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Crooks - Coggle Diagram
Crooks
He is the only permanent employee at the ranch, since he injured his back in an accident. His back gives him constant pain.
He is the only black man around and is made to be isolated by his colour - he can't go into the bunk-house or socialise with the men.
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He is always called the 'nigger' by the men, which shows how racism is taken for granted. The men don't mean to insult Crooks every time they call him this, but they never think to use his name
"S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you were black... A guy needs somebody - to be near him... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."
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Crooks promises to work for nothing as long as he can live his life out there without the fear of being put out.
The only time he mixes with the ranch hands socially is when they pitch horseshoes - and then he beats everyone!
He has his own room near the stables and has a few possessions. He has books, which show he is intelligent and an old copy of the California Civil Code, which suggests he is concerned about his rights.
He has seen many men come and go, all dreaming of buying a piece of land, but is now cynical, as no one has ever achieved it
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Crooks is the stable hand who takes care of the horses and lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch.
Along with Candy, Crooks is a character used by Steinbeck to show the effects of discrimination.
This time the discrimination is based on race, and Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the white ranch hands.
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Racial discrimination is part of the microcosm Steinbeck describes in his story. It reaches its height in the novel when Curley's wife puts Crooks "in his place" by telling him that a word from her will have him lynched. Interestingly, only Lennie, the flawed human, does not see the color of Crooks' skin.
Crooks also has pride. He is not the descendent of slaves, he tells Lennie, but of landowners.
Crooks promises to work for nothing as long as he can live his life out there without the fear of being put out.
Like all the others, he wants a place where he can be independent and have some security. But there is no security for anyone in a prejudiced world, least of all a black stable hand with a crooked back.