John Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’, presents many characters in different ways. Steinbeck uses minor characters to showcase different themes, a main key theme being loneliness. Steinbeck presents this theme through characters which are defined by colour, gender and mental stability.
Characters such as Crooks and Curley’s wife would share this theme throughout the novella but yet would stay clear of each other and in no way make contact to make their loneliness vanish. The author chose Crooks to be defined by colour and race whereas he chose Curley’s wife to be defined by her gender.Steinbeck presents both characters in very different, yet similar ways. In the novella "Of Mice and Men" the character Crooks is used by John Steinbeck to represent the isolation of the black community occurring in the 1930’s. Crooks also gives an offer for an insight into the actuality of the American Dream and the feelings of all the ranch workers: their loneliness and call for company and human communication. This allows the reader to chose whether they feel sympathy for the broken down, hard working, isolated stable buck or if he is just a cruel, malicious, bitter man.
The isolation of the stable buck originates from the period of time the novella is set. In the 1930’s California, a man was defined by colour and race. The author chose to show how men at this time were treated and defined if they were men of colour; this was shown through the character Crooks. The treatment Crooks received on the ranch revolved around his colour. The other men on the ranch insulted him by calling him a ‘nigger’, and being a ‘nigger’, Crooks is out casted and feels that what he says is more likely a waste of his breath."If I say something, why it's just a nigger sayin' it" Being demoralized by other men on the ranch has made Crooks into a cruel, malicious, bitter man with a notion that he is less of a human than others on the ranch.
Steinbeck presents Crooks’ cruelty at its peak when he speaks to Lennie, another character in which the theme of loneliness applies to as well. The author uses Crooks as a bright man who uses his intellectuality to the point of brutality towards others; however, Steinbeck shows vulnerability on Crooks’ half for human interaction when Lennie begins to get scared."I didn't mean to scare you" This is purposely employed by the author to give the reader an impression that Crooks’ isn’t all bad but isn’t all good either. This shows that there was a necessity for Crooks’ to have human interaction.
Another point purposely employed by the author is Crooks’ self-pity, vulnerability and isolation, this shown by the author particularly when Crooks’ says "S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black... Sure, you could play horseshoes 'til dark, but then you have to read books."Steinbeck uses Crooks to bring into account the loneliness felt by each character in “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck shows this particularly when Crooks says: "Sure, you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good.
A guy needs someone - to be near him. A guys goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely, an' he gets sick. " This shows a basic need for attention off of other people within the ranch.The author uses Crooks’ cruelty and self pity as a desperate plea to be recognised as more of a human and to be treated with equal respect as other men on the ranch; this is shown as Crooks’ dream; a black man’s American Dream in the 1930’s.
This is shown by the author when Crooks says: "S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black... ”. John Steinbeck is showing through Crooks the feelings of Americans in his day and age: their solitude and their try for an escape through the American Dream.
