Crook’s is the only black character in the novel discuss his significance Essay

The author John Steinbeck is an artistic Writer. His bigest achievework forcet of macrocosm an author was the obligate story Of Mice And Men. This is an immense story based on two Ameri locoweed facing pages workers dream to testify a house in the 1930s. The novel was stage set in Soledad in s awayhern California. In several(prenominal) of his fiction works, including Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates how grueling, ch every(prenominal)enging, and often unrewarding the life of migrant farmers could be. Just as George and Lennie dream of a correct life on their make farm, the Great Plains farmers dreamed of finding a better life in California. Steinbeck himself was born there in 1902, and went on to experience the Great Depression in the heart of the bring that so firearmy left their homes to find. This time in Americas history was marked by bread lines, soup kitchens, unemployment, and the daily hope for a low paying job that would last lifelong than a a couple of(pre nominal) days.Historic aloney, this was a dream of homophiley commonwealth in California during the Great Depression, or so of whom neer saw it come to pass. The story displays the harsh and beastly circumstances of the many who were so short moreover balances the desperation with the hope and desire for triumph. The novel is about two inerrant workers, called Lennie and George. They work on a ranch with other workers. The main theme in this novel is The Dream Historically, this was what many quite a little in California strived to achieve during these hard times to one a piece of land, most of whom never saw it come to pass. The story shows the harsh and cruel circumstances of the many that were so poor plainly balances the desperation with the hope and desire for triumph.Discrimination can take many forms, from racial to bodily to gender, Crooks is set apart because he is the only black man on the ranch moreover, he has a physical disability. In this novel Crooks posses ses the majority of loneliness and injustice. Steinbecks perception of Crooks in the novel is very right during this period, he uses Crooks to symbolise the marginalisation of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel is set additionally Crooks brings into perspective the loneliness experienced by all the characters. Steinbecks relates his fellowship to the novel and most substantially Crooks.Crooks is the only black character on the ranch and is number one established in Chapter 2. He is segregated from the rest of the men on the ranch. He has his own room in the barn, A little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn. We can take on how dislocated he is in this room because he needs to surround himself with his own soulal possessions For creation alone, Crooks could leave his things about He is referred to as a coon by almost everybody on the ranch, She false on him in scorn. Listen nigger Steinbecks use of language, such as the term Nigger started out as a dismissive term employ by whites to describe blacks, and it didnt tear spile necessarily arrive at racist con nonations. But when the 19th century started nigger was a term used by white people to behave their anger and furthermore degrade blacks.Steinbeck used Curleys married woman In this quote to indicate her own personal opinion on what she perceives Crooks to be, internally what white people on a whole thought blacks were. Not only did he use this quote to express her anger towards Crooks barely also he used this quote to show how Crooks had a lack of importance. He was non recognized or called by his name, Crooks.He was not awarded dignity because he was looked upon as cosmos inferior. Everyone on the ranch was called by his or her name except Crooks, which made him irrelevant to people on the ranch. The message conveyed by Steinbeck is therefore that Crooks was racially and amicablely differentiated from white people by this racial term Nigger. On the other ha nd The Old Swamper thinks positively about Crooks when he first tells George about him. Yeah nice fellaYa confabulate the stable bunk is a nigger nonetheless though The Old Swamper referrers to Crooks as a nigger, which was properly because it was recognizably used to refer to him as, he looks keister their racial difference, and judges Crooks on his personality.The beginning of Chapter 4 is the setting for Crooks room where he lives in alone. He owns many possessions strangely more than other workers. Crooks possessed several pairs of shoes, a pair of rubber boots, a big alarm clock His room reflects his character was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a purple, aloof man This quote not only implys that Crooks keeps his room clean nevertheless that he is a well-kept man. He is mostly in his room and wants his room to reflect himself as a person, who takes pride in his room. He also has A tattered dictionarycopy of the California civil codea few dirty books He has education al possessions in his room, which shows he is well educated and takes an interest in reading. He obviously knows his rights as a black man, because he reads the California civil code so knows what he is entitled to do. Crooks puts all of these things on a special shelf to show that they are important to him.The thoughtfulness of his skin suggest that he is aged deep black wrinkles in that locations a course amongst his youthful eyes with the rest of his face. Having his own room meant he was detached from the ranch workers, which suggest he experiences racial segregation due to being black. This discrimination against black people in the mid-thirties was enforced by Steinbeck into Crooks to give an insight on prejudice.When Lennie enters Crooks room out of curiosity, Crooks asserts his pitying rights stating, This heres my room. Nobody got any right in here precisely me This form of r even soge against Lennie is down to Crooks being isolated all the time. Crooks is clearly stating his right to privacy, it is safer for him to remain isolated. It is strange for him that Lennie is communicating with him not being used to it, so when Lennie does enter his room, Crooks manages to hold his delight by pretending to be annoyed. It was uncorrectable for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger. He feels the need to protect his room because of his protective dignity of a blackness This quote reflects on all black people of this time, who were made to protect themselves because they lacked the social skills they needed to be able to communicate with others without feeling the need to protect themselves. He tries to suppress is pleasure through irritation, but he realizes that he wants Lennies company. Not only because he is lonesome but because he knows Lennie is child manage and lacks knowledge of life in general.The mode during Lennies visit to t each(prenominal)(prenominal) Crooks was a very unwished mode at first. Once Crooks realized Lennie wasnt lo oking for any dissatisfaction, Crooks eased up a little. One quote which observes Lennies disarming smile defeated him. Come in for a art object He lets his defensive barrier down to Lennie His tone was a little more friendly Crooks cant help but respond to Lennie conversation is what he craves for. Crooks has got a indulgant heart, he just chooses to hide it through anger and displeasure considering thats the only way he knows how to express his feelings. He would not naturally be distant towards people if he were not racially segregated from others. We therefore see that being around someone for once has brought out his true personality. Crooks is envious of Lennies relationship with George.George takes care of Lennie and they have a companionship. Deep within him he wants the warmth of togetherness in his life, relising lennie has this creates a burning streak of jealousy inside him. He uses Lennies lack of knowledge to his advantage by taunting Lennie about George leaving him. S pose George dont come back no more His misery and envy brings out his cruelty. He is trying to inflict his personal pain of being a lonely black man onto Lennie. Crooks then reveals his own need Maybe you can see now. You got George S pose you didnt have nobodyI tell ya a guy gets as well lonely an he gets sick.This illustrates that Crooks pities his own circumstances and vulnerability. I didnt mean to scare you shows that Crooks did not designedly picked on Lennie he just wanted him to know how it felt to be alone all the time. He expresses this through his bitterness. He realizes himself that bullying Lennie will not change his belonging in society he will still remain unimportant. Crooks loneliness is part of Steinbecks microcosm of the world. Multiply Crooks a million times, and Steinbeck is pointing out the barriers and artificial obstacles people and society build against each other.Whenever the American Dream is mentioned he dismisses it Nobody never gets to heaven and nob ody gets no land. He lacks the optimism and hopes that George and Lennie share. This brings us to believe that Crooks has absolutely no hope in achieving this dream. He has lost faith in the dream maybe being a black man has caused him to think there could be no realisation of him being happy in his life. He golf links going to heaven and owning your own land, suggesting going to heaven is equal to owning a land. This sparks reality that during this period of the great depression it was rare that people working on ranches could ever own a land. Lennie and George have use and hope that one day they will own a land, even though deep down George knows its unrealistic. Crooks seems like he has given up a long time ago on the dream, mostly because his concealment from everyone else has infused this judgement into his mind.When Curlys married woman enters Crooks room all the men dislike her presence, she knows full well that Curlys not in Crooks room but just like Crooks she is eager fo r attention. Any you boys seen Curly This is what makes Crooks and Curlys wife so similar. Their life is full of shattered dreams, discrimination and loneliness. Crooks tries to stand up to Curlys wife, but being a white woman means she has a controlled power of Crooks being black. She belittles him saying you keep in your place then, Nigger I could get you strung up He reverts back to the majestic, stubborn man he was in the beginning. She de human beingsises him straight away. Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego Crooks built up this ego and bravery to stand up to Curlys wife when he was for the first time given attention socially by Lennie and Candy entering his room. It may have been a lot for him to take in, after being made to feel like he is not welcome because of his colour all the time.So when Curlys Wife insults them, this new ego and bravery gives crooks the motif that he can assert his rights to Curlys Wife. She soon puts him in his p lace, making him realise the substantial difference between them, racial wise. She knows how to use the unfairness of life to her advantage, which wrenchs disturbingly clear when she dangles the threat of crying rape in front of Crooks. She knows that as a black man he would be lynched if she told the others that hed even tried to rape her, and she wields this power to her advantage. Ultimately, though, she is revealed as frightened of her husband as she sneaks off to her house. Curleys wife has been trapped by life and however brazen and manipulative she may be, she is ultimately one of the comparatively powerless figures in the novel. She is therefore, perhaps, an object of the readers sympathy.The characters in the book begin to merge, by this fortuity we soon start to realize they are quite similar. Crooks laughed again. A guy can talk to you and be sure you wont go blabbin George can tell you screwy things, and it dont matter. Its just the talking. Its just bein with another guy. Crooks thoughts in this quote reflect the ideas of all the outcasts in the novel. Just like George, Candy, and Curleys Wife, Crooks longs for human companionship he simply wants another person to acknowledge his existence.Likewise, George thinks that he and Lennie are different from all the other lonely migrant workers because they have each other. Georges actions mirror Crooks words, George knows that Lennie isnt listening to him most of the time, but he like Crooks simply wants someone to hear him. Similarly, Candy is willing to invest his lifes savings in strangers dreams so that he can spend the last years of his life with others. His one companion, his dog, is now gone. Finally, Curleys wife is willing to risk the fury of her abusive husband just for human conversation. Her behavior with Lennie is incisively like Crooks conversation with Lennie she does not care that Lennie doesnt understand her.In Chapter Four, the demarcation between Crooks, Curlys Wife, Candy and Lenni e becomes marked. Firstly the three mentally or physically impair outcasts of the farm discuss their dream of living of the fat of the land one can sense a strong whiff of socialism. For a moment, they imagine a life of freedom from prejudice and racism, in which each man works for just his keep regardless of color or disability. Steinbeck cleverly brings the outcast into jot at the end of the chapter which subverts the idea of crooks being the only character who suffers from loneliness and shattered dreams. Crooks race is the reason for his isolation, just as Candys age and handicap isolate him, and Curleys wifes gender forces her into a solitary life. Because of his race, he must live outside of human contact, he no longer trusts that dreams can come true.Steinbeck devotes all of Chapter 4 to Crooks to illustrate how completely isolated the stable hand truly is because of his race. All characters enter Crooks room, on top of the social hierarchy, however they slowly start to co rrespond to Crooks. Lennie and Candy wanting to grab that much loved American dream, while Curlys Wife is in need of company. Steinbeck uses Crooks to reveal the hidden desires of the other characters, Steinbeck show that although Crooks is considered the outcast of the book, he in no doubt brings them all as one equal as the strive to achieve the corresponding hopeless goal.Subsequently, Chapter 4 opens with Crooks being a proud and aloof man to having racial superior over Lennie to finally having nothing. His dream of living with the other men is shattered by Curlys Wife putting him in his place. I think Steinbeck feels compassion for Crooks being the only black character on the ranch. Even though he is bitter and cruel Steinbeck is aware he has been racially picked on which caused his behaviour. Even though Crooks is not made relevant passim the book he holds a special significance in the book. He is a victim of an several(prenominal) type of loneliness. Crooks does not ask to be isolated from everyone. He was unfortunately caught up in the racial war.Therefore Crooks is a vital character in Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck not only illustrates him as a representation of division of colour in this time period but also shows that through Crooks other outcasts in the book have been discovered to want and need the same things that people just like Crooks deserve. He has had a cruel life and been very badly treated, which had caused him to become so bitter. Steinbeck made him into this character to show how people like crooks must have felt in this period of racism. Being treated different from everyone else and not having the same rights as fellow human beings, this would have made them really frustrated. Steinbeck gave an insight on injustice by inventing Crooks. Which overall made him so significant.