In this passage from Section 4, after Lennie shares with Crooks his plan to buy a farm with George and raise rabbits, Crooks tries to deflate Lennie’s hopes. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. He was aggressive when Lennie and candy came into his room and acted extremely territorial towards them. Tonight Lennie an’ Candy came in to my room. Crooks scowls at Lennie, trying to send him away. Eventually, Crooks let him come in and they talked. He has long been the victim of oppressive violence and prejudice and has retired behind a facade of aloofness and reserve, his natural personality deadened and suppressed by years of antagonism. However Candy is a bit shy and is afraid of coming in Crooks’ room. Steinbeck uses dreams to show the hopelessness of ranch life. Lennie sees Crook's candle in his stable/room and goes to talk with him. After a long description of the room and Crooks himself (see the profile section for more details), Lennie enters. Furthermore. At first Crooks sends Lennie away, but eventually a conversation ensues in which Lennie says he came into the barn to see his pups, and Crooks warns Lennie that he is taking the pups from the nest too much. He is thrilled when Lennie and Candy come into his room and are his companions for a night. Well I tell you, all of you stink to me” (Steinbeck 68). Curley’s wife uses terms of racism towards Crooks to put him back in his “place” leaving him “reduced down to nothing” and the Dream of equality shattered. At first Crooks sends Lennie away, but eventually a conversation ensues in which Lennie says he came into the barn to see his pups, and Crooks warns Lennie that he is taking the pups from the nest too much. Crooks has to be alone all the time because he is black. Crooks is the only black man in the novel. I let him stay and come in. Cooks eventually let him in, and has they were talking Lennie accidentally tells Crooks about their plans to buy a farm, and Crooks says he would like to join them and work for nothing. when Lennie appears in the door. I argued with Lennie first tellin’ him he aint got no right to come in to my room. Lennie soon wanders in, lonely as the other men have gone out to town. He goes out looking for Slim because he thinks Slim and his wife are together. He went inside and Crooks was surprised to see him. He is looking for his wife and is angry and aggressive. The black stable-hand has a crooked back—the source of his nickname—and is described as a “proud, aloof man” who spends much of his time reading. When Lennie first enters Crook’s room, Crooks automatically reflects his strong, defensive manner, “he stiffened and a scowl came on his face”. Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the white ranch hands and remains in a forced isolated state. But Lennie doesn’t get it and won’t budge until Crooks … Crooks wanted to come with Lennie, George, and Candy to … Lennie begins to talk about his and George’s dream. 11. Lennie made “an attempt to make friends” (Steinbeck 68) but the predatorily side of Crooks came out first, dashing Lennie’s hopes. Crooks also proves that hope and companionship are needed to survive. that it's his room, he has no right to come in and that he's excluded from the activities because he's black what is Crooks actually doing in his room before Lennie interrupts him? Crooks tries to explain the loneliness he feels but Lennie is too worried about George to listen. Crooks only responds with a series of “yes mam” ‘s then becomes beyond depressed. At first, Crooks is reluctant to allow Lennie into his room, angry that he isn’t permitted to be in the white men’s room. Since the tragedy depends upon the outcome seeming to be inevitable, the reader must know from the start that Lennie is doomed, and must be sympathetic to him. Of Mice and Men - CliffsNotes When Crooks tells Miss Curley to leave his room Miss Curley threatens that she can get him linched. Lennie's The other men have all left to go drinking and whoring in town. But the stubborn guy didn’t understand and jus’ came in anyway. He had his own room because nobody wanted to be by him. However, when Curley's wife appears, looking for company because she is lonely, trouble starts. Since he isn’t wanted in the other workers’ bunkhouse, Crooks doesn’t want anyone in his own room. I believe that Crooks would like to make human contact, but would rather reject it than be rejected; this may mean that Crooks is afraid of making friends because of how people treat him. But he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so God. As they talk, Crooks tells Lennie several times to get out of his room, but Lennie keeps forgetting and stepping inside. Lennie still has power over the other ranchers because of his monolithic strength. Proud, bitter, and caustically funny, he is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. It is the next night. “But you get used togoin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him.” “He ain’t mean,” said Slim. Lennie was going to look at his puppy when he saw his light on. Lennie tells Crooks that everyone else has gone into town. , looks inside the bunkhouse. Crooks is shown to be bitter here because he tells Lennie that he’s not welcome into his room. He relates that “hundreds” of men have passed through the ranch, all of them with dreams similar to Lennie’s. We learn that Crooks is educated. Crooks is alone in his room when Lennie appears in the door. Lennie's disarming smile finally warms Crooks, and he lets Lennie stay and talk. Lennie says he simply came to visit his puppy and wanted to say hello to Crooks when he saw the man’s light on. Only Candy has stayed home, and he is sitting in the bunkhouse making calculations about their farm. He tells Lennie that the other men play cards, but he is not allowed to play because of his race. He ain’t hardly got no han’ left”, Slim reassures Lennie, the strength of Lennie becomes clear, pg 64 Chapter 4: “Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room”, theme of racism, pg 66 “He kept his distance and demanded that other people kept theirs”, Crook’s character, pg 67 “You go on, get outta my room. At first Crooks sends Lennie away, but eventually a conversation ensues in which Lennie says he came into the barn to see his pups, and Crooks warns Lennie that he is taking the pups from the nest too much. He even waits for Crooks’ permission. Unfortunately, his dream is crushed when Lennie does a bad thing. Despite him non being the smartest tool in the shed by a long shooting. In his room he has a ‘small electric globe’, symbolizing fake hope. The second passage is just after the discussion between Lennie and Crooks. After a while Candy also joins them, and when he talks about the house they are going to buy, Crooks becomes interested. Trapped in solitude all night long; he resorts to books as his only companion. Candy is once again just a normal rancher without hope or a real friend. He tells Slim that Lennie is handling the pups too much in the barn. Some of the men discuss going drinking and looking for women in town the next day. damn dumb. He remembers fondly his childhood, when he played with white children who came to his family's chicken ranch, and longs for a similar relationship with white people again. However, Lennie’s innocence finally wins him over and the two talk. Lennie asks Crooks if he can stay because everyone else went into town tonight. Curley comes into the bunkhouse. he was putting liniment on his … Lennie hovers around the doorway, talking about his puppy, and Crooks gives in and lets Lennie come into his room. Lennie came in the barn to pet his dog but Crooks try to tell him he his welcomed because he also wasn't welcomed in the bunkhouse because he was a black man. From Lennie talking to Crooks in the harness room to after Curley’s wife threatening Crooks Summary. “The following minute Curly was flopping like a fish on a line. Candy, who is an old man reduced to clean the bunkhouse, comes to meet Lennie and Crooks. He was sayin’ he wanted to tend some pup of his. Though Lennie smiles amiably at Crooks, Crooks warns Lennie not to come into his room. This reduces Crooks to a big pile of nothing and crushes Crooks dreams of going to the “dream farm”. Lennie is non incapacitated because of his physical strength. Crooks does this because he takes strong offense to the fact that he’s not wanted in the bunkhouse so he thinks that the white men shouldn’t be allowed in his room. “’Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time,” said George. Crooks said irritably, “You can come in if you want”. On Saturday night, Crooks sits on his bunk alone, rubbing liniment into his sore back, when Lennie appears in the open doorway and looks in on him. Despite not wanting anyone in his stable-space, Crooks felt glad that someone came to chat to him and soon felt calmer by not minding the two into his space. Crooks speaks of his own loneliness; he taunts Lennie by suggesting that George might never return. He will live the rest of his life unhappy. Crooks - Crooks, the black stable-hand, gets his name from his crooked back. The dream of a ranch becomes more significant to Crooks because he finds that it could be his freedom. Steinbeck achieves these two feats by creating a protagonist who earns the reader’s sympathy because of his utter helplessness in the face of the events that unfold. “I can see Lennie ain’t a bit mean.” “’Course he ain’t mean. The white men say he stinks. Candy enters and begins to speak of their dream. Crooks, seeing how fond Lennie is of rabbits and how he and George are going to have a place of their own someday, scares Lennie and tells him that George isn't coming back. Crooks sits in his room alone. He was forced to sleep in a separate bunk than the others. After Lennie explains his dream to Crooks, he becomes caught up in his own dream of escape, wanting to join in, only to be put down by Curley’s wife. So, when Lennie steps into his room in the barn, Crooks cruelly tells him to leave, displaying some resentment, as well: "I ain't wanted in the bunk house, and you ain't wanted in my room." because at the time in which this book is set, there are severe racial differences. Summary. It is Saturday night, and Crooks is alone in his room when Lennie appears in the door. He knows his civil rights. This caused him to be lonely. Candy shows that you can’t survive unless you have hope and a companion. Lennie's disarming smile finally warms Crooks, and he lets Lennie stay and talk. When Lennie tells him about his dream, Crooks responds ‘You’re nuts..nobody ever … Of Mice and Men – Chapter Four - Crooks Essay Crooks is a literate black man who tends horses on the ranch. and his fist was lost in Lennie’s large manus. Steinbeck narrates, “Crooks, the Negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn… His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine” (73). Crooks Character Analysis In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the character named Crooks was segregated from the other men because he is black. 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