How Crooks is presented in Of Mice and Men
How Crooks is presented in Of Mice and Men
Our first proper introduction to Crooks is at the beginning of Chapter 4 when Lennie sees Crooks’ light on when looking at his puppy and goes to investigate. This is a very significant point in the novel because it is the first real point of contact that any of the white ranch hands, maybe apart from Slim, have had a proper conversation with him apart from during work, when he is referred to as a “nigger”. This is hinted at when Crooks says to Lennie “You got no right to come in my room.” which shows that the social divide, even after the abolishment of slavery, was still present in America and this even meant that white people could not go into the room of a “nigger”. This would probably have been a shock to some white people, as they were used to being obeyed when they spoke to a black person, not told what they were and were not allowed to do.
Crooks seems to be a man who has an enormous amount of self pride and this shows in the fact that he has “several pairs of shoes, a pair of rubber boots, a big alarm clock and a single-barreled shotgun”, which could hint at the fact that he still wants to be able to defend himself if he needs to. The shoes raise a different point. As Crooks is a cripple who struggles to walk, it seems odd that he keeps several pairs of shoes in his room when he probably is not going to use them, but they could be a representation of his freedom. He also keeps “a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905”, and “a tattered dictionary”, which could symbolise the fact that he regards himself as a civilised person, as well as the stable buck that he is at work. He could also want to retain his dignity and by reading the ‘rule book’ as it were, it might help him to retain some of the dignity he still has.
As he keeps “a pair of large gold-rimmed spectacles” in his room, we are led to presume that he is able to read. This suggests that he is very intelligent as he was able to teach
Our first proper introduction to Crooks is at the beginning of Chapter 4 when Lennie sees Crooks’ light on when looking at his puppy and goes to investigate. This is a very significant point in the novel because it is the first real point of contact that any of the white ranch hands, maybe apart from Slim, have had a proper conversation with him apart from during work, when he is referred to as a “nigger”. This is hinted at when Crooks says to Lennie “You got no right to come in my room.” which shows that the social divide, even after the abolishment of slavery, was still present in America and this even meant that white people could not go into the room of a “nigger”. This would probably have been a shock to some white people, as they were used to being obeyed when they spoke to a black person, not told what they were and were not allowed to do.
Crooks seems to be a man who has an enormous amount of self pride and this shows in the fact that he has “several pairs of shoes, a pair of rubber boots, a big alarm clock and a single-barreled shotgun”, which could hint at the fact that he still wants to be able to defend himself if he needs to. The shoes raise a different point. As Crooks is a cripple who struggles to walk, it seems odd that he keeps several pairs of shoes in his room when he probably is not going to use them, but they could be a representation of his freedom. He also keeps “a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905”, and “a tattered dictionary”, which could symbolise the fact that he regards himself as a civilised person, as well as the stable buck that he is at work. He could also want to retain his dignity and by reading the ‘rule book’ as it were, it might help him to retain some of the dignity he still has.
As he keeps “a pair of large gold-rimmed spectacles” in his room, we are led to presume that he is able to read. This suggests that he is very intelligent as he was able to teach