Dehumanization Of Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
705 Words3 Pages
“Of Mice and Men” is full of misfits and social outcasts that are simply trying to find where they belong, but out of all the characters Crooks is the farthest from becoming an unalienated character. Crooks, the african american stable man, is the only man of color on the farm. The story takes place in the late 1920’s to early 1930’s. During this depression era, blacks were thought to be inferior of whites and even looked down upon. After the civil war, many southern farmers moved out west in search of new farm land. When they left, their non acceptance of blacks went with them. It was common to see black men working on farms because that’s what they had done for decades before. In this case, Crooks worked for “The Boss” on his farm in Soledad, California.…show more content… Curley’s wife was on of the more isolated people on the farm which would make the reader think that they could become friends because they understand each other's struggle. Crook’s situation was a bit more dehumanizing he was still in the same, or rather different boat of isolation. Hypocrisy was a large factor in the befriending of the two characters. Curley’s wife was raised on the principle to never social with blacks except to give orders. While Crooks on the other hand heard the rumors of Curley’s wife’s flirtatious personality. Lennie as well would have been a good candidate for a friend because he was unable to judge. Lennie cannot judge because his mental disability doesn’t allow him to understand things such as race, sex, age, life, or even death. Due to this fact, Crooks is completely at fault. He had to chance to befriend Lennie, but he chose to keep to himself instead simply because Lennie was childish. This again shows Crooks hypocritical