How do the details in this passage add to your understanding of Crooks?
The passage starts with the very first description of a “little” room with a square four paned window. We then go onto learn about a man by the name of “Crooks” that has many possessions in his room which range from “leather-working tools” to a “single barrelled shotgun”. We later then learn he’s a stable buck and a “cripple” who likes to keep his things very organised by the way the things in his room are described.
Along Crooks possessions, he seems to own a “tattered” dictionary and a “mauled” copy of the California civil code for 1905. We could presume that Crooks seems to be quite educated, however it is well known in 1905, education for African- American’s were indeed of the rarity and if there were the rare cases in which they were educated, it was usually in an unfair way and they were usually segregated. The fact that Crooks carries a dictionary one could argue shows his strong desire and determination for knowledge we can also infer that if he cannot be taught nor accepted for a proper education, he would teach himself which could mean he’s passionate about learning. He also carries a “civil code”, this could mean when he is mistreated, he could use this to justify the ill-treatment and show that it isn’t allowed, this could mean that not only does he not do it in means of violence, but shows his sense of strong morality. However, the copies are described as “tattered” and “mauled”, ambiguously this could mean they could be stolen, or hand-downs showing that Crooks cannot afford to buy his own books. Or, it could mean that he doesn’t really have a place to keep these books safe and well kept, showing a sense of homelessness.
