A girl being the most popular girl at one school, to being friendless at a new school. Parents fighting, but not being acknowledged. Having the easiest homework ever, but missing them all. Worthlessness doesn’t know popularity, being forgotten or arrogance. It knows everyone in countless way, especially in our favorite literature. It affects Rebecca Crisp and Natasha in 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough and Crooks and Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In both books, the environment plays a big role in their identity. An environment is shown to shape identity through the struggles of characters who feel worthless and determine others to be worthless. In 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough, Rebecca Crisp, thinks her friend Hannah, …show more content…
They laugh and joke and say how much they love each other, but as true as that might be, they still watch each other for weakness. For chinks in the armour. I don’t think boys are the same. Boys are dogs. Women are like cats. Individuals by nature. We are not pack animals.” Tasha thinks her mom is basically a ghost and only does stuff to make her family look good. All of them are just out to get each-other. They don’t do anything except hangout with other trophy wives and therefore Tasha thinks that her mom and all of her friends are basically worthless.Tasha and Becca aren’t the only ones whose environment have shaped their identity. These are just a few out of the innumerable individual books anyone could …show more content…
As Candy introduces George and Lennie where they are going to stay, and the people who work there, he shares information about the relationships of the men on the ranch. After mentioning Crooks, George asks why the Boss gives “the stable buck h**l”, to which Candy replies that “ya, see the stable buck’s a ni**er.” To which George replies “Ni**er, huh?” Candy assures George saying, “Yeah. Nice fella too” (Steinbeck 18). Crook’s has some of the worst experiences, but this is one of the worst ones that are given. The workers don’t care about Crooks and don’t give any disregard to him, they call him names and treat him very poorly. Later in the story, readers find out that Crooks was treated poorly in more situations, so he doesn’t think highly of himself and doesn’t think it’s fair. Lennie goes into Crooks’ room and talks about his rabbits. Since Lennie doesn’t remember much, Crooks thinks he can tell him about anything, because he isn’t gonna go around and tell everyone what he said, plus, Crooks can’t bring trouble upon himself because all of the workers except Candy are at a cat house. “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. If I say something, why it’s just a ni**er.” Crooks thinks that he can say whatever he wants about his opinion, because it’s just a negro, and no one
For example, Curley’s wife attempts to interact with Lennie. She convinces Lennie to stay and converse with her after reasoning “what kinda harm am I doin’?” (88). Curley’s wife enjoys talking with Lennie and even lets him pet her prized hair. Additionally, Crooks finds companionship with Lennie. “I thought I could jus’ come in an’ set” (68) Lennie exclaims to Crooks the night the other men were out. He kept him company and both ultimately bonded after having a good time with each other. Also, Candy introduces himself to Lennie and George when they first arrive at the ranch. They develop a trust between each other, leading to the planning of “fixing up an’ little old house an’ go living there” (60). Trusting George, Candy generously donates funds to their future property, as a token for George appreciating him and making him feel important. Throughout the book, failure to interact between other characters happens often. For example, the men on the ranch consistently reject Curley’s wife, even her own husband, Curley. The men yell at her and question “why she doesn’t stay in her home where she belongs?” (62). Lennie tries conversing with her, but it only results with breaking her neck from strangling. Furthermore, Crooks tries talking to the other men, but results in exclusion and bullying. The other men discriminate Crooks from their activities, thinking “cause he’s black, he stinks” (68). Finally, Candy speaks to Carlson in the beginning in his bunker. Unfortunately, the conversation only ends with convincing Candy to have Carlson shoot his sheep dog, “to put the old devil out of his misery” (47). The shooting upsets Candy because his sheep dog was a son to him, followed him everywhere, and kept him company on the ranch. Through trial and error, Curley's wife, Crooks, and Candy interacts with other characters, resulting in successful and
Hattie spent much of her younger years living with different relatives because both of her parents had died when she was five. As Hattie was “tossed” from one relative’s home to another throughout her childhood, she never had a sense of belonging. To make matters worse, her relatives treated her like a hassle—as though her very existence was an annoyance. Needless to say, Hattie’s relatives were neither supportive nor encouraging of her. By age 16, Hattie’s feeling of self-worth was at an all time low. The story did not describe her appearance in depth, but it did say she was very modest and dressed humbly.
Crooks, the black stable buck, is isolated from the community of migrant workers because of his racial status. When Lennie goes into the barn to see his puppy, he and Crooks have a conversation. “'Why ain't you wanted?' Lennie asked. 'Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black'” (68). Lennie is too kind-hearted and intellectually slow to visualize the apparent racial boundary that sets Crooks aside from Lennie and the rest of the workers. Crooks is so isolated from the rest of the workers that he says he “can't” play cards, not that he isn't allowed to, which means that the racial boundary is like a wall Crooks cannot cross. Because he is black, Crooks believes that he cannot play cards with the white men. He can't get over the racial boundary, and believes he will be forever separated from the white men. In the beginning of chapter 4, Steinbeck describes Crooks' living space. “Crooks, the Negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the...
Steinbeck clearly shows that Crooks never has any say on the ranch. No one cares about him. He’s just a “negro stable buck” (66). In this novella, No one ever talks to him except for candy. Lennie finally finds himself going into his room. While in there they speak about racial profiling. Crooks tell lennie that he’s the only African Americans on the ranch. He tells Lennie how he’s “alone out here at night” (73). He has nobody to talk to all he does is read books and think. The people on the ranch care less about his needs and wants, all they want him to do is to continue his work...
An example of how the men are discriminative towards Crooks is that he is forced to live in a shack away from the bunkhouse and also Crooks says that "They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say "I stink" and "I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse." An example of when Curley's Wife is critical towards Crooks is when she looks into his room to see what Lennie and Crooks are doing and then she states, shaking her head, that they left the weak ones behind. Also, she threatens to have Crooks hanged because a black man should never talk to a white woman the way he just had. As a result of all of these discriminatory acts against him, Crooks feels unwanted and lonely because of his color and placement on the farm.
In Of Mice and Men there is one colored person who works on the ranch whose name is Crooks. Crooks is considered segregated on the ranch to everyone. He has his own room in a stable in the barn and the other people won’t include him in anything. In Of Mice and Men Crooks tells Lennie, “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse and you
It solidified the truth unacknowledged to them earlier--their friendships among each other were valued above their less than satisfactory marriages in their minds, something that if uncovered by their husbands would have surely placed them under detrimental suspicion. Throughout the story, after surviving the odds and preserving a dangerously unsteady life, the female characters proved that their devotion to each other could conquer the power struggle against the forced commitments they lived in. Society deemed their marriages to be untouchable and unable to be disputed in any way, but with the sturdy connections among them, wives found a way to tamper with the stereotypes and secure a better future for their fellow struggling
For instance, Steinbeck mentions, “Ya see the stable buck's a nigger...Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him” (Steinbeck 15-17). Throughout the novel, the farmhands exclude Crooks from everything and seclude him to live alone because of his skin color and physical disadvantage which results to his struggles of loneliness and racial discrimination. Racial prejudice causes those who have a different skin color to become outcasts and viewed as less and unimportant. In addition, Steinbeck includes George's statement, “That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it” which indicates Lennie’s struggles such as not realizing his own strength and depending on George (Steinbeck 76). Although the farm workers racially accept Lennie, his innocence and mental challenges isolates him from the others because they do not understand his differences which causes the workers to view him as uneducated and child like. Understanding someone's disability may create a better interpretation of their lack of independence and behavior in which may help with the strengths and
This prevented the characters from reaching their full potential and causes tragedy. Racial discrimination was one of the aspects of the discrimination in this story. Consequently, Crooks had to battle with various difficulties and conflicts, which prevented him from reaching his full potential. The ranch hands did not let Crooks live, eat, and play with them because his skin colour was different. It led to the conflict between him and Lennie.
Racism in Of Mice and Men is centered on Crooks who is African American. He is physically and physiologically separated from the people he works with every day. He lives in separate living quarters with a manure pile right under the window. Crooks has the worst job on the ranch which is the stable boy in this job he must tend to the animals. He is alone in the stable with nobody to talk to. He has to live with these animals. By putting Crooks with the animals, the other people on the ranch believe Crooks is as respectable as the animals on the ranch. Crooks can play horseshoes outdoors with the men but is not allowed to step into their living quarters. He is denied a basic right of a bed and has to sleep on the hay. Crooks says, “ ‘I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse and you ain’t wanted in my room.’ ” (Steinbeck 68) His bitterness and resentment against white people is because of the way they have treated him is shown when he says this. He is so bitter that he would rather be lonely and sad than have a white friend. Even when Crooks has an injury no one cares for him and he has to be self-sufficient and put rubbing liniment on his lower back. Crooks causes no trouble but is viewed to be so inferior that he is battered purely for amusement. Crooks is threatened to be lynched by Curley’s wife just because he tells her to stay out of his house. This comment by Crooks isn’t offensive and shows how easily
Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye are two novels in which characters reflect on their attitudes and experiences as a source of emotional growth and maturity. Salinger and Toews show the importance of this reflection through the evolution of their characters’ – Holden Caulfield and Nomi Nickel – similar attitudes towards their schools, communities, and lives. Though Nomi and Holden both do poorly in school for various reasons, Nomi overcomes her obstacles by working to identify the source of them. Both characters also resent their communities because of the hypocrisy found within them. However, Nomi manages to find good within the East Village through self-reflection, while Holden completely severs his ties to his community. Nomi and Holden also possess similar outlooks on life. The evolution of these attitudes and the hope present for both characters at the end of their novels prove that true growth can be achieved only through rumination. Nomi changes her outlooks and learns from her experiences in A Complicated Kindness because she reflects upon them. Holden on the other hand, tries to escape his problems throughout the course of The Catcher in the Rye and as a result loses the valuable opportunities they present for personal growth. Through the evolution of Nomi and Holden over the course of A Complicated Kindness and The Catcher in the Rye, both Salinger and Toews demonstrate that it is only through introspection that people are able to mature and experience emotional growth.
Racial discrimination has been around for a long time, judging people for the color of their skin. Crooks is affected by this because he is black. Blacks in that time were thought as lesser than the white people. The racial discrimination affects Crooks' life in only negative ways. He is plagued by loneliness because of the color of his skin. His lack of company drives him crazy. Only when Lennie comes in to his room does he feel less lonely. He talked of his loneliness using a hypothetical scenario of George leaving Lennie. Crooks' responds to this discrimination by staying in his barn and being secluded. He doesn't want anyone to be in there but deep down he does so he can have some company. He isn't wanted in the bunk house or to play cards with the others because he is black. This effected the story by letting people walk all over him, letting them think they can do whatever they want, and ultimately making the people think they have a lot of power when really they do not.
In a way, the opposite of George and Lennie’s connection is the relationship between Curley and his wife. Curley is a very arrogant, jealous, and controlling man, while his wife - who remains unnamed throughout the novel - is gorgeous and flirtatious. She is a trophy wife for Curley, who is otherwise much more wealthy than all the other characters in Of Mice and Men because he is the son of the owner of the farm, and he treats her like one. Their relationship obviously lacks the mutual respect, love, and proper attention that marriages need to survive.
Crooks is a black male who works as a slave worker in the bunkhouse. He expresses his anger when he says, “‘Cause i'm black. They play cards in there, but I cannot play because i’m black” (Steinbeck 68). The other workers on the ranch do not let Crooks do anything with them because he is a different race. He lives by himself alone and is constantly angry about the discrimination against his skin color. Since he is black, he is often ignored and never socializes with anyone because they won’t listen to him. The other men don’t let him play cards with them and makes him live alone. Through this, the quote shows his anger and how other men discriminate against his skin color because he is black. Furthermore, Crooks explains, “If I say anything, why it's just a nigger sayin’ it” (Steinbeck 70). Crooks is telling Lennie that everyone ignores him because of the color of his skin. People discriminate against him and continue to nark on Crooks with harmful language for being black. The quote is displaying his sadness and anger about how the other men treat him. They simply do not care what he has to say just because his skin is a different color. As a result of being constantly ignored and discriminated against, Crooks is affected by living alone in
What would life be like for Sally if she told someone or got help from her abusive father? What would happen to Curley’s wife if she waited to find someone she loved to marry? Why didn’t Sally and Curley’s wife just talk to someone about how they felt? Throughout the book The House on Mango Street, the character Sally is, at first look, seen as a popular, immature, and inappropriate girl. Meanwhile in Of Mice and Men, another character, Curley’s wife, has a similar image because of her poor decisions. However a closer look shows that, although many people think Sally and Curley’s wife are irresponsible and immature they make bad choices do to them trying to avoid their families, their rush to find love, and their lonely lives.