How Does Steinbeck Use The Character Of Crooks To Highlight Certain Issues Essay

1930s hit, America lay in financial ruins and deep devastation as the great depression strikes. make economic depression throughout the 20th century and leaving mevery lives in tatters as American citizens face losing m superstary, stock, homes, savings and more importantly jobs. dealings with unemployment men turn helplessly to migrant working. Moving away from home (if they have one) and getting into manual labour on farms for low pay and a place to stay although it wasnt structured employment and they found themselves moving from place to place.As Poverty led to working on ranches of mice and men was born, a novel written in the late 1930s to unravel the issues and unfair ways of the 30s and the great depression. Highlighting poverty, loneliness, sexism and more importantly Racism, the master(prenominal) theme of the story.Being a major issue Racism swarmed America and started taking over most snow-clad peoples heads. Black slavery was behind them and unfortunately racism/dis crimination towards different races wasnt and the Jim Crow laws were soon introduced quickly segregating coloured people and making them outcasts in there own countries. So we were 100 years later on slavery, but we were smack bang in the middle of separatism and this, was also not a nice experience for the dull race. In a bid to stop the black Americans from being embody, the southern states passed a series of laws known as Jim Crow laws which discriminated against blacks and made sure that they were segregate from whites. Blacks were gradually fired from most jobs and had to function different transport, bath lives ect. To white people, whites started to rule America.Crooks Is a percentage Steinbeck created to highlight how un somewhat this judgment of conviction was and with no real sizeableness to the story crooks has a major importance in the book as he was put there to show us how wrong segregation truly was and how nongregarious and miss treated these people were. W e first get an idea of crooks in chapter two where he is first bought up, not being on the vista yet we get a little picture of what hes like and what his role is. Candy explains how when the boss is in a bad conceit its always taken out on the stable buck stating An he give the stable buck sinning, too meaning Crooks, Instantly the first time Crooks is mentioned in the whole book its in a negative way as through innocence hes treated as if through something wrong. Candy informs George and Lenny why the stable buck gets hell by simply adding on ya see the stablebucks a nigger in those days racial slurs such as the language rehearsed towards black people wasnt looked upon as bad but looked upon as normal, they were allowed to say things like that whereas now days youd get in a lot of trouble as racism isnt accepted.Candy goes on to tell them how Crooks isnt allowed in the bunk house, the broken typically western and simple room full of beds were they all sleep. He isnt allowed i n simply because hes black and segregation prevents him from doing so as its mixing with white people which was frowned upon at the time. He says they allow the nigger in that night reminiscing one Christmas when Crooks was allowed in the bunk house smitty took after the nigger, done pretty good too he tells of how a white man called smitty decided to beat crooks up just for fun and says the guys wouldnt let him use his feet on account of crooks having a crooked gumption they thought although beating him up for no reason, just entertainment they think its fair because he couldnt use feet.But were not getting all negative trades from crooks, candy also says Nice Fella,too. He Reads a lot, got a lot of books in his room Steinbeck has made crooks intelligent, hes made it so crooks won the fight against smitty and has made him a nice guy because he wanted to countermand the typical stereotype victim of a black man he does so by giving him pride, identity and not showing major weeknes s. Hes also made him crippled to give him more strength and more of a heroic side. It also means hes pin down at the ranch as it would be rarified for any other place to take him in so already before we meet this character we have a lot of sympathy and respect for him and all hes going through.We finally do get to meet him in chapter 3, although it is fairly brief. Crooks pokes his head through the door of the bunkhouse as he isnt allowed to step into it, knowing he cant step any further he calls foreshorten but instead of saying slim he says Mr slim, black people had to formally address white people so crooks was evaluate to use Mr and Mrs or Maam and Sir when approaching a white person, if approaching one at all otherwise hed get in a lot of trouble and maybe be hung, he was thought to respect white people as if not worthy to them.We and so formally meet Crooks in chapter 4, a whole chapter dedicated to him which in such a short novel with such an unimportant character is ver y rare but Steinbeck obviously felt very strongly about racism and getting an image across that crooks had an identity and personality, he was just like the nap of them but was hated because of the colour of his skin. Crooks has the longest introduction to his character and where he lives in the book so that we get a vivid description and a chance to get to know him, and that he is a real character with a personality and feelings. Crooks is said to live in a little hurtle that leaned off the wall of the barn , putting crooks in the barn and saying crooks had an apple box over his bunk, and in it a range of medicine bottles, twain for himself and the horses shows his status is that of an animal, they class him as dirt, lower then the horses. His bed is just a box on hay and blankets as well, which is also Steinbeck creating an image of a man treated like an animal.Stereotypes would of thought he was a dirty black man but in actual fact crooks is a rarified and clean man. Being ol d, crippled and most importantly black crooks has been unable to get himself a girlfriend and being like he is never will, so as a substitute to a female he has dirty books.When Lenny Meets Crooks he doesnt have a clue about racism, he isnt racist in any shape or form as he has the mind of a child and doesnt understand it. He asks why aint you wanted because he cant see why crooks wouldnt be allowed in the bunk house which shows racism isnt vivid or in genes or occurs to you as a kid, racism is taught to you by the people you grow up with and by pictures you see in the society. Lenny doesnt use his white status in his discussion with crooks what so ever and in the conversation crooks actually has the upper hand for once. Crooks says this heres my room. Nobody got any right in here but me and trys to get rid of Lenny, but its not that he doesnt want the company because he does, thats what he craves the most but its a matter of principle, he has the idea that white people dont let hi m in there room, so why should he let them in his room? Hes read up his place in society and he knows his rights, and one of his rights is his room.Crooks snaps at Lenny saying I aint no southern nigro showing he hasnt accepted the fact that hes less of a man then Lenny, he knows hes the same apart from a colour and he has a confidence. He starts patronizing and teasing Lenny to make himself feel founder as he sees someone thats an easier target then himself to pick of which proves a nasty streak. Upsetting Lenny saying things like spose George went into town and you never heard of him no more and theyll take you to the booby hatch. Theyll tie you up with a collar, like a dog.Crooks didnt always use to be segregated either, he went to a normal school and had white friends but his dad didnt approve as he knew it wouldnt stopping point and theyd grow up and turn on him. on my old mans chicken ranch his family owned a chicken ranch so he wasnt from a poor typical black slave family, showing the great depression could put you in circumstances unlike the ones you grew up in. he says its just a nigger saying it recognising nothing he says means anything and he doesnt have a say because hes black. In Lenny and Crooks conversation there on completely different wave lengths, speaking on different levels completely. Its easy for crooks to tell his story and to have someone to lecture to about his feelings and loneliness because he knows Lenny isnt taking anything in and wont remember a thing, its just a physical presence to conference to so he isnt talking to himself.Crooks only picks on Lenny because of power and status, most his life hes been teased and tortured and the boss gives him such hell so hes finally found someone he can tease and torture back. We get an insight of crooks loneliness and understand how such(prenominal) its really getting to him so we forgive him for the teasing because we know Lennys situation is no were near as bad as Crooks, crooks has no one but Lenny has always had George, Crooks expresses this crying you know hes going to come back, spose you didnt have nobody, spose you couldnt go into the bunk house and athletics rummy because your black he obviously is so desperately lonely, he wants someone to talk to more then anything and its made even worse as he hasnt always been like this.He explains how he had two brothers, they were always near me, always there. Used to sleep in the same room so he was used to having his brothers around, sharing a room and having someone to talk to all the time. Hes been separated from family and friends for a lifetime alone(predicate) and with social levels rock bottom stifling loneliness Is putting him in a mental state and hes trying to put Lenny in his shoes. Crooks seems very cynical and sceptical about Lennys dream and has given up all hope in religion saying nobody ever gets to enlightenment he doesnt believe a god would put him through this.Crooks also defends himself sayi ng you say I smell, well you all smell to me he most probably doesnt really thing white people smell its just a matter of if you can say it to me, I can say it to you. Its almost childish, you smell, no you do Then Candy comes onto the scene and joins Crooks and Lenny. Crooks is happy to have all this sudden company, something hed dreamed of happening and is more then pleased to have people in the barn with him not that hed let that on.Candy says I been here a long time, an crooks been here a long time. This is the first time Ive been in this room hes proving the real insight of segregation as theyve both been there years and years but they have never seen each others rooms but segregation like this was normal. Crooks proves just how lonely he is when he offers to give up all freedom and pay to work for nothing and become almost a slave for George, Lenny and Candy and in return, just some company hesitatingly saying if youguys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, wh y Id come an lend a hand..Then its all unsettled by Curleys wifes appearance. Shes nearly as lonely as crooks, not allowed to talk to anyone but her husband who she doesnt feel for at all. He leaves her alone to go to the whore house and shes expected to talk to nobody. Shes hurt and looking for some company, just someone to talk to. She expresses her loneliness saying what am I doing? Talking to a clustering of bindle stiffs- a nigger an a dum-dum and a lousy ol sheep and im liking it although shes insulting them shes just as desperate for some company and wants them to talk to her, but they have other ideas. They have it drummed into there heads shes trouble and Crooks especially knows he shouldnt be talking to her. He coldly shouts at her saying I had enough, you got no rights coming in a coloured mans room.You got no rights messing around in here at all. direct you just get out an get out quick. If you dont, im gonna ask the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more cr ooks overstepped the mark in the society he lives in. he cant in humans boss around a white woman. He hasnt said anything unreasonable, he knows his rights but hes threatening her giving himself a level of authority. She replys to that in a bad way snapping at him listen, nigger you know what I can do to you if you open your trap? You know what I could do? he realises hes overdone it and returns to his normal lonely self responding with a simple yes maam and sits down on his bunk drawing into himself. afterwards having Candy and Lenny in the room and being able to have normal conversations leaving out any racism hes almost forget himself and segregation, the time he had with the other two was more like a bit of fantasy not reality. He thought for a minute he could have an equal friendship but then Curleys wife comes and snaps him out of it and reminds him of his place and status. What he did was paralyse his childhood when he played with white kids, he just fooled himself into thi nking they were maybe his friends but after the argument he soon realises that this would never happen, he would never be accepted so after she leaves he changes. He turns cold on the other two again and withdraws his offer to work for company although hed still applaud to do it, he thinks its just a far away dream as black people will never have equal friendships with white people.Curleys wife has proved shes racist but shes not alone in that, she threatened to have him hung. All shed of had to do was run back to the ranch and tell the boss or Curley he touched her and hed be killed without trial, just as a form of revenge. Crooks would just have to be accused by a white person and there authority would get him killed, that was the reality of being a black man, that was the reality of crooks situation.Taking the racism and unfairness of segregation in the 1930s Steinbeck has successfully created this character of a black man, trapped in his crippled body, desperately lonely and ab used but given him an identity, a personality, a proper background and family and made him a real person. Hes highlighted how badly they were treated, how they felt, what they went through and what we cant let happen again in the future.Crooks wasnt a part of the story as such but he was there to represent what it was like at the time and the seriousness of the horrors of racism that went on and hes done that unmistakably giving a perfect picture and make us as an audience feel for the character of Crooks and actually think about what went on back then and to help ensure segregation will never return.