Essay
Of Mice and Men Crooks Essay GCSE
- Module
- Of Mice and Men
- Institution
- WJEC
An essay on the character Crooks from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Written for GCSE.
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Izzy ReadHow is the character Crooks important to the novel as a whole?
Crooks’ dreams on the ranch were disregarded due to the colour of his skin. We see this as he has
“pair of large gold rimmed spectacles hung on a nail on a wall above his bed”. This suggests that the
glasses symbolises Crooks’ intelligence. He cannot use his intelligence, it is hung up on the wall as it
is not needed in his manual job of being a stable buck. This also alludes to he was unable to get a job
in which he does use his intelligence as he is black and would have been disrespected and
disregarded. This is emphasized by Crooks’ owning “California Civil Code 1905” suggestng Crooks
had great interest in the law, and may have wanted to be a lawyer. However, we know he does not
achieve this. As Of Mice and Men was set in the dirty thirtes we know many were out of work and
African Americans were hit especially hard by this. By 1932, over half of black Americans were out of
work, which tells the reader that Crooks is lucky to have the job he has even if it is not what he
wanted to do, at this tme only 5% of black people had well-paid jobs. In some cites people called
for blacks to be fred from jobs as long as whites were out of work. This explains why Crooks could
not get a well-paid job, such as a lawyer as white men would have been favoured considerably and
even if Crooks was the best candidate for the job, the colour of his skin would have been an
immediate no. However, we see the colour of his skin is not just holding him back from the world of
work but also in the social element of the ranch. He says “Guys don’t come into a coloured man’s
room very much” illustratng Crooks is lef alone on the ranch, ignored and hated due to the fact he
is black.
However, some may argue Crooks owns the “California Civil Code 1905” as he faces considerable
amounts of racial hate on the ranch. Crooks may want to read up on his rights if he is treated very
badly, which he would have been. Even though Of Mice and Men is set in California and not the
south the efects of Jim Crow laws and the Lynch Law would have been very evident, the men on the
ranch would stll feel very superior to Crooks and Crooks may need a guide of the law to know just
how far the men can go. Steinbeck may have included the “California Civil Code 1905” to suggest
that as the code is from 1905 and not 1930, when the book is set it symbolises how the men on the
ranch treat him. As the book is out of date, the way he is treated is out of date as they should be
treatng him more ehually. Steinbeck includes many examples of Crooks being treated badly on the
ranch, one of these is when Curley’s Wife and Crooks’ encounter each other. Curley’s Wife says “I
could get you strung up on a tree so easily it ain’t even funny.” This suggests the unfairness Crooks’
faces, one false allegaton and he could end up dead, where as it would not be the same for a white
man. Crooks is unable to even stand up for himself as in 1930’s America a black man insultng,
talking disrespectully or even associatng with a white woman was a crime.
Steinbeck never gives Crooks a real name. We only ever here him referred to as “Crooks” and we are
told this is due to the fact Crook was kicked in the back by a horse and now his spine is crooked.
Steinbeck may have chosen to give Crooks a crooked back to represent how society was crooked,
bent out of shape and like Crooks spine is out of alignment with where it should be. Society is out of
alignment with its original created intenton, ehuality. The physical pain Crooks endures symbolises
the pain society faces with racism. However, other readers may interpret Crooks never being given a
name as a sign of racism. With Curley’s Wife we see she is never given a name as she is a possession
of Curley’s, this is similar with Crooks. His name suggests the white men gave him name as they feel
dominance over him, and feel they have the power to rename him, they can rename him as if he
belongs to them.
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