives alone in a small cramped room. He is someone who is treated very unfairly and unjustly, due to just his colour. When he was young he was kicked by a horse, therefore leaving him with a body which is crooked to the left. He has many things from shoes, a clock, and a shotgun; he also has a dictionary, magazines, a few dirty books, and a pair of 'gold' spectacles. Crooks keeps his room 'swept and clearly neat'. For Crooks his room is his supply of pride. Crooks room alone tells us everything about him. It tells us how he is different from many other ranch workers. His room is flocculated with boxes with various amounts of tools from his countless amounts of previous jobs. Steinbeck tries to portray to us that Crooks has been a ranch worker for a very long time and over the time he has gathered a load of possessions. Crooks is not treated as a normal human being, he is seen as almost an animal, and therefore he always tries to takes pride in himself. The 'fairly neat' room shows this. Crooks is told that he is not allowed in the bunk house, due to him being black and as any human being would do, he takes offence, as Crooks is not allowed in the bunk house, he tries to maintain

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 815
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Of Mice and Men: A Character Analysis of Crooks.

6 January 2004 Daniel Rollé Prep Of Mice and Men: A Character Analysis of Crooks It is noticeable throughout 'Of Mice and Men' that Crooks is portrayed by Steinbeck to be an outcast. It is clear that there is a large divide between Crooks and the other men on the ranch. Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, and it is for this reason alone that he is excluded from normal life on the ranch. Crooks does not sleep with the other men in the bunk houses, but instead has his own place to sleep in the barn. He is not allowed to socialise with the other men and instead lives a life of solitude in his room. Crooks has a bad back, which makes it hard for him to buck barley and work in the field like the other ranchers. Instead, he does odd jobs on the ranch. This could be another reason for his being outcast, since Candy is also seen somewhat as an outcast because of his disabilities. Crooks seems to be and intellectual man, and certainly well read, from the description of his room. He has, along with a few other possessions, a few books; these included a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. Although these do not seem significant, they do show that Crook was both educated and possibly wealthy. He does tell of his fathers ranch, which could mean that he was once well off - however we are not told what became of these riches.

  • Word count: 853
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Of Mice and Men - the character of Crooks.

Of Mice and Men Homework task : Crooks . Looking at Crooks bedroom it tells us that he kept away from everybody else, because he's black he's segregated against . The fact he's in a harness room tell us that he's kept away from everybody else . No -one goes into the harness room so he is properly kept away , this is why him being in a harness room is so significant. 2. Steinbeck tell us on this page that Crooks was born in California and that when he wanted to play with ' the white kids' who lived there his ' ol' man didn't like that ' . This suggesting that he's used to being alone as ' there wasn't another coloured family for miles '. 3. It is important that he has a copy of the california civil right's code so he know's his right's . Steinbeck used the word ' mauled ' when telling us about him having a copy as he had read the civil code everyday as he lived in California all his life its important that he knows where he stands with the law. 4. Crooks is resentful , as being segregated all his life he's used to be alone and as he's used to this he likes ' to keep his distance and demands people to keep theirs ' though this changes as he talks to Lennie and we see this when Steinbeck uses the words ' his tone was a little more friendly ' meaning he started to like the company of Lennie. 5. I think that Crooks being segregated all his life as he couldn't play with '

  • Word count: 515
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Of Mice and Men essay on Crooks character.

Grace French. 10N Of Mice and Men essay I am doing my essay on Crooks the 'Stable buck' who is black, 'the nigger'. I have chosen to do Crooks as I feel he is a defined character, different to the rest so I thought it would be interesting to go into him with more detail. He has a crooked back, hence the name Crooks, he has a crooked back as a horse kicked him when he was younger. 'Stable buck' means he tends the horses on the ranch, and this is where he sleeps. He is not allowed to sleep in the bunkhouse with the rest of the ranch workers, as they are afraid that they might catch a disease off him, so instead he has to sleep in the barn with the animals. He lives a life of solitude, being alone in the barn with no-one coming in to talk to him, 'You got no right to come in my room', 'I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and you aint wanted in here'. Among his possessions, in his room he has some books, including "a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905" This tells him his rights as a black man, so he obviously does not want to get on the wrong side of the law, so he keeps to his limits. Him having books suggests to us that he may have been well educated as a child. When he was young boy he lived on a smallholding with his father, so he was probably treated with a bit of respect, however, now he is just a black man working on a ranch

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 801
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Crooks- Of Mice and Men.

Crooks Crooks is a Negro stable buck. He lives alone and he is often discriminated because he is black and because he is a cripple. He lives in the harness room and his house is well swept with the occasional books and magazines on the floor. On page 99 it says that he keeps his distance from people and that he demands that other people keep theirs. From this we can determine that he is a very secluded man and he likes his privacy, however we also learn later on that he is very lonely. Lennie goes into Crook' house after going to see his puppy but it is made clear that he is not welcome. Crooks scowls at Lennie and tells him to get out of his room but Lennie is persistent and begins to ask Crooks questions. After a while Crooks says, "Come on in and sit a while." Lennie then becomes the first person to enter Crooks' house apart from the boss. They start talking for a while and Crooks begins to tell Lennie about how he was discriminated as a child, but Lennie is still thinking about the rabbits and eagerly tries to change the subject. Then on page 103 Crooks begins to put worrying thoughts into Lennies head by saying "S'pose George don't come back no more?" This is the first nasty thing that we have seen Crooks do and Lennie immediately becomes worried about what Crooks has just said. He replies by saying "He won't do it...He'll come back tonight." Crooks realises that he

  • Word count: 680
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Of Mice and Men- Crooks' Relationships controlled assessment.

Of Mice and Men- Crooks controlled assessment. There are a variety of ways in which Steinbeck presents the relationships between Crooks and characters like the white men on the ranch: the white world through Candy's perspective, Slim, Lennie, Candy, Curley's wife and George. Through these complicated relationships, Steinbeck constantly endows us with insight into themes such as: friendship, loneliness, the American Dream, the unpredictability of life and most significantly- racism; all being major themes in the lives of ranch men. These unhealthy bonds between Crooks and the characters are induced by the Great Depression in 1930s, which is the origin of racial factors such as the legacy of slavery which affected the American society and marginalised black people as well as women, mentally stunted people and the older generation. In addition, Crook's relationship with these characters presents the reader with doubt as to whether he is a typical stereotyped 'black victim' or a more complex- three dimensional individual with motives, aspirations, and desires like all men. Steinbeck presents Crooks and his relationship with the white world from Candy's perspective in a very unusual way. At first, Crooks is portrayed as an outsider as he is referred to as a 'stable buck' and a 'nigger' several times throughout the conversation between Candy and George. These extremely

  • Word count: 1973
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Comparing Crooks and Candy in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'

Comparing Crooks and Candy in the novel 'Of Mice and Men' John Steinbeck, in the novel 'Of mice and men', creates the two characters Crooks and Candy, who on the surface appear overtly different. However, Steinbeck establishes throughout the novel that underneath the surface the two characters are very similar. Due to the colour of Crook's skin , and the old age of Candy, both the characters fall prey to discrimination that leads to isolation. As Crooks is a victim to the racism evoked upon him, he is forced to live alone. This is because of the unjust prejudice of that period in time. Steinbeck cleverly conveys Crooks feelings towards his discrimination, by the statement 'glittering with intensity' when describing his eyes. This clearly conveys to the reader the anger he feels due the unjust prejudice he is a victim of. Whereas, Although Candy lives with the other workers he is still subtly discriminated against. This becomes apparent when the workers shoot Candy's dog because it is no longer useful. Steinbeck uses this to as a metaphor, and to also echo the fact that soon Candy will be no longer useful, due to his age and will not be wanted by the ranch. Moreover, since Steinbeck does not refer to both characters by name he indicates as to how they may be portrayed. As Crooks is firstly described by the racist term 'nigger', and Candy as 'The old swamper',

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 598
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Of Mice and Men - Crooks Monologue

Of Mice and Men Character: Crooks Loneliness is a disease. It eats away at people slowly, gradually tearing them limb from limb. It is a virus that send some people insane, some turn senile, I am lonely no friends, no one to talk to either. Crazy old world these days isn't it when even a black Negro cannot have his own privacy in his own room well that's what I like to call it my room. Maybe it happened to be a good thing that day the fact my privacy was over ruled by a white, strong, tall disheartened lost and confused male or maybe it was just pure ignorance. Either way I got to talk to someone well when I say talk to I may as well have been talking to myself but nevermind he was human!!. His name was Lennie he was a crazy bastard always talking about George this great magnificent person who Lennie thought was God was going to let him tend the rabbits on the land they planned to buy when I say planned I mean dreamed. Everyone had this dream work a month or to get the money and buy land but that's all it was a dream. George had got this idea into Lennies head and that's all he would talk about until you started to talk about George. This is when I realised that George was really special to Lennie even more special than them damn rabbits. I sat there trying to torment this vulnerable fellow just for my self enjoyment really and I hit a nerve

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1076
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay