Crooks
Says
Thoughts
Effects on others
Actions
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Posession
Environment
Looks
“'It wasn’t nothing,' Crooks said dully. 'You guys comin’ in an’ settin’ made me forget. What she says is true.'” (Steinbeck 40).
“'The stable buck went on dreamily, ‘I remember when I was a little kid on my old man’s chicken ranch. Had two brothers. They were always near me, always there. Used to sleep right in the same room, right in the same bed—all three.’” (Steinbeck 36)
“He hesitated. ' . . . . If you . . . . guys would want a hand to work for nothing—just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work like a son-of-a-b*tch if I want to'" (Steinbeck 37-38).
“‘Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black” (Steinbeck 36).
“He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs” (Steinbeck 33).
“Crooks stood up from his bunk and faced her. 'I had enough,' he said coldly...Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself...Crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. 'Yes, ma’am.'...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 39).
“Crooks said irritably, 'You can come in if you want'...It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger” (Steinbeck 37)
“Crooks, the Negro stable buck...His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity. His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face” (Steinbeck 33).
“... he had accumulated more possessions than he could carry on his back...he had books, too; a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. There were battered magazines and a few dirty books on a special shelf over his bunk” (Steinback 33).
“his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn. On one side of the little room, there was a square four-paned window... bunk was a long box filled with straw...On the wall by the window there were pegs on which hung broken harness in process of being mended; strips of new leather; and under the window itself a little bench for leather-working tools” (Steinbeck 33).
This shows how Crooks in reality does not want to be alone, since he hesitated at first, like how he has been for a big portion of his life. However, since Crooks is "crippled" and is also black, a lot of people tend to look down on him, He wants people to know that he is a hard worker and that she should not be looked down upon. This also shows how Crooks is tired of being on this ranch (I think it might be that he isn't treated the best). By him saying this I can see that Crooks is timid (he hesitated) about his emotions, but he confident in his skills.
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By Crooks saying this it expresses to the ready how lonely Crooks truly his. During this conversation I got the sense that he is trying to tell Lennie that he should appreciate George because with George, Lennie does not need to feel the same loneliness the him feels. How he wants have someone to talk (if I am being honest this made me really connect to Crooks, the feeling having no one to express your true emotions is hard) and he is talking to Lennie even though Lennie does not seem to be truly paying attention, this just shows how much Crooks values and desires companionship.
Crooks is being reminded by Curley's wife that he has no power and because of this we can see how he thinks of himself, that it is true he has no power. He can true to stand up for himself and be strong but no one will treat him like one. It also seems that Crooks is used to being talked too like this. His thoughts show that he has been through a lot to survive.
These thoughts/memories of Crooks reveal that he misses and adored the times when he was younger. He was surrounded by people who he loved and they loved him back. He always had someone to talk when he need to (something the he lacks in his life now). He lives now alone but when he was younger he used to be very close with his brothers. Once you know happiness, you can tell once you lost it. It seems like Crooks misses those times, when life was simpler.
Crooks try to portray the fact that he wants to be alone. That he would rather be alone than surrounded by the people of the farm. I think he did this because he is/was tired of people treating him wrong/differently for no reason, so on the outside he made people think, "oh he is leaving me alone and staying far away, must mean he does not want to talk to me." People might view Crooks as reserved.
Crooks is showing by his actions to Curly's wife that he "knows his place" he knows no to continue. That once he realized that it was very true he had no power when compared to Curly's wife it seemed like he lost all of his pride. Crooks is definitely a strong-willed man but he knows where the lines are and tries not to cross them. It also seemed like he was embarrassed. He seemed embarrassed because he "grew smaller" and "reduced himself to nothing" this typically used when people are ashamed of what they did and want to run away but they cannot so they make themselves as small as possible to make it seem like the disappear, perhaps not physically but mentally.
By Crooks allowing Candy in as well shows how he wanted people to see him. He wants people to know that they cannot bother him no matter what. However, in reality he loves/enjoys the presence of others. This quality and action of Crooks doing this really shows how he really built up a wall to protect himself and how he is timid enough to no want to reveal his true emotions.
By Steinbeck describing the way the Crooks looks it allows the reader to see how Crooks looks because we know he is crippled but know we know more details about how. Also the way that he is being describe like "deep black wrinkles" and "eyes...glitter with intensity" truly shows you how much Crooks had to preserve through in life and that his journey in life was definitely not easy for him.
By looking at all his possessions the reader can tell he has definitely been around the farm for a very long time (since he was the most personal items compared to the other workers). This also tells you how much he values books and that he is educated (since he could read) because he has a "special shelf" for them. Also it also helped me come to the conclusion that Crooks seems to be a very curious and wants to learn because he has so many books but not only that but also because he kept trying to see what kind of reactions would he get out of Lennie if he kept gently pushing his buttons.
The environment for Crooks definitely shows that even though he is the only worker that has stayed at the farm the longest that he is treated the worse because of his skin color. If he was a white man he would have been treated much better because the boss would have seen the fact that he stayed there at the ranch for so long as a sign of loyalty. He is crippled but still has the worst living conditions compared to everyone. It shows how tenacious he is. He has put up with so much just to survive and he does not complain much about (even though it is clear that he is not happy).