Character Analysis Of Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the beginning of Of Mice and Men, Crooks exclaims to Lennie, “A guy needs somebody- to be near him. 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. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” (Steinbeck 72) This quote ties in directly with a major theme, and problem, in Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel that takes place in the 1930s during the great depression. It follows the life of George and Lennie, two men who are working as ranch hands. Lennie has severe mental disabilities, and he relies almost completely on George. They travel to a new ranch as Lennie got in trouble at their old ranch back in Weed. While at this new ranch, they meet other ranch hands such as Candy and Slim. They also meet Curley, the boss’ son who has a very bad

Later, Curley’s wife wanders into the bunkhouse. She is viewed as very flirtatious, and Lennie is told to stay away from her. Another main character who they meet is Crooks. Crooks is a black man who is isolated because of his race. As time goes on the men work hard on the ranch, Lennie is a very good worker because he is very strong. In the end, Lennie talks to Curley’s wife in the barn. He learns how she is misunderstood and unhappy with how her life worked out. He accidentally kills her while stroking her hair, and he is forced to run away. At the conclusion of the story, George finds Lennie and eventually kills him while Lennie is talking about their dream for the future. There are many societal issues of the time period shown throughout the novel. The impact societal issues of the 1930s have on the characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is shown through the way Crooks is treated because of his race, the way Curley’s wife is treated because of her gender, and the way George has to take care of Lennie due to his mental