How Does Steinbeck Present Crook In Of Mice And Men

“Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him… A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.” (Steinbeck, 72) These words spoken by the character Crooks represent the complexity of his character. Crooks is an important character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Crooks’ character is named for his crooked back caused by being kicked by a horse at the stable in which he works. He lives by himself on the ranch and Steinbeck uses his character to demonstrate discrimination through Crooks’ struggle with being separated from others on the ranch, his ironic enjoyment of power, and his inconsistent view of himself in society.
There are times in life when we meet people who seem so shut off from the rest of the world that we wonder how they continue. The theme of separation runs throughout Steinbeck’s novel. Steinbeck uses his character Crooks to portray the difficult life of someone who lives a life alone. Crooks is separated from the rest of the men working on the ranch in which the story takes

Sometimes his sense of pride causes him to forget his place on the ranch and act like he is an average white man. Crooks states that he sees himself more as a Californian farmer than a southern slave. He was raised in California on a chicken ranch. When he was young he used to play with white kids on their farm. Crooks says, “There wasn’t a colored man for miles around. And now there ain’t a colored family for miles.” (Steinbeck, 70) Crooks is showing how under represented his voice in the community is. Curley’s wife and Candy are in Crooks’ room along with Lennie. Crooks stands up and tells them that he has had enough and wants everyone to leave. He tells them, “You ain’t got no rights coming in a colored man’s room.” (Steinbeck,80) Crooks is speaking to them like an average white ranch worker, not a black slave. Curley’s wife tells him that she could get him hanged very easily- because she was white and he was