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Of mice and men stereotypes essay outline
Theme of alienation in novels
Of mice and men stereotypes essay outline
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Crooks’ Alienation Lonely is defined as a solitary state, a person without companions, and the state of feeling unfrequented and remote. Everyone feels lonely at some point in their life, but in Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men, he illustrates the loneliness of ranch life in the early 1930's vividly, and shows how people are driven to find friendship and escape from loneliness. Steinbeck creates a solitary and blue atmosphere at many times in the book to display the extent of loneliness the characters feel in the story. Crooks is the loneliest character in Of Mice and Men because he is excluded from the other men on the ranch, he doesn’t have a relatable companion, and he is automatically discriminated against because …show more content…
When Lennie walks into Crooks’ room, Crooks begins to talk about the problems he faces when trying to fit in with the other men. He tells Lennie the ways in which he is rejected, “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you was black. S’pose you had to sit out here and read books” (71). In the quote, Crooks is saying that the other men in the bunkhouse don’t give him the chance to join into activities and they restrict him from participating. Not only is Crooks excluded from the bunkhouse, but also from simple things such as playing cards. So Crooks has no way to have fun or relax in other people’s company. This contributes to Crooks’ loneliness because he is always cooped up in his room and barred from things he knows the other men are …show more content…
While talking to Lennie, Crooks reveals how he feels as the only African American living amongst many white men. “There wasn’t another colored family for miles around. And now there ain’t a colored man on this ranch an’ there's jus’ one family in Soledad” (69). Because Crooks is the only black man for miles out of Soledad, it makes him feel disconnected and alone and unable to bond with anyone. Crooks has been so beaten down by prejudicial treatment that he is now suspicious of any kindness he receives, which also contributes to his desolation. He has very little rights and the men on the ranch treat him with no respect, almost as a tool to do work and a person to threaten and belittle. Crooks is in a constant position where he knows if he steps a toe out of line he could be punished or at worst, killed. For example, when Curley’s wife talks to Crooks, she uses her power as an apparatus to scare him into realizing that his life has no value. “Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung upon a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (77). After Curley’s wife leaves, Lennie and Candy begin to sympathize with Crooks and try to make him feel better about his arbitrary situation. “Candy said, ‘That bitch didn’t ought to of said that to you.’ ‘It wasn’t nothing,’ ‘Crooks said dully. ‘You guys comin’ in an’ settin’ made me forget. What she says is true” (78). This is a clear portrayal of how Crooks
In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Crooks is lonely because he is black. According to the story it states “There wasn’t another colored family for miles around.
Being lonely, bullied, and disabled are all problems in everyday life. People go through struggles like this just as Crooks did in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In this story, two main characters are searching for the American Dream. When they arrive to their job, they meet an African American man named Crooks. Crooks is mistreated by everybody around him and abandoned because of the color of his skin. Crooks faces many challenges throughout the story while dealing with the fact that he will never be treated the same as the others. The reader should feel sorry for Crooks because he faces many obstacles while being disabled, bullied, and lonely.
Crooks has a room for himself because the guys won’t let him into the bunkhouse because he smells. This makes Crooks a very lonely man. Candy says “Got books in his room” (page 21) as if that is some sort of replacement for the company of another person. “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (page 72) “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick” (page 72). This Crooks way of trying to explain to Lennie that Lennie is a lucky man to a friend like George, and he is also saying something about his own death to loneliness.
Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being isolated or abandoned. Being lonely is almost always directly connected to relations between people, or the lack there of. Mother Teresa once said “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” In John Steinbecks classic novel, Of Mice And Men, the three characters, Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy struggle with loneliness in different forms because of characteristics that they can’t control. All three characters deal with their loneliness by searching for companionship with others on the ranch and this works out differently for each of them.
Not having any friends is one of the reasons why Crooks is lonely. The other workers on the ranch take place in fun activities, such as horseshoes and card games. Crooks never gets invited to play. This resentment is due solely to the color of his skin. The other characters all have someone to talk to. George and Lennie have each other, Candy had both his dogs. The other workers are friends with one another. Curley’s wife is also lonely, but still has Curley. The men sit in the bunk house, talk and have fun on occasion. Meanwhile Crooks is in his shed all alone. Crooks tries to explain to Lennie in
“‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is… I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick,” (Steinbeck 73). In this statement, Crooks, a character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, divulges what effect loneliness can have on a human being. In the novel, the two main characters escape to a ranch where they must face the conflict that seems to follow them. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Steinbeck brilliantly portrays the loneliness and suspicion that was common during the time. Much like in everyday life, we can see the way in which loneliness drives people to become isolated, crave companionship, and refuse to express emotion.
Crooks, the most isolated character, is treated differently by everyone on the ranch. They treat Crooks with less respect than they do each other. They call him names, which might not have caused uproar, but still disrespectful. In fact, when Curley was looking for him, he demanded to know where Crooks was. Curley asked, "'Where the hell is that god damn nigger?'" (Steinbeck 29). Curley's harsh words, are some of the reasons Crooks...
Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a book that can be analyzed and broken down into a vast majority of themes. One of the predominant themes found in this book is loneliness. Many characters in this book are affected by loneliness and they all demonstrate it in one way or another throughout the book. Examples of these characters are Curley’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy.
As a result of Crooks’ being excluded and his hard feelings toward the others on the ranch, he becomes very suspicious of them and keeps to himself. He is very skeptical in allowing Lennie into his room. He tells him, “‘I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room’”(Steinbeck 68). He has developed a dislike for people, especially white ones, because they have neglected him on so many occasions. He does He has become very skeptical of people and of letting them get close to him. These feelings are another result of his
This type of internal loneliness goes hand-in-hand with the phrase “no one understands,” and plays a large role in Lennie’s life. When Lennie accidentally kills the puppy, he covers it in hay and hopes that George will not see what he has done, so that George does not get upset with Lennie. It was only moments later that Lennie made the same mistake with Curley’s wife and says, “‘I shouldn’t of did that. George’ll be mad’” (92). Lennie is motivated to feel like he has done wrong because of what George says and not because he understands the situation which results in him feeling lonely because he does not have a way to connect with George in morality. Also, when George tells Slim about the situation with Lennie in Weed, he says that Lennie was accused of rape for touching a girl’s dress, and people sent out a “party. . .to lynch Lennie” (42). Those people in Weed misunderstood Lennie and his motives, and Lennie had to get away from the town. Lennie knows that he is very different from everyone else because people do not understand him, and if people fail to feel the way he does, Lennie has no one to connect with; therefore, he feels all alone. Lennie’s lack of understanding of the things around him, and others’ lack of understanding of him, forces him to make up things in his mind, like a child who has an imaginary friend. In the last chapter, Lennie is
Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. John Steinbeck brought up the theme of loneliness in many characters in Of Mice and Men. Crooks, Curley?s wife, and Candy expressed the theme of loneliness in many different forms throughout the story. Early in the novella George said, life working as ranch hands is about the loneliness of living, for these people finding friendship seems to be impossible. Crooks expressed feelings of loneliness throughout Of Mice and Men.
In the touching and gripping tale of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he explains many themes throughout the books. One of the major themes is loneliness, which is shown throughout many different characters, for example, Curley’s wife, the stable buck (Crooks), and Lennie.
Crooks is a lonely, oppressed African American stable buck. “CROOKS, THE NEGRO stable buck, had his bunk in the harness, room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” Steinbeck (66). Crooks is discriminated, by being isolated and ostracized from the other ranch hands. Likewise, Crooks is mainly discriminated because he is African American, and is viewed as a less being in society. Additionally, Crooks has no rights at the ranch, and he knows his place there. In the following quote Crooks is being threatened in his own room, by Curley’s wife. “ Listen niggar, she said. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap” Steinbeck (80). In the aftermath of the confrontation between Crooks and Curley’s wife, he becomes very scared. Knowing that Curley’s wife has power over him, to make his life miserable or cause a life threatening problem to occur. Curley’s wife implies to Crooks, that if he ever confronts her again in an argument, she will accuse him of rape. Then, Crooks will be killed or most likely, lynched. Reason being; because Crooks has no rights, for he is treated almost like an animal, described also like an object, not a person often. Steinbeck possibly included this theme, because in the 1930’s African Americans were treated unjustly, in early american
I have chosen to explore the theme of loneliness and isolation because it is an evident theme in a range of texts and the messages received through these texts regarding loneliness relate to a greater society and our world today. The texts I've decided to explore are Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 127 hours directed by Danny Boyle, Pink Floyd - The Wall directed by Alan Parker and Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
How would you feel if you were completely cast out and ignored, not being able to talk to anyone? John Steinbeck, who wrote Of Mice and Men writes about many characters who feel a similar feeling of complete aloneness. Out of the decent amount of characters in Of Mice and Men who generally feel alone, Crooks stands out as the most forlorn. Crooks is the loneliest character in Of Mice and Men because he is mostly isolated from his co-workers, and he is discriminated against because of his race, which is african-american.