The Role of Crooks in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay Sample

Steinbeck, the author of ‘of mice and men’ introduces us to crooks in the 4th chapter which is represented in a cynical structure and takes place on a Saturday evening. Steinbeck uses the character crooks to enlighten everybody on how unfairly black people were treated in the 1930s. He uses him to highlight the fact that black people were discriminated against every day and how isolated they must feel. Crooks works in the stable on his own making him extremely lonely and he is the only black person in the novel making him extremely unique and different from everyone else.

Immediately, at the beginning of the chapter, we discover that Crooks is extremely intelligent as he is described to own a ‘mauled copy of the California civil code’. The ‘California civil code’ talks about society when he was treated equally and shows us that this matters to him and is something he is longing to come back. This is Crooks’ dream. Back in the 1930s, black people were treated extremely unfairly and this special book, which he keeps, talks about what people acted like before the depression and before black people suffered great prejudice. The adjective ‘mauled’ also tells us that Crooks is poor as the book is extremely old and battered. This portrays the fact that black people were ill-treated as they probably got no or unequal pay. Overall, this quote is giving us a hint that Crooks is smart as he can read, which a lot of people could not do, and tells us that he also enjoys it. 

Crooks is not used to visitors into his room as he is disregarded by the others, who never come and see him, on the ranch. This is shown when Lennie enters the stable and tries to make friends with him. When Lennie first enters crooks does not notice him, but after a few moments, however ‘his eyes stiffened, and a scowl came on his face. Steinbeck is using the word ‘scowl’ to tell us Crooks can be unpleasant and unwelcoming. The verb ‘stiffened’ implies that Crooks is not always treated nicely as he is at once on his guard. This could potentially be because other people that visit him often have nothing nice to say and only go to leer at him. This is because in the depression nobody would get to know crooks as he is just a simple ‘black person’ who nobody bothers with. Crooks makes no effort to talk to Lennie at first as he feels paranoid that somebody would talk to him, and he doesn’t want anybody to be let into his room, which is the only place he has security and privacy. 

After Lennie is let reluctantly into his room, he becomes suspicious as to why he doesn’t sleep with everyone else. After asking this Crooks responds with ‘Cause I’m black’ and later repeats ‘because I am black’. This shows that Crooks is hopeless and does not believe he has a chance of achievement in life. Repetition being used is telling us he is sour about what he is always told and that he hates hearing it. The word ‘black’ tells us that everything he is losing out on is solely based on the colour of his skin, not on anything else. These quotes tell us that if he asks anybody why he is missing out this is all he hears so it has become normal to him. Black people in the depression probably asked this question a lot as they missed out on so much because of their skin colour. This was probably a normal response to get from people in the 1930s.  I also believe he repeats himself because after saying it the first time he becomes flustered and wants to say it again to release his anger at the world and society for taking away all his self-belonging. 

We also learn that Crooks can be harsh but also is extremely bitter about how he has been treated. Understandably crooks will have had a difficult life and he probably felt jealous when he is around white people, especially Lennie as he has George as such a good friend, so when he gets a bit of power, which he has never had in his life, he immediately uses it. He does this by taking advantage of Lennie, but not only does he torment him he is described to be ‘lighted with pleasure at his torture’ The verb ‘lighted’ is used to tell us he feels no remorse at doing this to Lennie as it has been done to him so many times by so many different people and the word ‘torture’ tells us that Crooks is used to extremely poor treatment which is not acceptable for humans. At first, it could seem that crooks were being unfair to Lennie but after he tells us about his past and how much he is discriminated it becomes more recognizable as why he is being like this. Overall, we can gather that Crooks seeks companionship, not unlike Lennie and George’s which he knows he can never have.

In conclusion, we know that Crooks is not a happy character and that he feels lonely and detached from everyone else. This leaves the reader feeling empathy and pity for crooks but also gives the reader an idea of how unfair and difficult life could be in the 1930s. Crooks, although he isn’t the main character is important to the novel as he shows what low-status black people had in society back then.