He says ‘I ain’t wanted in the bunk-house’ which shows again he is left out of social happenings and left all by himself on a regular basis.
He says to people who come in his room; ‘you ain’t wanted in this room’ this is because he has no social skills and because he thinks why should anyone come in his room when vice-versa in unacceptable?
He lets people in eventually because he is so lonely, ‘come on in and set in a while’. He wants people to talk to but tries to hide this retaining the fact that he can survive on his own, he is a very proud and aloof man.
He lets Lenny in his room at one point and starts tormenting Lenny because he envies that Lenny has got somebody and he hasn’t, Crooks supposes to Lenny that George doesn’t come back (here he is talking about himself). ‘he’ll come back I was talking about myself’. When Lenny gets distressed at this he takes pleasure in his torture against Lenny, ‘suppose George don’t come back no-more’, because of his bitter and twisted ways in which he has been treated all his life, this is a prime example of the ‘bullied’ becoming the ‘bully’. Remember bullies are usually lonely in the first place.
Crooks also starts to open up to Lenny about his life knowing that he won’t understand anyway but wants to get it off his chest. He says ‘a guys goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t make no difference who the guy is long as he’s with you……..’, this shows exactly why Crooks is lonely and hits the nail on the head about the whole theme of loneliness. He also says ‘ a guy gets too lonely and a guy gets sick’ this may explain why crooks has difficulty talking to other people and has become bitter.
The contents of Crook’s room tell what kind of life he leads, (a lonely one) he has a piles of tattered books, ‘a mauled copy of the Californian civil code for 1905’. This obviously shows that he reads a lot and regularly but more importantly states he has lots of free time due to his lack of social life again due to his colour which excludes him from the rest of the gang causing further isolation, Crooks says ‘a guy can’t just live with book a guy has to have somebody to talk to’, this again shows his loneliness and shows the importance of a social life however small. He is talking to ‘dum-dum’ Lenny which shows his desperation for company as in a normal situation Lenny wouldn’t be an adequate companion due to his mental state. Everybody makes fun of the ‘nigger’ and says he stinks when really it is the other way round, this shows the sides in which people play on. White/black mainly. ‘that nigger sure as hell stinks’.
Crooks is a scapegoat for the rest of the ranch workers, ‘the boss gives him hell when he’s mad,’ this is totally unfair and shows his lack of rights as human being to accept this so naturally. ‘if I say something it’s just a ‘nigger’ talking, it means nothing to no-one and nobody.’ This makes him feel small and unworthy because he knows that everybody is against him and has no-one to comfort him from this hardship.
Crooks shows his desperate loneliness again when he tries to join in on George and Lenny’s ‘dream’ despite knowing his irrelevant status in the ranch, he tries anyway and offers to work for free, ‘if you guys would want a hand to work for nothing-jus’ his keep why I’d come in and lend a hand’. He also raises his hopes reassuring himself and say’s ‘why I ain’t so crippled and I can work like a ‘son of a bitch’ if I want to’, this shows that he’s starting to believe like the rest of the workers and is being optimistic for the first time in the novel which is a happy moment until Curley’s wife bulldozers the dream.
When Crooks is on his role and defends himself she tell him to keep his place, ‘keep your place then nigger’,
‘Crooks retired into the terrible protective dignity of a nigger’ this shows his isolation and is showed his place and what he is good for.
She tells Crooks that she ‘could get him stringed up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny’. She’s right and Crooks is back to square one with no-one and nobody and no dream which is very lonely situation indeed.
Crooks has no-one to protect him from the evils of racism and is destined for life on the ranch wallowing in his own loneliness and bitterness forever more, ‘well jus’ forget it, jus foolin, I wouldn’t want to go to a place like that anyway’.