Some evidence to support my statement is the following “She turned to him in scorn. ‘Listen, Nigger,’ she said” evidence captured from chapter 4 from the novel `Of Mice and Men’.
Steinbeck wanted to show that life for Afro-Americans was hard, and that the Characters were logically racist given that they grew into that type of community. And he highlights the word Nigger many times when it is implying to crooks in his novel to show the unfair way in which crooks was treated in by other characters in the ranch.
Another reason why John Steinbeck uses Crooks in his novel `Of Mice and Men’ is because
He is the forlorn character of the ranch.
Some evidence to support my statement is the following “Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that others keep theirs.” evidence captured from chapter 4 from the novel `Of Mice and Men’.
Steinbeck wanted to represent Crooks as the loneliest character, purposely to show that he was not accepted in the culture he lived in because of his racial background. And also to show that he was a person that thought he was better than everyone else because he was the only Afro-American on the Ranch and that other characters from the white background thought they were better than him.
An additional reason why John Steinbeck uses Crooks in his novel `Of Mice and Men’ is because Crooks is a prearranged and elegant man.
Some evidence to support my statement is the following “Crooks possessed several pairs of shoes, a pair of rubber boots, a big alarm clock, and a single-barrelled shotgun.” evidence captured from chapter 4 from the novel `Of Mice and Men’.
Steinbeck showed Crooks as a well Structured and organised man, and by doing this he is trying to show that although nobody has respect Crooks, he respects himself and Steinbeck is also showing that unlike the other characters from the Ranch, Crooks takes care of his belongings and himself well.
A further reason why John Steinbeck uses Crooks in his novel `Of Mice and Men’ is because of insensibility.
Some evidence to support my statement is the following “`If I say something, why it’s just a nigger saying it’” evidence captured from chapter 4 from the novel `Of Mice and Men’.
Steinbeck purposely gave Crooks that role to show that on the ranch and in America no one cared much for black people and their opinions, and he is also showing that Crooks was disrespected, and that he was just useless to everyone on the ranch, that he didn’t matter and was not cared of by anyone.
Another Reason why John Steinbeck uses Crooks in his novel is `Of Mice and Men’ is because of Dreams.
Some evidence to support my statement is the following “...If you guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain`t so crippled I can work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to.”
Steinbeck is trying to show that life’s difficulties were making people dream of having better lives and standards of living conditions. And he is showing that Crooks is desperate to get a much better life, that he offers to help with Candy, Lennie and Georges plan of owning their own property at no cost, and also he wants to contribute towards their dream because if he were to get sacked or lose his job, then at the time of the great depression he wouldn’t have anywhere else to go because he is Crippled and black.
Another Reason why John Steinbeck uses Crooks in his novel is `Of Mice and Men’ is because of his Intelligence
Some evidence to support my statement is the following “And he had books, too; a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. There were battered magazines and a few dirty books on a special over his bunk. A pair of large gold rimmed spectacles hung from a nail on the wall above his bed.”
Although Steinbeck presents Crooks as a lonely character that is unnecessary towards the people of the Ranch, he is the most intelligent. And Crooks being intelligent means that he is different from every other person on the Ranch
In John Steinbeck’s novel `Of Mice and Men’ he raises three different themes that include: loneliness, Dreams and racism however he uses Crooks for different reasons that incorporate Crooks having Dreams he wants to pursue, segregation going within the ranch and Crooks being the disciplined character of the ranch. But personally I think that John Steinbeck uses Crooks in his novel `Of Mice and Men’ to illustrate the racism going on in the ranch and in America because in his novel `Of Mice and Men’, he includes a paragraph for Crooks to demonstrate to the readers how his life went on in the ranch and how he was treated on the Ranch. And in the Chapter Crooks is shown as a disrespected individual who has no rights and who has managed to cope with the life in America. And it shows that Steinbeck wanted to highlight the problem of racial discrimination by using Crooks as a afro-American working and living amongst this society during the time.
