a) How does the author present the character of Crooks?
In 'Of Mice and Men' Crooks is presented as a lonely man who quickly gains our sympathy as readers. Steinbeck's novel as a whole uncovers the loneliness at the heart of American society at the time, using a microcosm of this society represented by the ranch. The ranch houses a number of figures arguably intended to represent different aspects of mankind. The boss and his son represent the capitalist figures in society who are withdrawn yet threatening to those below them, while George represents a man of his time, trying to do the right thing; Lennie represents everything that is good about mankind and its gentle quality, however he is unable to control his destructive ability or even to comprehend this quality. In many ways Lennie is mankind itself at its best and worst, arguably he is the element of Man that attempts to be good, but is ultimately destructive. Steinbeck is potentially using him to illustrate that men, by definition, will destroy whether they set out to or not. Slim also is a flawed man, he is cold and indifferent even though he is princely, 'a master craftsmen', wishing to be shot rather than grow old and useless like the dog and by extension, Candy. However, in all this Crooks is set apart.
Crooks' home itself is a lean-to against the larger building, the barn. This suggests that in whatever structure there might be, whether it is the structure of society or physical housing, someone like Crooks will always be at the fringe, he is after all a 'nigger'. Candy informs us of this fact in chapter two, prior to meeting Crooks, he isn't mean about him in the way that he is about Curly's wife, but he states very plainly the view towards black people through his choice of language. He even points out that he saw Curly's wife not only 'give Slim the eys', but Crooks as well. He suggests two things here, firstly that Curly's wife is so sexually promiscuous that she looks beyond the bounds of race, or that she is so desperate she will consider setting race aside. Furthermore he suggests quite clearly that Crooks is at the bottom of the pile.
Curly introduces both Crooks and Curly's wife prior to their physical introduction to the narrative; he sets up both the theme of gender inequality as well as racial inequality. Later Crooks tells Lennie that all white people 'smell' to him. He is a bitter and twisted man, both psychologically and physically due to his back. It is almost as if the world has physically trodden him down and keeps him down.
In the weighting of introductions Crooks receives more attention than any other character considering he does not move the narrative on at all. In chapter four, Steinbeck is at pains to describe his living conditions, his posessions and his nature. His 'single-barrelled' shotgun suggests that he is willing to defend himself, yet lacks conviction as he has a single-barrel opposed to a double barrel. Moreover he is aware and frustrated by his rights, or practical lack of them. His 'copy of the 1905 civil code' is 'mauled', interestingly Steinbeck uses an animalistic expression to describe its shabby state, possibly linking Lennie and Crooks together through this idea as well as illustrating the ferocity he feels towards the law. Furthermore, Crooks has 'gold-rimmed spectacles', which suggest he is a man who spends a great deal of time reading, but also feels somewhat reverential towards this ability and so uses expensive spectacles indicating that he values the freedom it offers him.
The character of Crooks is a uniquely tragic one, literate and skilled he should have more reason to hope and dream yet he has the slimmest shade of doubt out of all the men. He has a 'meagre yellow' light of hope quite literally which is only confirmed when Curly's wife says 'I could get you strung up so fast, it ain't even funny', at this all hope is expunged and Steinbeck achieves a greater level of sympathy for his character as well as building up the animosity of the reader towards Curly's wife, ultimately making her death difficult to sympathise over.
b) Now it is your job, based on the above to carry on the context side of the essay. The question is: How does Steinbeck use the character of Crooks to highlight racial issues at the time?
Put your answers to this in the comments box below.
In 'Of Mice and Men' Crooks is presented as a lonely man who quickly gains our sympathy as readers. Steinbeck's novel as a whole uncovers the loneliness at the heart of American society at the time, using a microcosm of this society represented by the ranch. The ranch houses a number of figures arguably intended to represent different aspects of mankind. The boss and his son represent the capitalist figures in society who are withdrawn yet threatening to those below them, while George represents a man of his time, trying to do the right thing; Lennie represents everything that is good about mankind and its gentle quality, however he is unable to control his destructive ability or even to comprehend this quality. In many ways Lennie is mankind itself at its best and worst, arguably he is the element of Man that attempts to be good, but is ultimately destructive. Steinbeck is potentially using him to illustrate that men, by definition, will destroy whether they set out to or not. Slim also is a flawed man, he is cold and indifferent even though he is princely, 'a master craftsmen', wishing to be shot rather than grow old and useless like the dog and by extension, Candy. However, in all this Crooks is set apart.
Crooks' home itself is a lean-to against the larger building, the barn. This suggests that in whatever structure there might be, whether it is the structure of society or physical housing, someone like Crooks will always be at the fringe, he is after all a 'nigger'. Candy informs us of this fact in chapter two, prior to meeting Crooks, he isn't mean about him in the way that he is about Curly's wife, but he states very plainly the view towards black people through his choice of language. He even points out that he saw Curly's wife not only 'give Slim the eys', but Crooks as well. He suggests two things here, firstly that Curly's wife is so sexually promiscuous that she looks beyond the bounds of race, or that she is so desperate she will consider setting race aside. Furthermore he suggests quite clearly that Crooks is at the bottom of the pile.
Curly introduces both Crooks and Curly's wife prior to their physical introduction to the narrative; he sets up both the theme of gender inequality as well as racial inequality. Later Crooks tells Lennie that all white people 'smell' to him. He is a bitter and twisted man, both psychologically and physically due to his back. It is almost as if the world has physically trodden him down and keeps him down.
In the weighting of introductions Crooks receives more attention than any other character considering he does not move the narrative on at all. In chapter four, Steinbeck is at pains to describe his living conditions, his posessions and his nature. His 'single-barrelled' shotgun suggests that he is willing to defend himself, yet lacks conviction as he has a single-barrel opposed to a double barrel. Moreover he is aware and frustrated by his rights, or practical lack of them. His 'copy of the 1905 civil code' is 'mauled', interestingly Steinbeck uses an animalistic expression to describe its shabby state, possibly linking Lennie and Crooks together through this idea as well as illustrating the ferocity he feels towards the law. Furthermore, Crooks has 'gold-rimmed spectacles', which suggest he is a man who spends a great deal of time reading, but also feels somewhat reverential towards this ability and so uses expensive spectacles indicating that he values the freedom it offers him.
The character of Crooks is a uniquely tragic one, literate and skilled he should have more reason to hope and dream yet he has the slimmest shade of doubt out of all the men. He has a 'meagre yellow' light of hope quite literally which is only confirmed when Curly's wife says 'I could get you strung up so fast, it ain't even funny', at this all hope is expunged and Steinbeck achieves a greater level of sympathy for his character as well as building up the animosity of the reader towards Curly's wife, ultimately making her death difficult to sympathise over.
b) Now it is your job, based on the above to carry on the context side of the essay. The question is: How does Steinbeck use the character of Crooks to highlight racial issues at the time?
Put your answers to this in the comments box below.
(I hope you had a nice Christmas, Sir. Been up to a bit of revision on contextual answers. Woo...)
ReplyDeleteHow does Steinbeck use the character of Crooks to highlight racial issues at the time?
Steinbeck uses Crooks as a tool to sway the reader and make them feel sympathy towards him. This is implied by the author’s use of the formal word “negro” rather than “nigger”, which was a common term used to describe black people at the time of the novel. This implies that Steinbeck doesn’t mean to degrade Crooks, or other coloured people, in the same way that many other Americans did.
Despite the fact that slavery was abolished many years before the novel was written, blacks were also provided with living conditions that were substandard compared to whites and were often segregated; kept away from others as much as possible and Crooks is no exception. “Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room, a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn… Crooks’ bunk was a long box filled with straw on which his blankets were thrown.”
Even though the standard of the bunk house that the other workers stay in are less than glamorous, they still have a better living space than Crooks, and whites would often be given the superior living quarters. That Steinbeck puts Crooks in the stable shows that Crooks is given the same status as a horse and, similarly, other blacks at the time of the novel were given that status, implying blacks are treated as animals rather than humans.
Crooks is also crippled which, along with the fact he’s black, makes him expendable and increases the risk of him being laid off by the boss. Arguably, Steinbeck may have written Crooks as a cripple to show that in society in the 1920’s and 30’s coloured people were “crippled” in the sense that they were weaker than whites.
When Crooks is faced with the threat of Curley’s wife, he is described as “retiring into the terrible protective dignity of the negro”.
The use of the word “terrible” implies that the author feels strongly against the fact that the blacks did retire into this state and never had the courage to disobey the whites, almost as though the whites ruled over them instead of living alongside them.
Whites, such as Curley’s wife would use this “rule” to control blacks. Other than being segregated from whites, blacks would also have to watch how they spoke to whites. This is shown when Curley’s wife tells Crooks she could “get [him] strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.”
The last public execution in America was in 1936 but before this, especially in the Deep South of America, blacks would be hung not quite for amusement, but they were particularly at risk. The death penalty in America was often racially biased, and blacks were vulnerable to all white juries and were at a greater risk at being sent to death row than whites were after committing the same crimes. In the time of the novel, the death of a black man was less important than the death of a white man, this beg shown by Curley’s wife threatening Crooks as though it’s an orthodox way to behave, and that no one reacts in a surprised way to this shows that it was common at the time.
This is excellent work Rebecca, well done.
DeleteYour points are clear and confident and you show some insight. The point you make about Crooks' disability being a 'metaphor' for the situation that black Americans were in at the time is really well put. Also the point you make contextually at the end regarding lynching links in very well. Superb! Sweets for you.
I was just wondering, what grade would you give this? A quick repsonse would be appreciated, as my exam is in a few days... Thanks!
DeleteBlack people were at the bottom of the hierarchical structure of society. They didn’t ‘belong’ with white people. In the novel this is shown by Crooks’ separation from the rest of the ranch workers. He “ain’t welcome in the bunkhouse” and he knows it.
ReplyDeleteThe novel follows the structure or Gustav Freytag’s pyramid which is where small events build up to the climax of the novel. We do not meet Crooks until half way through the novel. Until that point, we know the “The stable buck’s a nigger” and that the ranch workers think he “smells.” When we do actually meet Crook Close to the climax of the book, we learn that he is very intelligent, evidenced by his books and that, like the ranch workers, he also has dreams. By doing this, the reader is subconsciously forming negative predispositions about Crooks’ character which accurately reflects how a black person would have experienced prejudice in during the dustbowl.
Years of isolation have transformed him into a bitter and lonely man evidenced by his “pleasure” in his “torture” of Lennie. This elegantly portrays how misery loves company; Crooks is treated unfairly and wanted Lennie to experience an iota of what Crooks has to deal with. He tries to hide his loneliness by being “proud” and “aloof” however Steinbeck makes it clear to the reader how desperate his is for companionship by his immediate offer to work on George and Lennie’s ranch. This is because he will have people to talk to and will not be secluded. Working for free is similar to slavery however Crooks does not see it that for all he wants is someone to talk to; just like every other black person in 1930’s America would have.