She closed on him. “You know what I could do?” Crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. “Yes, ma’am.” “Well, you keep your place then, N-----. I could get you strung upon a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego— nothing to arouse either like or dislike. He said, “Yes, ma’am,” and his voice was toneless. (Steinbeck 119)
This shows how inferior Crook's feels when confronting Curley's wife. He is afraid that he might lose his job and have no where else to got. The harsh words exemplifies the discrimination against Crooks and blacks at the time.