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Racism theme in early american literature
Topics and themes of John Steinbeck's works
Topics and themes of John Steinbeck's works
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Crooks (named crooks after being kicked in the back by a horse) is a very controversial character as he is the only black member of the farm and doesn’t actually feature to much in the book. When he is in it though most of what we find out is when Lenny walks into his room. From the start its clear that crooks is a very abused and defensive because he says “You got no right to come in my room” as soon as he notices Lennie stood in his room even though Lennie doesn’t really see any difference between skin colour and doesn’t understand why this is happening. Most of what can be known about Crooks is from the items in his room. His room is actually connected to the barn showing they do not value him as a person but only as a stable buck.
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.
“(Candy) said miserably, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothin like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.”’
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.
In the book “of Mice and Men”, Crooks works as a stable buck on the ranch. Crooks is an older man as textual evidence states “His lean face was lined with deep wrinkles”,pg.67, paragraph 3. I can surmise he is an angry man because on page 73, paragraph 3 it states ‘A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe reading books or thinkin’ or stuff like that! Crooks is a very lonely man out in the barn. Based on pg.74 paragraph 1 Crooks states ‘’ Your nuts I’ve seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’’ on ranches, with their bindles on their back on that same damn things in there heads.
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.
The human condition is something we as people all experience, and through it we develop as people. Some people grow up having great lives, and others go through the worst of it. Most people, good lives or not share sympathy for one another and what they go through. The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is an incredible novel that deals heavily with character sympathy. The story is about two migrant workers who travel to a ranch to work towards buying a stake of land later in life.
People, over their lives, develop in certain ways. Their bodies change, as well as their brain. They get smarter, they know how the world works around them and they know how to interact with the people living beside them. Loneliness is a worldwide epidemic. It causes people to practically go insane, many people going touch starved if they are placed in an empty room for an hour or two.
In John Steinbeck’s award winning novel, Of Mice and Men, there are many characters, and they all have different personalities and backstories. One character Crooks, is presented on page 76 of the novella. Steinbeck uses various writing techniques in this extract, five of which I will be looking at in depth. Steinbeck uses negative adjectives such as dirty; mauled; tattered and battered to describe Crooks’ possessions. It is possible to infer that this is due to the fact Crooks is a black man, and black people were disliked in that specific time.
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
The definition of a sympathetic character is one whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, though not necessarily admire. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife, a main character in the book is blatantly portrayed as an unsympathetic character. This is because they only see her through the men's eyes, who only see her as a tiresome object, owned by her husband. Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair and misogynistic because he only displays her as unintelligent and promiscuous, never has a character have a turning point where they realize she’s more than an object, and he never reveals her true name. The first reason that Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair is that he never gives Curley any redeeming personality traits, he only depicts her as unintelligent and promiscuous.
AP English and Dual Enrollment Government have prepared me the most for college. My AP English teacher opened my eyes to different types of literature and sources that is constantly referenced in my first college classes at Tidewater Community College. for example, Karl Marx is quoted a lot in the many theories of sociology. My Dual Enrollment Government course prepared me for this ample amount of reading in college. My professor would provide my class with multiple reading assignments to push our reading limits.
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (1937) is an intensely-focused novella that deals with friendship, trust, the relationship between good and evil and the role of justice. It is the second book in Steinbeck’s trilogy about agricultural labour, alongside with In Dubious Battle (1936) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). The title, inspired by a line in the poem The Mouse (1875) by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (The best-laid schemes o' mice an ‘men / gang aft agley), encapsulates the spirit of the narration.
The quote says that a guy needs someone, and that reflects how Crooks is feeling: he feels that he needs someone. This connects to the theme of loneliness and how it can dramatically impact your life. When you have someone you don't have to be alone and read all night. Crooks has experienced extreme loneliness because he doesn't have any friends. When Crooks is talking to Lennie about if George supposedly, left he is saying what happened to him and one reason why he is so lonely; the other reason being because he is black and it is the early
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
