How Is Crooks A Negro

Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck in 1937. The novella is set during the Great Depression and focuses on two migrant workers, George and Lennie. George is small and intelligent while Lennie, is mentally disabled with a tremendous strength that he is not capable of controlling. The two are the total opposite but have managed to form a “family” together. Due to Lennie’s mental disability, George has taken on the role of being Lennie’s caregiver and guardian. The two find their way to a ranch in Salinas Valley, California with the idea of earning enough money to accomplish their dream. While on the ranch they encounter many different characters. One of them being a negro, by the name of Crooks. Crooks is the stable buck at …show more content…
Crooks, the negro, is the stable buck at the ranch. He lives isolated from the rest of the workmen. Crooks being the only black person on the ranch is forced to live in a bunkhouse alone. One day when the workmen go into town, except for Lennie and Candy, Lennie stumbles into Crook’s bunkhouse. Crooks quarrels for a while with Lennie trying to get him to leave, but Lennie does not budge. During their quibbling, Crooks admits to Lennie, “‘ A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.’”(72). In this quote from the novel, Crooks confesses to Lennie that he is lonely and wishes for some company. Crooks confesses this to Lennie because he knows Lennie will soon forget and not tell anybody. Crooks wishes to have at least one person with whom he can talk, listen to, or just be around. Wishing to have some company for once, he admits Lennie into his bunk room. Steinbeck writes, “‘Come on in and set a while,’ Crooks said. ‘’Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down.’ His tone was a little more friendly,”(69). Crooks desire to have companionship is so great that he finally decides to let Lennie into his bunk room even with the knowledge that Lennie will not any attention to what he says. Crooks is willing to settle with the companionship of Lennie, who will forget every single word he says, just to satisfy his dream; but it is better than having nobody at …show more content…
When she was a young girl, she dreamed of being in the movies. Her dream of being in the movies was aroused by a man who promised to get her in the movies. When she never heard from him again, that dream faded. In disappointment she married Curley. Sitting in the barn, Curley’s wife tells Lennie, “‘So I married Curley. Met him out to the Riverside Dance Palace that same night,’”(88). Curley’s wife did not marry him out of love, but married him as an escape to get away from her home, since she could not get away by being in the movies. Marrying Curley was not the best decision she could have made because now she is stuck living on a ranch with a desire for friendship and for someone to value her. While sitting in the barn, Curley’s wife exclaims to Lennie,”’Wha’s the matter with me?’ she cried. ‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways?’”(87). Curley’s wife is frustrated because every time she tries to build a friendship with someone by starting a conversation, everyone shoves her away. When she says they, she is referring to: Curley, the boss, and every workmen on the ranch. She believes she is not valued as a person, but as a possession of Curley’s, which she dislikes. Curley’s wife believes she is underestimated because she is a woman, and that her rights were taken away from her when she married. Therefore, because of her dream of attaining friendship, she