Being the only “Negro” on the ranch and bearing in mind the prejudice towards blacks during the late 1920’s, Crooks is alienated for that reason alone.
Crooks is a neglected skinner who lives a secluded life, and while all the other workers sleep in the same bunk houses, Crooks is left alone to sleep in a harness room with poor conditions, “a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn”, with a long box filled with straw, on which his blankets were flung existing as his bed.
Crooks is able to leave his possessions where he wishes, as the shed in which he lives belongs to him only, therefore he doesn’t have to be considerate to anyone.
Crooks is unfortunately restricted to what he can do, ever since a horse unexpectedly kicked him which resulted in him attaining a crooked back, hence his name.
Being a stable buck and a lonesome cripple, Crooks was more permanent than the other men, and had accumulated more possessions over the years than he could carry on his crooked back.”
Crooks doesn’t have any friends on the ranch because he’s a Negro,and he consequently spends most of the free time reading or staring at his, “battered magazines”. Ironically, he is the most educated man on the ranch.
Crooks is an insecure person. He lives unaccompanied, in a shabby shed with “a manure pile under the window”.
He uses the “battered magazines” and “dirty books” to entertain himself after he finishes work.
In Crooks’ room there is “a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905”, the book outlines the rights of black people in America during this time. This illustrates to the readers that he wants to know his rights as he has so few. It tells us that Crooks is insecure about his rights because he wants to know every single one.
Crooks has no rights due to his skin colour, so when Lennie intrudes not realising that Crooks’ room is “out of bounds”, Crooks instantly becomes defensive and uncivil “I ain’t wanted in the bunk room and you ain’t wanted in my room”. Crooks is an exceptionally cautious person, and since he has so few rights if someone accidentally or purposely crosses one he immediately defends himself and his rights, as Lennie discovers “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.”
There are many levels of racial prejudice exhibited throughout the novel to illustrate Crooks’ insecurity. The majority of ranch hands dislike or don’t socialise with Crooks, although they would not go out of their way to insult him. This attitude of the farm-hands increases Crooks’ insecurity, as he has no one to talk or socialise with, which results in him feeling lonely.
Crooks go on about his loneliness to Lennie “A guy needs somebody to be near him” he whined. “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you” he cried “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick” .By this stage Crook is looking for sympathy, he is so incredibly lonely even to the point of saying that loneliness can make you ill.
Curley’s wife on the other hand is rude without excuse. “listen nigger”, she said you know what I can do to you if you open your trap”. She abuses her position and has no respect for him at all, she doesn’t even refer to him by his name. It is attitudes like hers that have made him so insecure and turned him into the bitter man he has become. “Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There is no personality, no ego, nothing, to instigate either like or dislike.
We as readers can comprehend Crooks is insecure. He is a free man, unlike a lot of black men in those days. Crooks is still segregated from the others and feels threatened when they invade his space. “Crooks is a proud, aloof man. He keeps his distance and demanded that people keep theirs”.
During the late 1920’s although Black American civilians were not slaves anymore, the mentally of the White Americans in spite of everything was still as corrupt and spiteful as it ever was. As a result the Black American “Negro’s” were treated in the same reprehensible way, if anything worse.
The Language used to describe Crooks reveals to the readers his insecurity by the sharp, agitated language Jon Steinbeck utilises when he writes what Crooks says.
The sharp and agitated style of writing informs the readers that Crooks is nervous, he isn’t feeling secure or safe.
Lennie is a mentally slow, childlike character, who is very accident prone in any surroundings when unsupervised by George.
Lennie’s appearances are. “a huge man”, who is colossal to George and has, “…wide sloping shoulders” . Lennie’s appearances imply that he could be a nasty or tough character; however he is the absolute opposite. Lennie is a character who’s kind and friendly towards anyone unless told otherwise by George.
Lennie’s devotion towards George is untouchable, as Crooks discovers when Lennie intrudes into his room.
Crooks tries to tease Lennie by saying George is will get hurt and not return, “S’pose he gets killed or hurt so he can’t come back.” Lennie angered by his comments approaches crooks dangerously.
Lennie loves touching soft, smooth and gentle materials, like a child would favour velvet to leather.
Lennie’s presented as a character that can be judged as secure and insecure alike, depending on how a person looks at it.
George is a father figure to Lennie, who knows that George cares for him, protects him and he also thinks George will always be there for him. However Lennie though, like Crooks is a sad figure and is arguably perhaps Steinbeck’s metaphor for the state of his country during the economic depression. He is illustrated in all senses a slumbering giant, not aware of what he is capable of in any sense, shape or form, and perhaps bearing in mind what was to occur a few short years later in the Second World War, a taste of what was to come emotionally and mentally. Even though Lennie is deemed childlike due to his mental condition, physically he is a giant and quite capable of hurting other people once his temper is triggered, of which curly discovered when he approached him in the bunkhouse “ “. Of course during the caused of the play, where ultimate undoing is caused by a loss of temper on decling with Curley’s Wife, after she baits him, we see yet another sadness in the novel where George “puts his friend down” himself rather then taking the risk of another bad situation occurring elsewhere if they escaped, resulting in them both having too scamper away again, risking both there lives “ “.
Lennie analogous to Crooks could therefore be a victim of circumstance, whilst he an the other dubious characters, Curley’s wife, whose will always stay a mystery, truly represent the saddest elements in the book. In all their causes, as well as with the characters, we perceive that the only way they aim to get through life is through the victimization of the American Dream “ “. The reader will know from the early stage this is all it will ever be for the vast majority of the people we encounter in “Of Mice and Men”.
