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How Does Steinbeck Present Crooks In Of Mice And Men

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In the story Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the author emphasizes a main character, Lennie, as unworldly and ignorant. Throughout the book Lennie gives the impression through his unobservant innocent acts as a childlike character. For example, Lennie endeavors to create friendships as though a child and does not know how to make friends in the manner of an adult. When Lennie tries to make friends with Crooks, Steinbeck describes Lennie smiling at Crooks in attempting to be friends. Yet Lennie does not understand the difference in how he makes friends and how Crooks makes friends. Steinbeck expresses Crook’s indifference by stating, “Lennie smiled helplessly in attempt to make friends. Crooks said sharply, ‘You ain’t got no right …show more content…

Nobody got any right in here but me.’”(64) Lennie is only trying to make friends but he is oblivious to Crook’s annoyance of him in his personal space. Lennie’s unawareness to other people’s emotions and acts renders him as childlike. In addition, when Curley’s wife walked into the room Lennie stares at her even though Crooks and Candy look away. Steinbeck conveys, “Lennie watched her, fascinated; but Candy and Crooks were scowling away from her eyes.” (73) Although all the men are looking away, Lennie does not understand the issue with staring at Curley’s wife even though he does not have a vulgar mind. Steinbeck depicts Lennie as having an innocent mind who does not take in his surroundings. Furthermore, when Lennie kills the puppy and Curley’s wife walks in he quickly tries to hide away the puppy as though he is embarrassed. Steinbeck reveals Lennie’s embarrassment, “In panic he shoveled hay over the puppy with his fingers…” (82) Once Lennie accidentally kills the puppy he appears to be unaware of where to put the dead puppy. Steinbeck indicates Lennie burying the puppy is like a child trying to hide away a mess. In conclusion, Steinbeck draws attention to Lennie’s acts which made him appear to have a childlike personality because of his incomprehension

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489 Words | 2 Pages

Crooks is isolated because he’s a black man that has a crooked back and that doesn’t have that much rights so he will spend most of his time in the bunkhouse reading books. Steinbeck used crooks in this story because so they can show that African Americans are lonely.

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689 Words | 3 Pages

Some hints Steinbeck portrays during the book are when he emphasizes Lennie’s love for petting soft objects and when everything he pet died. For example, when Lennie received a pup from Slim an incident occurred at the barn,”Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little dead puppy” (Steinbeck 85). In the piece of evidence Lennie has a pet pup that was given to him by Slim. Lennie always loves playing with the dog and stroking its fur but Lennie was to rough with him and accidently kills it.

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858 Words | 4 Pages

Every day, millions of people judge others based on the stereotypes that apply to them, and some do not even know it. Most times these misjudgments are harmless, however, they can definitely be destructive. False judgments based on the stereotypes one follows can make a total stranger seem like a menace to society. This issue is so popular, that it used every day to falsely misjudge others in harmful ways. The most important lesson gained from reading Night, Of Mice and Men, and watching Angel of Bergen-Belsen is that one cannot use stereotypes to judge others because the person could be the total opposite of the judgments and misjudging they can inflict harm to that person if used in the wrong way.

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395 Words | 2 Pages

Lennie explains to George “ I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along.” This foreshadows the event of Lennie murdering Curley’s wife. The theme is created by showing Lennie's intentions being positive, but in the end his plans went so far askew leading him to murder a man’s wife. Steinbeck uses the event of Candy’s dog being shot to foreshadow George’s struggle

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768 Words | 4 Pages

Of Mice and Men “listen, nigger,” she said. “you know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” (pg.80). This shows how the word “nigger” is used to control a black person. In the book of Mice and Men the word “nigger” is used quite often but towards crooks, since he is the only black person in the book.

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1254 Words | 6 Pages

But they also both had their more caring and friendly sides revealed to the audience when they interact with Lennie. Most of all they are both very lonely and desperate for human companionship. Yet when they are given the chance to talk to each other and become close companions it does not go well. “ Crooks stood up from the bunk and faced her. “I’ve had enough.”

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158 Words | 1 Pages

Lennie is even warned to avoid Curley because of the amount of trouble that will cause; Lennie doesn’t “want no trouble… [and has] never done nothing to him.” (Steinbeck 60) he is scared without ever having met

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711 Words | 3 Pages

Of Mice and Men is about Lennie and George in which Lennie decided to feel a girls skirt because he liked the type of material. So George went with Lennie to escape and not get in trouble and decided to go to a bunkhouse where they work and are provided with food and a place to live. George and Lennie are best friends and so they went together. Lennie has the mind of a 6 year old and needs to be with George. When quit their jobs, George planned out a dreamland of how they will live when they get enough money to move to their own house.

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880 Words | 4 Pages

Steinbeck displays through the dialogue and characterizations that these characters experience isolation because of both social barriers and personal choice. Crooks being an African-American on the ranch, full of whites, struggles racially which causes his withdrawal from the society. Crooks explains to Lennie his when he’s accompanied by him “ A guy goes nuts if he ain 't got nobody. Don 't make no difference who the guy is long’s

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430 Words | 2 Pages

These 2 quotes show the symbolism of Lennie’s behavior, “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits” (Steinbeck 16). “Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little dead puppy that lay in front of him” (Steinbeck

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586 Words | 3 Pages

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Lennie and George have to move to a new town and start work in a new place, after being run out of town. Lennie is kind, innocent, and childlike making Steinbeck successful in making him a sympathetic character. Lennie’s number 1 character trait is kindness. Lennie is genuinely kind, with a good heart.

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844 Words | 4 Pages

However, because of the segregation between the black and white workers, Crooks seems to be talking to himself rather than to Lennie. This is suggested by Crooks, already being aware of the discrimination he faces by being excluded from the bunk house with the white workers, he is ’not wanted’ by them which is exactly what he says to Lennie. In conclusion, Steinbeck’s character of Crooks is used to convey the effects of racial oppression and loneliness for black people during 1930’s America. Using his situation on the ranch to give us a glimpse of society and the realism.

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282 Words | 2 Pages

Crooks is a black man who has been given the nickname because of his crooked back. He is another character in the novel that is discriminated against. Similarly, as Lennie and Candy are discriminated because of their weakness, Crooks is discriminated because of his race. For example, he says how he “ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse… can’t play [cards] because I’m black” (68). His race causes him to be separated from everyone else and be isolated in his own room.

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1163 Words | 5 Pages

In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck often employs animal imagery to dehumanize Lennie, in order to allow the reader to justify George putting him down at the end of the novella. As Steinbeck’s use of animal imagery progresses throughout the novel, Lennie is dehumanized by being compared to an animal that only hinders George’s pursuit of happiness. Starting with Lennie’s introduction, Steinbeck influences how the reader perceives Lennie. During the reader's first encounter with Lennie, he is described as walking “heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws," (Steinbeck 2). Steinbeck’s diction invokes animal imagery by comparing Lennie’s movements to that of a bear, which immediately dehumanizes Lennie to the reader.

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1469 Words | 6 Pages

Lennie cannot change his mental disability nor can Crooks change his race, but due to these inalterable characteristics, Lennie hurts others unintentionally, and Crooks is hurt by others. “Naturalism does not deal primarily with individuals in themselves, but rather with social groups, settings, or movements…”( ), which relates to the story, because Lennie’s actions not only affect him and his future, but the other characters in the book. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the concept of naturalism is portrayed through the experiences of Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. Lennie’s mental disability and physical strength often lead to trouble, because he can never fully comprehend his actions. When Lennie is the barn, he ends up

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