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The Role Of Desolation In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

964 Words4 Pages

Of Mice and Men, a story of friendship between to migrant farmers. Now when you here this you don't really think anything of this, but during this time migrant farmers didn't have friends it was just them no one else. Then you meet George and Lennie the two who break this stereotype of migrant farmers not having friends. In the book George and Lennie have ran away from their old job because of Lennie's mistakes, causing them to have to go find a new job. While George and Lennie may have each other, the other men are alone and tend be isolated even though there are other people around them. All the other Migrant farmers may be lonely, but there is one person in the book who not isolated because of his career, but because of his race. This …show more content…

Crooks becomes very anti-social when Curley's wife says,"She turned on him in scorn. “Listen, Nigger,” she said. “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?"(39). After Curley's wife said this to Crooks he became mute and said nothing. Crooks didn't even try to defend himself because he knew the consequences of what would happen. In the book Crooks isn't seen much probably because for one crooks wasn't allowed to join in the different events and activities the other migrant farmers did. Crooks also caused some of the reasons for why he's anti-social. Crooks shows a reason of him wanting to be anti-social when he says,"You go on get outa my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room"(34). Crooks tells Lennie that he doesn't allow anyone else in his bunk but himself. This shows Crooks staying away from others and not trying to have a social life. Crooks is afraid to talk because he knows his race doesn't have the Freedom to talk so he stays quite and to himself. Being anti-social can be caused by many things, but the man thing in crooks case is the way he's has been treated by others. This concludes to why crooks is one or maybe the most disempowered person on the ranch. All the reason stated of him being mistreated, isolated, and being anti-social give proof to why he is disempowered. This proves that crooks is isolated from the group because of his race. The evidence also proves that it affects him by being very anti-social and causes him to isolate himself from the other migrant farmers. The real question to sum up this is what does Steinbeck think of a Lonely African American migrant farmer who is isolated because his

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Crooks is constantly being discriminated against which is the effect of being colored at this time. During the book talks to Crooks about the farm he desires, Crook says to Lennie, “S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that?” () Crook is at the bottom of the social hierarchy because of his race. This inequality is the barrier to his dreams of being

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126 Words | 1 Pages

First off Crooks is the character that is held back in his journey towards freedom by his race. There are many examples where Crooks is insulted by his race, but there is this specific incident where George is laying down his cards and hears someone calling : “Stable buck, oooh stable buck!” And then, “Where the hell is that goddamn nigger?” This proves that in the 1930’s people were still racist and used to call African Americans names like nigger. And Crooks can’t really do anything because if he does he would probably get tortured or starved, and he can’t quit because it wasent his job, he was a slave.

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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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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1151 Words | 5 Pages

George and Lennie are migrant workers, which mean they go from town to town looking for any work they can get frequently. This book had its tragic at parts and it showed how dreams can be crushed very easily. John Steinbeck in his book, Of Mice and Men,

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1547 Words | 7 Pages

Crooks is portrayed as different from everybody else, not just because of his race, but also because of his disabilities. He gets the name “Crooks” because of his crooked back. His back makes him disabled, which results in him being looked down on as “not capable” as the others. As a result, this is another illustration of how he is separated and looked down upon by the other workers that cause him to be lonely and isolated from the rest of the farmers. “‘You got no right to come into my room.

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636 Words | 3 Pages

John Steinbeck has shown the risks of having a close friendship with someone meaningful in his novella Of Mice and Men. It starts in California, where two migrant workers named George and Lennie set out to find work on several farms in the countryside. These two men are quite different from each other since George is a small, dark man with “sharp, strong features” and Lennie is a giant man with a “shapeless” face. Though George sometimes wishes he wouldn’t have to stay with Lennie, the feelings both men have shared have been mutual since the beginning.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

By living alone in a big bunkhouse made Crook’s and outcast by not socializing or living with other people on the ranch. In fact, Crook’s is the only African American on the ranch (66). Therefore, he is not regarded as having the same work as a white worker. The race was a common issue during these times. Crook’s realizes he isn't wanted because he is

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749 Words | 3 Pages

Crooks talks about himself in a very negative way and is seen when he said, "This is just a nigger talkin', an' a busted-back nigger. So it don't mean nothing, see?"(71) This exemplifies that Crooks has been looked down on his whole life and he is just repeating what he always hears. This demonstrates that crooks is so used to being judged that he starts telling people that they should judge him rather than befriending him. The next quote displays that the men on the ranch does not want to be around crooks when he says, “You go on get outta my room.

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526 Words | 3 Pages

When we think of loneliness, the first thought that comes to mind is actually being alone with no one around you. Yet when Crooks is put into the picture with the thought of being alone, he is not classified as being alone when it comes to people being around him, rather he is solo when it comes to his race and the difference when it comes to the entitlement of doing things. Because of Crooks’s skintone, he is classified as just a stable buck and nothing more. As the stable buck, not many workers on the ranch show interest or sympathy for him other than just one or two. On page 75, Crooks talks about one of the only workers that comes into his room other than the boss.

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968 Words | 4 Pages

This statement shows how defensive Crooks has become because he is not used to ever talking to other people. The only time people ever talk to him is to disrespect him, and he has built up a sort of protective shield, knowing that people think of him differently. Crooks’ defensiveness proves how anti-social he is. Crook’s social powerlessness puts him at a disadvantage because it makes him feel even more lonely than everyone else, considering how lonely ranch workers already are. Other people can at least talk to each other, but Crooks is completely

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796 Words | 4 Pages

One’s self has experienced loneliness from choice or forced into isolation. The novel ¨Of Mice and Men¨ written by John Steinbeck, took place during the Great Depression, near Soledad, California. The protagonist, George and the antagonist, Lennie are mid aged, white men who are working on a ranch with other mid aged, white men. Along with ones who aren’t as focused at the time, such as Crooks, the negro or black, Curley’s wife, the woman and, Candy, the old and weak man were treated differently from all the white, strong males in the novel due to the setting the novel. This making distance in relationships in Of Mice and Men, isolating these characters into loneliness.

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764 Words | 4 Pages

The isolated conditions aren’t ideal and are much worse than those of the rest of the workers. Being physically disabled and racially different, Crooks has to cope with the harsh realities of the time period, causing the most suffering on his side of the story. His room in the barn was purposely placed to show the effects of his discrimination throughout the job, as well as the lack of communication it causes. Crooks doesn’t have any say in the situation and lacks power in the hierarchy of the ranch, causing him to suffer the most through the reality of

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282 Words | 2 Pages

Another example of Crooks getting discriminated because he is black is when he and Curley’s wife are arguing. She completely shuts him down by saying how she could get anyone to lynch him at any time. Crooks can say nothing but “Yes, ma’am”. Even Curley’s wife, who is considered weak, can pick on even weaker people, like Crooks.

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513 Words | 3 Pages

Crooks was forced to sleep in a separate room next to the stable, apart from the bunks where the rest of the ranch workers resided. Crooks was unable to participate in anything that the rest of the ranch workers did. All of this was a result of his ethnicity. “ “Cause I’m black. They play cards, but I can’t play because I’m black.

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