Isolation Of Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Lonely, ignored, different, and unaccepted, Crooks is a segregated African American character in the fictional novella, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. Crooks is the considered the lower class on the farm; he is also isolated from most of his co-workers. The main reason why Crooks is treated like this is because of his race. The theme statement, racial discrimination affects African Americans negatively, is best illustrated by Crooks. Since Crooks is black, he is considered as the lower class. Around the middle of the novel, Lennie walks into a barn to look at his puppy. As he enters the barn, he spots a light glowing inside a room. This room belongs to Crooks; he is surprised by Lennie’s visit since not a lot of people walk into

Crooks’ discussion with Lennie was mostly based on his life now and before. At the beginning of the conversation, Crooks mentions to Lennie how the other worker “play cards in here, but I can’t play because I’m black” (68). According to Crooks, the other employees do not tell him directly that he can’t play, but “they say I stink” (68). The other employees have never seen Crooks play the game before, so they can’t just infer that he is bad. Nobody wants to cooperate with him, representing the fact that Crooks is lonely. Overall, Crooks’ isolation is mainly caused by his race. Crooks has a very tough exterior. However, his feelings were expressed after he had enough of Lennie’s worries about George. Crooks complains about his hard life and how he has no one to be with: “S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books” (72). Since Crooks has to sit in his room and read books, he is indirectly supporting the fact that he is isolated from others. His only option is to read books, because no one wishes to collaborate with him in an activity. As a result of Crooks being excluded from activities with his co-workers, this titles him as an