How Does Steinbeck Present Crooks Loneliness
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.
Steinbeck uses books to epitomise
loneliness, "tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905". The amount of times Crooks had used his "tattered" and "mauled books displays the fact that crooks occupies himself by reading books. And because his books are "tattered", it connotes that Crooks prefers to spend time with books and objects more than people, which can convey his personality as antisocial, awkward and of course lonely. Additionally, Steinbeck portrays Crooks as a wise, intelligent, sentimental old man. As Crooks reads a "dictionary", he reads information and knowledge and given the fact that it's is "tattered", Crooks had spent a long period of time 'studying' words which states that Crooks has a large range of vocabulary and a great amount of knowledge. Crooks is seen as old and sentimental due to the "copy of the California civil code for 1905" he reads. This conveys that Crooks mindset might still be in 1905, explaining how and why he might behave differently compared to the other people and workers on the ranch and why he might believe in different rules and laws.
Crooks felt very distant, especially from people with the same background and race as him, "There wasn't another coloured family for miles around". Steinbeck uses a hyperbole "for miles" to emphasise the fact that Crooks was alone physically which created his only mentality. While Crooks has the knowledge that he is the only black person on the ranch and there is no other black person or family near by, he tends to not leave his territory as much since he knows that not many good consequences are going to occur to him if he mingles or works with the people in the ranch. Steinbeck uses the hyperbole, "for miles" to also create the effect that Crooks is very alone and distant. The fact that Crooks had searched for other people added on to his loneliness,
Steinbeck uses books to epitomise
loneliness, "tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905". The amount of times Crooks had used his "tattered" and "mauled books displays the fact that crooks occupies himself by reading books. And because his books are "tattered", it connotes that Crooks prefers to spend time with books and objects more than people, which can convey his personality as antisocial, awkward and of course lonely. Additionally, Steinbeck portrays Crooks as a wise, intelligent, sentimental old man. As Crooks reads a "dictionary", he reads information and knowledge and given the fact that it's is "tattered", Crooks had spent a long period of time 'studying' words which states that Crooks has a large range of vocabulary and a great amount of knowledge. Crooks is seen as old and sentimental due to the "copy of the California civil code for 1905" he reads. This conveys that Crooks mindset might still be in 1905, explaining how and why he might behave differently compared to the other people and workers on the ranch and why he might believe in different rules and laws.
Crooks felt very distant, especially from people with the same background and race as him, "There wasn't another coloured family for miles around". Steinbeck uses a hyperbole "for miles" to emphasise the fact that Crooks was alone physically which created his only mentality. While Crooks has the knowledge that he is the only black person on the ranch and there is no other black person or family near by, he tends to not leave his territory as much since he knows that not many good consequences are going to occur to him if he mingles or works with the people in the ranch. Steinbeck uses the hyperbole, "for miles" to also create the effect that Crooks is very alone and distant. The fact that Crooks had searched for other people added on to his loneliness,