Crooks enjoys when people break down or show their vulnerability. He then preys on that to make his victims even weaker. He does this because of his experience in life, being an African American in this time. He has to fight for respect, similar to Curley always fighting others to compensate for his short stature. This is one of Crooks' only strenghts on someone, possibly caused by all the time he has spent alone. To elaborate, someone who has spent so much time alone would lose the human empathy that people feel for one another, which in our case, Crooks has.