Justin Wolfe Love Language & Literature 9 4 March 2022 Loneliness in Isolation In the 1930s, African Americans were casted away from all white people, leading them to loneliness. This topic is explored in John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men. The story takes place in California during the 1930s, a time when black people were hated by the majority of white people. Crooks, a black ranch worker lives in his own bunkhouse because most of the white ranch workers do not want to live with a black ranch worker. Most ranch workers dislike Crooks, and Crooks despises all of the ranch workers. Crooks has a negative and insensitive attitude towards the ranch workers, which is why he is isolated from everyone on the ranch. When Lennie, a ranch worker, is looking for his puppy in the barn, he appears in the doorway of Crooks' room, Crooks wants him to leave his room. Lennie ignores that Crooks wants him to leave his room by smiling at him. Lennie asks Crooks if he wants to see his puppy, Crooks responds by …show more content…
During Crooks and Lennie's conversation, Lennie says that George is with the other ranch workers in town tonight. Crooks says, "'I said s'pose George went into town tonight and you never heard from him no more'" (Steinbeck 71). As Crooks gets to know Lennie, he notices that he talks very highly of George. Lennie mentions that George and the other ranch workers left the ranch to go into town, as Crooks did not know because he's isolated from everyone on the ranch, and wouldn't know if they went to town. Crooks messes with Lennie, saying that George'll never come back, which upsets Lennie. Crooks continues to mess with Lennie and doesn't care that Goerge is an important person to him because Crooks has an insensitive attitude towards the ranch workers. Crooks' insensitive attitude towards the ranch workers and why he is isolated from everyone on the