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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

439 Words2 Pages

“Sometimes it’s better to be alone, then no one can hurt you”. John Steinbeck illustrates throughout his novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’ the secluded and detached ranch life in the early 1930’s and explores the lives of itinerant workers who share the same dream of escaping the lack of friendship as well as drifting from ranch to ranch desperately trying to make a living. Steinbeck shows that all his characters demonstrate isolation, although some suffer this more than others. By these ranchers living in the town of Soledad (Spanish for loneliness), the readers get the impression of the depressing environment and that the characters are constantly facing overwhelming challenges and stress of being alienated. Loneliness is the feeling of isolation …show more content…

Clearly Steinbeck’s novel demonstrates Crook’s character as being the main aspect of alienation as he is the only colored guy on the ranch and spends most of his time secluded in his room. ““Listen, Nigger,”” she said. “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” This shows that Crooks has no opinion among the other men just because he has a different skin color he is separated from everyone else and there is nothing he can do about it. Curley’s wife makes sure Crooks knows this and she displays much superiority and condescendment as anyone would believe her word over his even if it isn’t true just because he’s black. “I never get to talk to no-body, I get awful lonely”. Crooks experiences the isolation and lack of companionship more than anyone else as he is forced to live alone on the other side of the ranch so no one has to have any interaction with him. For example even when the ranchers come to play cards in the barn, he is not permitted to join in or converse with any of them just because he has different color skin. Clearly during the 1930’s the black people were seen as inferior to the white people and Steinbeck demonstrates this throughout this novel by showing the difficulties his character Crooks

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He is told that he “stinks” because he is black, and they do not let him be around the others because of that. Crooks has absolutely no social power on the ranch because he is constantly treated differently and discriminated against. Crooks also says, “You got no right to come in my room... Nobody got any right in here but me.” (Steinbeck 66).

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How Does Steinbeck Present Crooks In Of Mice And Men

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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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880 Words | 4 Pages

We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not.

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1117 Words | 5 Pages

Crooks is a black man, and the only one on the ranch, in fact. He lives in his own bunk room away from the others, and Steinbeck indirectly characterizes him as knowledgeable and intelligent because of the tattered and battered books that he possesses. Crooks is knowledgeable because he has enough time to read and reread the books since he spends all of his time on his own. Crooks has always been lonely, and it is his past that has led him to this point. Back when Crooks was a kid he lived on a ranch, however he was the only black kid around, and sometimes he would try to play with the white kids.

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400 Words | 2 Pages

Contrasting Crooks’ somber attitude with Lennie's undying innocence makes it clear where Steinbeck stands on the matter. For example, Crooks is temporarily seduced by the idea of Lennie and George’s farm, but is almost immediately brought down by reality, and Curley’s wife. She brings him back to the reality of a black man at the time, saying: "Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny" (39). After this event occurs, Crooks disregards his rare idealism, saying that he “wouldn’ want to go no place like that” (41).

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This shows Crooks is treated unfairly since he is the only African American man working in a ranch full of white men. When Crooks tells Curley’s Wife to leave his room and that she doesn’t have a right to be in there, she gets angry and threatens him by saying, “Well, you keep your place then,

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1125 Words | 5 Pages

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1145 Words | 5 Pages

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698 Words | 3 Pages

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796 Words | 4 Pages

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