OF MICE AND MEN
This is a detailed examination of chapter four explaining how it illustrates Steinbeck's concerns in the novel as a whole.
John Steinbeck wrote "Of Mice And Men" in1937. In it he showed a great sensitivity for the lonely, deprived and the many people who were socially different. Much of his writing comes from personal experience, when he worked as a farm labourer, through choice and not necessity. In Mice And Men he sets the scene, which would have been typical of itinerant ranch workers of the time. The original title was "Something That Happened," this changed when he read the poem "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns. "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain for promised joy". On reading the poem I find this a fitting title for this novel. His use of words in this novel is wonderfully descriptive, making everything seem so vivid to the reader. Steinbeck gives you the ability to understand how other people feel.
Chapter four is set in the stable buck's room, which is a lean-to, off the harness room. It is a small room with a long box filled with straw for a bed and all the broken harnesses and tools for the horses are kept there. On the shelves, there are medicines belonging to the stable buck as well as the horses, a drippy can of tar and some saddle soap. There are also a few books, a dictionary, the California civil code for 1906, a pair of glasses and a few other personal possessions belonging to Crooks. With Steinbeck's use of words like, "through the open door that led into the barn came the sound of moving horses, of feet stirring, of teeth champing on hay, of the rattle of halter chains," you really get the feel that Crooks lives with the animals. You can almost smell the animals.
Chapter four introduces Crooks's personality into the book. He doesn't seem to have much of a life but he is permanent, unlike most of the other men. Crooks is a very lonely man, he is alienated from the other men because of racial prejudice. He is very reserved and aloof but this is his way of protecting himself. Crooks is intelligent, he knows his rights and reads a lot because he has no company. He is annoyed when Lennie invades his privacy. When Lennie doesn't understand why the men would not want Crooks in their room, Crooks can see Lennie is not like the other men, he can see his innocence. Crooks is so lonely he lets him come in and sit for a while. He begins to see what George gets out of the relationship with Lennie. It has been so long since Crooks has had someone to talk to. He sees the advantage of talking to Lennie because he knows he will forget what he was talking about and therefore it won't be repeated to the other men. Crooks's dream seems to differ from the other men's in that his childhood seems to be where he escapes to. He tells Lennie how his family had their own farm, and how he always had the company of his brothers. The white children used to play with him but his father didn't approve and he now understands why. It's as though he doesn't know whether he's mad or not because there is no one to tell him any different. Lennie let it slip to Crooks about their dream of buying a piece of land, when he talks about the rabbits, but Crooks thinks Lennie is mad. When Steinbeck turns Crooks's character around, from being the victim, to the person inflicting torture on someone else, I feel he was trying to tell us we are all capable of hurting others. "Crooks face lighted with pleasure in his torture," the use of words here allow us to see how much Crooks is enjoying being the tormentor. This also enables us to see how quickly Lennie could become so unpredictable. You can feel the tension building up with words like," suddenly Lennie's eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He stood up and walked dangerously towards Crooks. Who hurt George? He demanded". Crooks just wanted someone to understand how he feels. I feel Crooks is meant to be seen as crazy with loneliness with quotes like, "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody." and "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick." When Candy comes in and confirms that they intend to buy land and that they have the means, even the very cynical Crooks gets caught up in the dream. He begins to dream of going along too, offering to help out just for his keep. Initially when Curely's wife insults him Crooks stands up to her, stating his rights, but then she reminds him he's black and should know his place he goes back into his protective shell. He explains this later to Candy by saying, "You guys comin' in an' settin' made me forget. What she says is true." In other words they made him feel he was someone just by talking to him for a while, he was so unused to this happening. When George comes in, his anger at Crooks being told their secret makes him feel he would be unwelcome. He tells Candy he has changed his mind "member what I said about hoein' and doin' odd jobs?" "Well jus' forget it, I didn' mean it. Jus' foolin' I wouldn' want to go no place like that."
This is a detailed examination of chapter four explaining how it illustrates Steinbeck's concerns in the novel as a whole.
John Steinbeck wrote "Of Mice And Men" in1937. In it he showed a great sensitivity for the lonely, deprived and the many people who were socially different. Much of his writing comes from personal experience, when he worked as a farm labourer, through choice and not necessity. In Mice And Men he sets the scene, which would have been typical of itinerant ranch workers of the time. The original title was "Something That Happened," this changed when he read the poem "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns. "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain for promised joy". On reading the poem I find this a fitting title for this novel. His use of words in this novel is wonderfully descriptive, making everything seem so vivid to the reader. Steinbeck gives you the ability to understand how other people feel.
Chapter four is set in the stable buck's room, which is a lean-to, off the harness room. It is a small room with a long box filled with straw for a bed and all the broken harnesses and tools for the horses are kept there. On the shelves, there are medicines belonging to the stable buck as well as the horses, a drippy can of tar and some saddle soap. There are also a few books, a dictionary, the California civil code for 1906, a pair of glasses and a few other personal possessions belonging to Crooks. With Steinbeck's use of words like, "through the open door that led into the barn came the sound of moving horses, of feet stirring, of teeth champing on hay, of the rattle of halter chains," you really get the feel that Crooks lives with the animals. You can almost smell the animals.
Chapter four introduces Crooks's personality into the book. He doesn't seem to have much of a life but he is permanent, unlike most of the other men. Crooks is a very lonely man, he is alienated from the other men because of racial prejudice. He is very reserved and aloof but this is his way of protecting himself. Crooks is intelligent, he knows his rights and reads a lot because he has no company. He is annoyed when Lennie invades his privacy. When Lennie doesn't understand why the men would not want Crooks in their room, Crooks can see Lennie is not like the other men, he can see his innocence. Crooks is so lonely he lets him come in and sit for a while. He begins to see what George gets out of the relationship with Lennie. It has been so long since Crooks has had someone to talk to. He sees the advantage of talking to Lennie because he knows he will forget what he was talking about and therefore it won't be repeated to the other men. Crooks's dream seems to differ from the other men's in that his childhood seems to be where he escapes to. He tells Lennie how his family had their own farm, and how he always had the company of his brothers. The white children used to play with him but his father didn't approve and he now understands why. It's as though he doesn't know whether he's mad or not because there is no one to tell him any different. Lennie let it slip to Crooks about their dream of buying a piece of land, when he talks about the rabbits, but Crooks thinks Lennie is mad. When Steinbeck turns Crooks's character around, from being the victim, to the person inflicting torture on someone else, I feel he was trying to tell us we are all capable of hurting others. "Crooks face lighted with pleasure in his torture," the use of words here allow us to see how much Crooks is enjoying being the tormentor. This also enables us to see how quickly Lennie could become so unpredictable. You can feel the tension building up with words like," suddenly Lennie's eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He stood up and walked dangerously towards Crooks. Who hurt George? He demanded". Crooks just wanted someone to understand how he feels. I feel Crooks is meant to be seen as crazy with loneliness with quotes like, "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody." and "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick." When Candy comes in and confirms that they intend to buy land and that they have the means, even the very cynical Crooks gets caught up in the dream. He begins to dream of going along too, offering to help out just for his keep. Initially when Curely's wife insults him Crooks stands up to her, stating his rights, but then she reminds him he's black and should know his place he goes back into his protective shell. He explains this later to Candy by saying, "You guys comin' in an' settin' made me forget. What she says is true." In other words they made him feel he was someone just by talking to him for a while, he was so unused to this happening. When George comes in, his anger at Crooks being told their secret makes him feel he would be unwelcome. He tells Candy he has changed his mind "member what I said about hoein' and doin' odd jobs?" "Well jus' forget it, I didn' mean it. Jus' foolin' I wouldn' want to go no place like that."
