Analyse the presentation of Crooks Essay

Analyse the presentation of Crooks in Of Mice and Men. rumormonger on how this helps to create a realistic picture of 1930s atomic number 20John Steinbecks Of mice and custody was written in the 1930s, a m of great depression by means ofout the world. It was a time when racial discrimination was mute widespread in America. It is based on a ranch in California. In the story Crooks is the only black person on the ranch. Crooks is disabled, with a crooked back where a horse once kicked him.It describes him as having wo(e) tightened lips because of this. He is besides described as universe a rarified aloof man. He is shown to be an educated man through the event that he owns a dictionary and tries to research what rights he does pay off by using his mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. The fact that Steinbeck uses the word mauled infers that it was used a great deal.In the story, Crooks was treated with runty respect. He acts resembling he wants no real conta ct with the color workers on the ranch by keeping his distance and demanding that other stack kept theirs. I figure that he really wanted or so friends but doesnt show it because no-one will be friends with him. The boss too has no respect for him and takes his anger out on him for no argue when he is mad. He lives in a tack room build onto the side of the barn because he is outcaste in the bunkhouse. This is probably callable to the fact that the society of the time believed in racial segregation. He has no friends on the ranch and is totally isolated. He had no rights or a sound out on what goes on on the ranch or in America for that matter. There were thousands like him all over America that were stuck in the same situation.They were not treated well for what seems to me a trivial reason. The apply was very controversial at the time as Steinbeck portrays Crooks as being the same inside as any other man. This is a locating that challenged all of the other contemporary views at the time. A lot of pile were outraged at this as they thought of Crooks and other black quite a little as somehow inferior to them. The fact that we only meet Crooks at all is an accident. I count he hated his animateness on that point on the ranch, but had no way to touch on out of it. In the first part of the book (chapters 1-3) we find out the views of Crooks from the other characters there. The racism towards him may have been innocent as the racism in the artless then was inherent (passed down through the generations).We at a time move on to chapter 4, where we find out somewhat Crooks and his own opinions through an accidental attend with Lennie. It all starts when Lennie is in the barn with his pup and everyone else has gone into town. He sees the fainthearted from Crooks little hut which is built into the barn. He stumbles in and Crooks acts like Lennie is unwanted Crooks scowled but Lennies disarming smile defeated him. I conceive of that he actually thought about it and gived that he could do with some company.Steinbeck uses Lennies character to accidentally stumble upon him because Lennie does not gain the political views of the world at that time, so he walks right in and talks to him the right way, treating him with respect, as he would anyone else. Crooks then settles down a bit and pours out what seems to be his entire life story to Lennie, now he finally has someone to talk to. He tells him about his life before working on the ranch. He speaks of the fact he was skilful before, and says that his father had a chicken ranch. Maybe this meant he would prefer to be back there, missing his relatives who he knows would treat him as an equal. He also talks about that he used to play with the local dust coat kids and that his ol man did not like that.He then proceeds to say I never knew wherefore till long later why he didnt do that. But I know now. During the conversation, Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George (who he relies on completely) never came back. It seems like Crooks is getting hallucinating over having an advantage over a white person, Crooks face lighted with pleasure at his torture but later on you think about it and realise what Crooks was trying to do. He was showing Lennie what it would be like to be him, to have no-one and be completely alone. He then explains this to Lennie a guy needs somebody to be near himA guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Through this we realise how actually lonely he really is.Lennie starts talking about his and Georges ideate of getting their own ranch somewhere. Candy then appears at the doorway and Crooks lets him in. Candy confirms all that Lennie says and they share their imagine with him. Crooks then realises that they might copy in getting a ranch. He then says If youguys would want a hand to work for nothing dear his keep, why Id come and lend a hand. He suddenly realises what this could mean for him. He sees this as an opportunity to escape from his life on the ranch and harbor a new life for himselfHe is still holding onto that dream when suddenly Curleys wife appears in the doorway. She makes all three men feel uncomfortable. She comments that everyone else had left the weak ones here. This is ironic really because what she doesnt realise is that she too is classed as a weak one for being young-bearing(prenominal) (women were still unable to vote then and males were the dominant gender). Crooks is then taken in by the dream to the extent that he forgot his place.For a instant he seems as brave as any man. He stood up to Curleys wife and demands her to leave You aint got no rights comin in a coloured mans roomNow you just get out. Curleys wife then threatens him You keep your place Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it wouldnt even be funny. The reality then hits him. His dreams shattered. He then remembers his place, at the bottom of society. Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. The re was no personality, no ego nothing to arouse either like or dislike. universe threatened like this pushes him back down to earth, and he realises that she is right. She could easily get him lynched if she wanted to.I think that overall Steinbeck succeeds in creating a or so realistic picture of the general attitudes towards racism in the 1930s. He creates a convincing character in Crooks that makes you think of the ethics behind racism overall. Why does it happen? Why are people different on the outside any different on the inside? I think that Steinbecks intentions were to present these and other questions to the reader and make them think about the reasoning behind traditional racist attitudes.