Crooks has a room to himself because he is African American and cannot bunk with the white men. Lennie came into Crooks' room to talk because he was lonely. Crooks started being a bully to Lennie because Lennie came in unannounced and without permission. Shortly after, Candy also came in unannounced to talk to Lennie about the farm. When Crooks heard their plans, he started asking questions about the farm. Once he had enough information, he wanted to work for his stay on the farm as well. Curley's wife surprised the men as she stood in the doorway. She was listening to their plan. She decided to talk to Lennie about how Curly got hurt, Lennie said Curly got his hand stuck in a machine. She saw the bruises on Lennies face and asked where they came from. Lennie does not know how to lie so Curley's wife figured out that "the machine" is actually Lennie. Curly's wife threatened Crooks' life and belittled him. crooks feels so bad inside that he no longer wants in on the dream of owning a farm with the…
As the only woman on a ranch surrounded by men that view her as a temptress, Curley’s wife faces little to no chance of friendship. Despite Steinbeck’s portrayal, Curley’s wife emerges as a complex character through the quotation, “‘I get lonely’” (82). This declaration to Lennie shows Curley’s wife as more than the stereotypical enchantress, but as an actual person who possesses feelings, particularly loneliness. The line becomes noteworthy as the reader begins to notice the character of Curley’s wife developing more depth and feeling.…
In the book, Lennie, Candy, and Crooks are gathered in Crooks' room. After a while, Curley's wife arrives, and the situation became a bad one. Crooks gathers the nerve to stand up to her, and when he does, she verbally cuts him down. She tells Crooks that she could have him hanged, and no one would object. After she says this, Crooks "...reduces himself to nothing..." (81). Soon afterward, Curley's wife leaves the room, leaving behind her the demoralized Crooks, Lennie, and Candy.…
The friendless characters have been lonely for so long, their lives no longer have meaning. Both Crooks and Curley’s wife’s lives lack love and affection to give them purpose. Since Crooks has lived in white towns his entire life, his lack of friends has…
In the novel of “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck invented an extremely ambiguous character known as Curely’s Wife. Readers would ether like or dislike the personality of Curley’s Wife. Her dream was to be in the movies as she quotes “Nother time I met a guy an’ he was in pitchers. Went out to the Riverside Dance Palace with him. He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural” In the novel she was massively disliked by the other characters for her attracting the attention of other men when she was married. She does this by the way she dresses. This makes her sexually provocative and attractive to men.…
Crooks builds his confidence dangerously high with the help of Candy and Lennie because in that moment he feels equal to them, he becomes angry and powerful and shouts at Curley’s wife, “You got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room.”…
In 'Of Mice and Men', John Steinbeck includes a character, Crooks, as a stereotype of black people in the Great Depression; proud, bitter, and very sarcastic. Crooks is also extremely pessimistic and cold-hearted, due to the way people had been treating him all his life. Steinbeck portrays many of his characters lonely and isolated. Just as Candy's age and handicap isolate him, and Curley's wife's being a female makes her life solitary, Crooks's race is the main reason for his isolation. Because of his race, he is discriminated and must live in a separate room (a shed), away from everyone else. Steinbeck revolves all of Chapter 4 around Crooks so that he could convey Crooks loneliness and isolation.…
On the ranch there is a well known woman merely referred to as ‘Curley’s Wife’. As the characters develop we find that she is not in fact the unimportant, nameless character we first perceive her as, but rather she is a relatively complex one, with much more to her than we first gather, causing us to feel sympathy for her later in the novel. In this essay I will state how John Steinbeck influenced the reader to feel sympathy for Curley's wife, especially after making the reader prejudice towards her.…
One of the characters that experience discrimination in Of Mice and Men is Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is probably one of the most misunderstood characters in the novel, often being looked down upon, or talked badly about. She is the only woman on the ranch. Curley’s wife is unable to be the person she is for the reason that Curley owns her and she is his possession, Curley’s wife is recognized as Curley’s wife and his not able to have her own individuality. This is an example of the way women were commonly treated, especially on a ranch during the 1930s. Curley’s wife endues loneliness due to unable to socialise with anyone on the ranch other than Curley, because he doesn’t trust her with any of the ranch workers and often watches her every single move making sure she doesn’t talk to anyone - “I can’t talk to nobody but Curley…” Curley’s wife also suffers from loneliness because she is identified as “being trouble” in a flirtatious manner which prevents her from socialising and making friends with the ranch workers. George specifically recommends Lennie to not even “…look at that bitch… I never seen no piece of jailbait worse than her” (p.36) knowing Lennie’s reputation for trouble. The loneliness she experiences forces her to put down those characters who are socially lower than her on the ranch. As an African American, Crooks has the lowest station on the ranch and so Curley’s wife intimidates him through racism - “Listen, Nigger…” (p.80) – in order to make herself feel…
Crooks had been talking with Candy and Lennie when Curley’s wife came in. Crooks stands up for Lennie as Curley’s wife picks his brain. She then turns on him in scorn and says, ”You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” Crooks stared hopelessly at her & then he sat down on his bunk & drew into himself. She dosed on him.”You know what I could do?” Crooks seemed to grow smaller & he pressed himself against the wall.”(Steinbeck, 80,81). It is shown in the quote above that Curley’s wife indeed knows that she has power over Crooks, and that she uses her power to threaten him with lynching. Crooks cowered against the wall with just the words, “You know what I could do?”, showing how greatly he fears Curley’s…
In of mice and men, characters are cruel when they have power to control others of lower status. Many characters display a disregard for ones feeling or emotions through physical and verbal actions. On the ranch, hierarchy is extremely prominent and cruelty is a side effect of it. The characters that are lower of status are not cruel to those above. The character Curley’s wife, is an impeccable example of this. Even though she is of lower status on the ranch, she still has power over those below her. Crooks is one of those character, he is a coloured man and she uses this against him. During section 4, crooks is discusses plans with Lennie and candy, he forgets his circumstances in the ‘white man’s world’. He tells Curley’s wife that she has…
Even though Curley’s wife is trapped, she was really mean to Crooks. Crooks never done anything to her; she keeps getting others in to trouble by talking to them causing Curley to get mad. Crooks just ask her to leave his room because people are tired of her appearing everywhere stirring up trouble. Instead of leaving to cause no conflict, Curley’s wife ended up threatening to frame Crooks and get him killed. It was a really cruel act. This shows the injustice whites had toward African Americans. They are all people, but the whites got an advantage over the African Americans. If Curley’s wife yelled that Crooks raped her, even though it’s false, Crooks would be lynched right away. It is not justice at all for the Africans Americans. People didn’t have equal rights and it could lead them to death. Curley’s wife mentioning to lynch Crooks is just horrible. It shows that she could be cold-hearted and brutal. At first, I felt really sorry for Curley’s wife because of her trapped, lonely life. Then when I read about her threatening to lynch Crooks, that sorriness disappeared and was replaced by anger. I felt mad about the ways African Americans were treated back then. It was not fair at all. They…
A victim; someone who is harmed by an event or action. Curley’s wife, a character often perceived as cruel, is really misunderstood. Throughout the story, her name is never mentioned, and while she tries to interact with the other characters, she is always pushed away and rejected. Her imitation of the cruelty she experiences is just a reflection of how she is treated by the people she tries to communicate with. The impulsiveness she exhibits while decision-making is a result of her need for attention, which only strengthens the more she is rejected and isolated. Communication is crucial to the survival and well-being of a human, and because of civilization, acknowledging somebody’s name is just basic respect. As a result of failing to acknowledge…
Crooks was affected by isolation more than many of the other characters were as he was not only a migrant worker but he was also the only african american on the ranch. In addition to that he was a stable hand and was not bucking barley like most of the other people on the ranch. His isolation affects him so that he immediately shows a lack of morality when he first meets Lennie and without even taking time to talk to him he practically reduces Lennie to tears. “Crooks face lighted with pleasure in his torture”(Steinbeck 71). Another character who shows a lack of morality is Curley. Curley shows a lack of morality when communicating with practically everyone on the ranch. He gets into a fight with Lennie just because he is bigger and doesn’t understand Lennie’s situation after he kills his wife and immediately wants to kill him and wasn’t Lennie to be lynched. Curley’s lack of morality keeps him separate from the rest of the ranchers which affects his human experience by making him a very bitter person. Curley starts a fight with Lennie because he was “still smiling with delight at the memory of the ranch.” (Steinbeck 62), showing how Curley’s lack of morality affects how interacts with…
Crooks, the African American stable buck, is one of the most obvious examples of how racial prejudice can intensify loneliness and make one feel as if they are minimized to nothing. The different intensities of prejudice can be perceived during this novel. For example, the other workers fear any interaction with him, and one night Crooks explains to Lennie why he does not interact with the others. “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me’” (75). This lack of social contact has caused him to grow into an isolated and bitter individual. Crooks’s loneliness was not brought upon by himself for he is unable to interact with the others due solely to the prejudice on the farm. Also, when a person is deficient in social companions it makes one feel worthless, unimportant, and depressed. Humans need other people to thrive, and without many social connections, it can cause sadness and unbridled despair. The other characters also emanate prejudice towards him by calling him harsh names on a regular basis. When Crooks attempts to stand up for himself, Curley’s wife retaliates with “‘Listen ******, you know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’” (88). After this statement was declared, Crooks sank back into his bed and drew into himself (88), feeling utterly useless and as hollow as an empty walnut shell. This depicts how being prejudiced against can hurt someone deeply and cause substantial misery in a person. Another…