Crooks loneliness is also due to the fact that he is different than the others on the ranch because he is black. This is part of another theme, which is the fact that we fear what is different. This means that we find things that aren’t like we are very frightening. Lennie asks Crooks why he isn’t wanted in the bunkhouse and he replies “’Cause I’m black.” Which is true because he is different to the men in the bunkhouse they fear him and choose to segregate him so that they don’t have to face him. It is also reflected in the way Lennie is treated by Curley. He chooses to fight Lennie because he is bigger than he is however when he realises Lennie’s strength he becomes frightened. The other men in the bunkhouse that witness Lennie crushing Curley’s hand choose to stay out of the way because they fear what he might do to them. Steinbeck reflect this when he writes ‘Curley sat down on the floor, looking in wonder at his crushed had. Slim and Carlson bent over him. Slim straightened up and regarded Lennie with horror.’ The technique used to convey this theme is Steinbeck’s use of simplistic language. He uses this to show how obvious the reason for Crooks being in a room on his own and for Curley picking on Lennie that the readers find it scary.
The reason that Curley picked on Lennie was because he was smiling at the memory of him stroking the rabbits. This is part of George and Lennie’s dream of getting the American dream but for them and others it is unobtainable. This is the third theme of the unobtainable American dream. This is where a lot of the characters want to find something that they can call theirs and also so that they can be happy. Lennie and George want to own their own farm where they can live off the food that they will produce. Lennie also wants to own rabbits that he will be able to look after and ‘pet’. Candy also gets pulled into this dream as does Crooks when he hears Lennie talking about it. The technique that is used here is emotive language that is extremely descriptive and makes the farm seem very welcoming and obtainable. An example of this is when George tells Candy about the land that he plans to buy: ‘ “Sure, we’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an’ in the winter we’d keep a fire going in it. It ain’t enough so we’d have to work too hard. Maybe six, seven hours a day. We wouldn’t have to buck barley eleven hours a day. An’ when we put in a crop, why, we’d be there to tale the crop up. We’d know what come of our planting.” ’
This idea of the American dream gives the characters a goal and direction to take in life. This is another theme in the book, the need for a goal and direction. Lennie and George have their dream of a farm along with Candy. Crooks wants to be equal with all the workers on the ranch and to have what he had as a child on his father’s farm. Curley’s wife wants to be an actress and to be free of her husband. The technique that is used here is juxtaposition. Steinbeck juxtaposes the character’s dreams with the way that they live at that point in the book. One example of this is Crooks and his goal. He wants equality and peace and freedom however he is stuck in a place where he is discriminated against and made to do what he is told. He says ‘ “I was born right here is California. My old man had a chicken ranch, ‘bout 10 acres. The white kids come to play at out place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never new till long later why he didn’t like that. But I know now.” ’
This idea of Crooks’ was the way that he found his identity and worth. This is also part of the theme that the characters are all searching for their identity and worth in the world. George tries to find his identity when he talks to Slim and when he socialises with all of the men on the ranch. Curley searches when he fights with Lennie and starts on Slim about his wife. Curley’s wife does it when she is talking to Lennie before he kills her. The technique that is used here is irony. The characters search for their identity but when they think that they have found it, it is taken away from them. An example of this is when Curley’s wife is talking to Lennie and she is then killed because of Lennie not understanding his own strength. Steinbeck writes: ‘He looked down at her and carefully removed his hand from her mouth, and she lay still. “I don’t want ta hurt you but George’ll be bad if you yell.” ’
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck represents his themes through the way he manipulates the language. The different themes include the need for companionship, the unobtainable American dream, the fact that we fear what we don’t understand, the need to have a goal and direction and the struggle for identity and acceptance. Steinbeck also uses the way the characters act to show his themes and through their actions the meaning of the theme.
