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

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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

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How does Steinbeck present the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'?

How does Steinbeck present the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'? Within the time period of the 1930's, many non-white people kept themselves isolated from others and stayed out of trouble, to avoid the risk of being lynched. Segregation, isolation and racism was a normal lifestyle led by those who were black; one of the characters that embodies this theme in the novel is the character of Crooks. Other themes of the novel are the American Dream; which is never achieved by any of the characters, this suggests that Steinbeck believed that the dream was unbelievable. This is the same belief which Crooks has. Friendship is another important theme, as the reader sees the desperation Crooks has for friendship and the affect of loneliness has had on him. Steinbeck set the novel in Soledad, California, 1930's during the Great Depression. This is an ironic setting because the term 'Soledad' means isolation and loneliness in Spanish, reflecting the life led by Crooks. Also the reader follows the protagonists Lennie and George as they struggle financially. In addition unemployment rates were high and pension rates decreased; making life hard especially for the middle class. Many men left their families and travelled across the country to find work and support their families. But life was harder for black men as they were seen as savage animals and were not wanted;

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How does Stainbeck use the characters Curley's wife and crooks to explore at least 2 of the themes in "Of mice and men"?

How does Stainbeck use the characters Curley's wife and crooks to explore at least 2 of the themes in "Of mice and men"? The novel "of mice and men" is based on broken dreams. This book was written about the 1930's when slavery has just been abolished. This book is also about the discrimination of women, so not only black people were treated unfair but also women were. In the 1930's the men were in charge of their wives. Staeinbeck attracts the reader's interest by exploring different kinds of themes. It is obvious that these themes are primarily negative, for example loneliness and isolation, broken dreams, prejudice and outcast, exploitation, victims of the time and insecurity. All of these themes give the impression that this book is about sadness and loneliness. Steinbeck uses characters to explore these themes such as Crooks and Curley's wife. Everyone has dreams. Dreams are very powerful and are strong desires that in the novel are most of the time very fragile. Curley's wife has a dream to become a movie star and make something of her self from when she was 15. An actor made her believe that she could be a great movie star 'he says I could go with that show.' - the actor had flirted with her instead of being honest with her but being the teenage-believe-in-anything-kind-of-girl, she fell for it. He was only taking advantage of her looks and her naivety. The first time

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The Outsider (Of Mice and Men)

The Outsider Of Mice and Men is a classic novel written by one of the world's most illustrious writers, John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck wrote a naturalistic novel which dealt with many powerful and universal themes including the value of dreams and goals, friendship and also "outsiders", which means individuals who do not fit into the mainstream of society. The novel also illustrates the significance of moral responsibility, the veracity of social injustice and also solitude. His novel "Of Mice and Men" is a story taking place around the 1930s during the Great Depression in California where the New York Wall Street stock market collapsed, and the rate of unemployment was very high. The great depression affected everyone, including both the rich and poor, industrial workers, farmers and so on. This novel however, portrays the life of two farmers, George Milton and Lennie Small. The themes of the novel are important because they depict human life in a remarkable and comprehensible way relating to the dreams and constant struggles faced in life. All the characters played in the novel "Of Mice and Men" are lonesome, living an empty life everyday consisting of mainly hard labor. The characters all live a very disheartening life, with the lack of happiness, love and affection in their lives. This can be seen also when George mentions that 'ranch workers are the loneliest people

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Of Mice and Men Essay

Of Mice and Men Tone Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a novel of several moods, however, the dominant tone of this novel is that of heartrending. This mood is developed through the unconquered dreams of the main characters. There are also other moods evoked through the actions of the characters: reflecting sorrow, shame, and brutality. The novel ends on a tragic note, consequently, the concluding mood is undeniably one of depression and frustration. Following, are two paragraphs that will confirm why this novel is heartrending. One of the most excruciating passages occurs on page 63, when Curley's intimidating behavior provoked Lennie to commit an act that he was so desperately trying to avoid, "Blood welled from his nose. 'George,' he cried. 'Make um' leave me alone, George.' He backed until he was against the wall, and Curley followed, slugging him in the face. Lennie's hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself." In that passage, it states that "he was too frightened to defend himself," the word "frightened" really disturbed me and played a immense part on why this passage made me experience a depressing feeling. I myself began to become apprehensive; terrified that George will physically and emotionally hurt Lennie, leaving him in an intense condition. By definition, frightened means "to fill with fear," and Lennie, a huge,

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What is the significance of loneliness in Of Mice and Men?

What is the significance of loneliness in 'Of Mice and Men'? You should refer in detail to characters, setting and language 'Of Mice and Men' was written by John Steinbeck. It is based in the USA in the time period of the nineteen thirties. This was the time of The Great Depression when millions of people were left jobless and many had lost their life savings in the Wall Street crash of 1929. Therefore, for these reasons, many people were forced out of their homes. In the opening line of the novel, Steinbeck mentions the town of Soledad, which means loneliness in Spanish, as the setting for the story that is to follow. This shows the reader that loneliness is an important theme in the novel. We learn that George and Lennie are itinerant workers because they mention 'goin' to Murray and Ready's'; these were a chain of employment agencies set up by the US government, to help people in their situation during the economic depression which followed the financial crash. George and Lennie are given a job on a ranch and bus tickets for travelling. As with other itinerant workers who had to travel from one short-term job to another, they do not have a permanent home. This situation highlights the theme of loneliness because they do not live in a settled community and so have to travel to new places to look for work. Before they reach the ranch, George and Lennie sleep outside in

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What do the first four paragraphs of Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Men tell us about Crooks?

What do the first four paragraphs tell us about the character of Crooks? In the first four paragraphs of chapter four, we already know how lonely and broken, physically and mentally Crooks is. Yet, he is clever and proud. Crooks is a very lonely man, which we can see from the fact that his bunk is separated from the other workers', as shown in "Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room." He is isolated from the other workers because he is a black, and the only black, therefore is not considered important enough to have a living space separated from the working space, and this isolation takes away his chances of communicating to the other workers, which results in his loneliness. In the fourth paragraph, we know that it is Saturday night and sound of moving horses and feet stirring can be heard. We can understand from these that all other ranch workers had left for town, but Crooks is segregated and could not go with them. He can only stay in his bunk, which tells us that he is not accepted in the society. The imagery "a small electric globe threw a meager yellow light" also highlighted his loneliness, for the contrary between the dim, still light inside the barn and the lively noises in the dark outside created a sense of abandonment. The use of word "small" and "meager" also suggests that he is insignificant to the other workers. His loneliness can

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Of Mice And Men

Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck uses animal imagery to express and introduce characters, events and themes in 'Of Mice and Men.' Steinbeck also uses nature, to convey events and settings in a subtle way. In section one of 'Of mice and Men' Steinbeck uses various colours to help the reader visualise the clearing as a tranquil and peaceful place. By describing the Salinas River as 'deep and green' the reader instantly envisages the water to be refreshing, mysterious and untouched. In addition, Steinbeck suggests that the clearing is full of sunlight: 'The water is warm too, for it slipped twinkling over the yellow sands.' Yellow, in this context, is calming because the words 'warm' and 'twinkling' are used before it. Steinbeck also uses alliteration to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere: 'south of Soledad, the Salinas River.' The repetition on the soft's' sound is calming and subtle. Steinbeck repeats this technique: 'the water is warm too.' As with the's' sound, the soft 'w' is calming. In this setting of absolute calm and serenity, Lennie and George are introduced. Steinbeck uses extensive animal imagery to describe Lennie: 'dragging his feet in the way a bear drags his paws.' This gives the impression that Lennie is large and cumbersome. However, the main reason that Steinbeck uses this form of imagery in describing Lennie is to portray him as amoral and therefore

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How does Steinbeck use animals to show the themes in "Of Mice and Men

How does Steinbeck use animals to show the main themes in "Of Mice and Men?" This story is about two men (George and Lennie) and their desperate hope in that they will raise enough money so that they can purchase a plot of land and "live of the fatta the land". In this essay I will discuss how Steinbeck uses animals to show the themes of, friendship/loneliness, anger/violence, cruelty/kindness and dreams. The main points that I will be discussing are, how Lennie connects with animals, how Steinbeck portrays loneliness through animals, how the American dream fuels and directs the story, how Crooks is treated like an animal and has animal instincts himself, how killing of animals foreshadows the story, how Steinbeck uses animals to symbolize or reflect different emotions the characters are experiencing and the way Lennie is killed at the end which summarises that Lennie connects with animals in the most devastating way. At the beginning of the story Lennie is drinking from the pool as though he is an animal. "Drank with big long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse", this straight away reveals to us that Lennie has animal instincts. When Lennie and George arrive at the ranch, immediately Curley begins to show aggression towards Lennie as an animal would do to protect it's territory, Curley tries to bait Lennie into having confrontation with him. This is the same

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