Of Mice & Men : Crooks analysis
Of Mice & Men: Crooks Crooks is introduced to us in a very unique way. Steinbeck describes all his belongings, creating a strong vivid picture in the readers head. Crooks the 'negro stable buck' lives alone in a small cramped room. He is someone who is treated very unfairly and unjustly, due to just his colour. When he was young he was kicked by a horse, therefore leaving him with a body which is crooked to the left. He has many things from shoes, a clock, and a shotgun; he also has a dictionary, magazines, a few dirty books, and a pair of 'gold' spectacles. Crooks keeps his room 'swept and clearly neat'. For Crooks his room is his supply of pride. Crooks room alone tells us everything about him. It tells us how he is different from many other ranch workers. His room is flocculated with boxes with various amounts of tools from his countless amounts of previous jobs. Steinbeck tries to portray to us that Crooks has been a ranch worker for a very long time and over the time he has gathered a load of possessions. Crooks is not treated as a normal human being, he is seen as almost an animal, and therefore he always tries to takes pride in himself. The 'fairly neat' room shows this. Crooks is told that he is not allowed in the bunk house, due to him being black and as any human being would do, he takes offence, as Crooks is not allowed in the bunk house, he tries to maintain
What do we learn about Curley's Wife in "Of Mice and Men"?
What do we learn about Curley's Wife in "Of Mice and Men"? John Steinbeck is an author who is effectively able to describe his characters not just through direct speech and description, but also indirectly through description. The reader is able to extrapolate and formulate ideas about the character for themselves, and this is truly an impressive tool. Curley's wife's reputation precedes her. Candy, the old swamper talks to George and Lennie about Curley's wife. His short, yet powerful sentence "Wait'll you see Curley's wife" is warning enough to George who realises that she may not be completely honest or trustworthy. Continuing the discussion, it becomes apparent that Curley's wife has "got the eye". From this, the reader can deduce that Curley's wife is coquettish, as she looks at men frequently. Thus, George's suspicions are valid as the reader finds out progressing through the story. The reader is able to get a more in-depth description of her when she physically appears for the first time in the bunkhouse. Steinbeck describes her as having "full, rouged lips", and eyes "heavily made up". This suggests that she may frequently use too much make-up creating the impression of her being a "tart" as it was so delicately put previously in the novel. Her body language is provocative as she positions herself in the doorway so that "her body was thrown forward". She
Hopes and Dreams in "Of Mice and Men"
Most people have some kind of hopes or dreams. Hopes are "desires accompanied by expectations of fulfilment, they are one that give promises to the future." (The Merriam Webster Dictionary, page 367). Dreams are "notable for their beauty, excellence, and/or enjoyable quality." (The Merriam Webster Dictionary, pages 234-235). However, these dreams are many times thwarted by many obstacles along the way, as happens to George and Lennie's in John Steinback's novel, Of Mice and Men. George promises Lennie's aunt Clara, right before she dies, that he will take care of Lennie, and that they will always be together. During the 1930's, people like Lennie, who has a mental handicap, and black's, such as Crooks, the stable man, are discriminated. During this time, also known as the Great Depression, barn workers like George and Lennie would go around looking for work at a ranch. Very few Americans owned land, and only rarely did they have any freedom. George and Lennie want to buy a piece of land. To George this symbolizes his freedom, he will then be able to control his destiny, yet to Lennie, it means he will be able to tend the rabbits, and therefore pet them as much as he likes. Steinback expresses some of man's hopes and dreams through the main characters actions. George and Lennie live in hope that there own, very particular dream, will one day come true. They hope
Crooks' isolation in "Of Mice and Men".
Journal Writing Assignment . The person who influenced Crooks to be isolated is his dad. When Crooks was a kid, he did play with some white kids. However, although those white kids were pretty nice, Crooks' dad didn't allow him to do, as Crooks said, "My ol' man didn't like that". Thus, when Crooks was growing up, he was increasingly aware of that there exist a boundary between black people and white people that is hard to go across. As he found that "there wasn't another colored family for miles around and now there ain't a colored man on this ranch", Crooks felt himself isolated because there were no black people whom he could communicate with, as he stated in the story, "If I say something, why it's just a nigger sayin' it." Furthermore, the white workers on the ranch also played a major role of influencing Crooks to be isolated. They discriminated him, thought Crooks " stink" and didn't allow Crooks to play cards together with them. This would enhance Crooks' feeling of isolation. Therefore, both of Crooks' dad and the white people on the ranch influenced Crooks to feel isolated and lived alone in a shed. 2. If I were Crooks, I would feel the same way as Crooks did: lonely, frustrated and helpless, just like a single man walking on the boundless desert. Whenever I am unhappy or sad, nobody talks to me and give me comforts. Crooks said, " A guy needs somebody-to
How is the theme of racism and loneliness shown through the character of Crooks in OF MICE AND MEN?
How is the theme of racism and loneliness shown through the character of Crooks in OF MICE AND MEN? The book 'Of Mice and Men' is based in the 1930's at this time racism was abolished but still carried on, the Great Depression was at its worst so people became lonely because they had to go and work of ranches. The Great the Depression is when the biggest banks of the USA became bankrupted, so all the people who invested in the banks lost all their money. This made some people depressed and did not think they could not cope. But in most cases they carried on with their treacherous lives. This is symbolised by Crooks in the story. He is a 'lonely' and desperate for communication for others because of his colour. John Steinbeck realised this racism at this time and separates Crooks from the rest of the ranch workers. The ranch is a microcosm to the hole of America. The first time we hear about Crooks is through Candy's speech. We are immediately shown that Crooks is not respected by Candy or the other ranch workers by announcing he is a 'nigger'. Also he is used for a brutal entertainment. At the last Christmas the white ranch workers were drinking and having an exquisite time and decided to pick on the helpless, alienated and crippled 'nigger', so they thought. This all shows that black people was still treated in an appalling manner and the other white ranch worker still
'Of Mice and Men' Broken Dreams Essay.
'Of Mice and Men' Broken Dreams Essay. In Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' there are many characters that have hopes and dreams of what they want to do with their lives. Most of these dreams are unrealistic and will never come to be. George and Lennie both share a dream. Their dream which they both follow and use to keep them going in tough times is that will own a small ranch or farm and be able to live by themselves there. There they will have be able to live off the produce they make and be entirely self reliant and will be able to stay in when they want and work when they want. This shows that they never want to have to go and work for another person or in harsh conditions. Once they achieve this, they will be working for themselves and in a way they will be free men. They will have a few acres and on this have an alphalpha and various animals. Lennie, having a simpler and childish mind, just wants to be able to tend the rabbits whereas George looks at it as freedom. This dream is never realised as Lennie dies at the end of the novel. George could still go on and make enough money to get this small ranch but it would depend on if he would still want to do it without Lennie and if it held any value to him anymore. Although it is a failure because of Lennie's death there is also the possibility that they would never have earned enough money to achieve this anyway.
Curley's wife essay. Steinbeck uses many different techniques to present Curleys wife such as colour imagery, appearance, metaphors and similes in the early stages of the novel.
John introduced us to a character called Curley's wife, she plays a complex and misfit character as she got so many different sides to her, as sometimes the reader feels sympathetic and unsympathetic about her. John Steinbeck's novel of Mice and Men is an example of how the reader's perception of a character can change without the character actually changing. Steinbeck uses many different techniques to present Curley's wife such as colour imagery, appearance, metaphors and similes in the early stages of the novel. The effect of these techniques is that the reader creates a mental image of Curley's wife even before she even enters the novel. This perception is further emphasized by Curley's Wife's first appearance in the novel. Steinbeck uses light symbolically to show that she can be imposing when he writes, "The rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off." Steinbeck portrays her in a horrible manner; he shows her as unintelligent and unimportant figures. Curley's wife is a prime example of how Steinbeck presents women; she is the most prominent woman in the book, so there are more citations about her. Primarily, she isn't even given a name; she is just referred to as "Curley's wife" and this shows that Steinbeck doesn't really think that women are important, so they don't deserve a name. Her dreams were shattered by marriage and her relatively young life cut
How does Steinbeck present Crooks in the extract? What is the importance of crooks in the novel as a whole? Of Mice and Men is a powerful and moving portrayal of two men striving
Assignment Title: How does Steinbeck present Crooks in the extract? What is the importance of crooks in the novel as a whole? Of Mice and Men is a powerful and moving portrayal of two men striving to understand their own unique place in the world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other - and a dream. A dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch, but their hopes are doomed, as Lennie - struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy - becomes a victim of his own strength. Of Mice and Men does many things which include: tackling universal themes, friendship and a shared vision, and giving a voice to America's lonely and dispossessed; and in this essay about this poignant novel I will explain how 'Crooks' a key character in this book is presented, and also show his importance to the novel as a whole. In 'Of Mice and Men' Crooks is a black man and is disfigured because of his crooked back. Because of these two things, he is treated as a second-class citizen. We can see that he is treated this way by looking at this extract: "Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness-room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn. On one side of the little room there was a square four paned window, and on the
Consider the theme of loneliness in the novel, Of Mice and Men. How dose it affect the friendships and relationships in the novel?
Consider the theme of loneliness in the novel, Of Mice and Men. How dose it affect the friendships and relationships in the novel? In "Of Mice and Men", John Stienbeck explores the theme of loneliness, set in the farmland of 1930's California, where Stienbeck grew up. Stienbeck worked as a farm hand on his fathers land and so the countryside described at the beginning of the book, and a ranch itself would have been very familiar to Stienbeck. Characters described in the novel are lonely for different reasons depending on their social status. Age, Race and Sex are some of the reasons for characters loneliness, Stienbeck uses the novel to make these aware in society. George and Lennie are the main characters in the book; they are migrant workers, who are men that travel the countryside harvesting wheat for the farms and doing any other jobs they can find. The "Wall Street Crash" caused jobs to be scarce, during the 1930's, when there was very unemployment in the United States. Agencies were set to send farm workers to where they were needed: "You remember about us goin' into Murray and Ready's, and they give us work cards". They earned $2.50 or $3.00 a day, plus food and very basic accommodation. These sorts of people lived very lonely lives, as they migrated they had to pick up their roots and move on, on their own and so this what makes them lonely also it was much easer to
Discuss the presentation of Curleys Wife in John Steinbecks novel Of Mice And Men and the suggestion that she is solely to blame for the tragedies of the novel.
Curley's wife is a truly influential character in the novel; she is constantly at the centre of controversy. Before she physically appears in the novel she is already mentioned in a negative and demeaning way. The men on the ranch describe her as having 'the eye' and refer to her as a tart. The word tart implies that she is a very sexual character with a lack of self-dignity. Her physical appearance is one of great beauty; she is described in the novel as having 'full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes' as well as 'heavily made up' just from this quote the reader begins to get an image of Curley's wife as a beautiful and flirtatious character. Throughout 'Of Mice And Men' she is constantly associated with the colour red. This is where Steinbeck uses his stylistics character impeccably. He foreshadows the colour red throughout the novel. We are first introduced to this in chapter one where George and Lennie talk about the woman in Weed. Then when Curley's wife appears she too wears a red cotton house dress which then appears again in chapter five which is the climax of tragedy. Red is a colour that resembles a sexual and provocative nature as well as being used to display a sign of warning or danger. All these things become more apparently associated with Curley's wife as the plot develops. Curley's Wife is given no identity; she is never referred to by a name other than
