How is Crooks Depicted in Of Mice and Men? Essay

We see that Crooks falls into the lower, working class category. We know this because the people on the ranch look down on him because he is black and hasn’t got as many rights as the white men in the working class. We think that Steinbeck tries to show that it he is in the lower class by showing the segregation and discrimination put upon Crooks. He had shown that it was normal to be racist in the 1930’s because when the men called Crooks a nigger, they didn’t mean to hurt Crooks by it. As everyone is racist, others think its normal to discriminate and racially abuse Crooks and think nothing of it. The effect on the reader is that it shocks them to see the men using the word nigger and having no effect on the other men on the ranch by saying it. This is because nowadays, it is unlawful to discriminate against colour or race so if the word nigger is used to discriminate today, many people will feel disgraced. Today we think that Crooks would fall into the higher working class as he is polite, friendly, hardworking and old, Disregarding his colour as today the colour of someone’s skin doesn’t make a difference. Crook’s class is evident as he is segregated From the white men by living in the barn and doesn’t socialise with them because of the jim crow laws limiting the social rights of the black people. Another reason for why Crooks isnt allowed to socialise is because of the KKK who would attack anyone who associated with Crooks so people were to scared to do that. He is treated like a pet because he has less possessions than his owner (boss. ) he has a bed which is a box of straw. Also his name is discriminating him once again by judging his appearance and drawing attention to his disability. We think that if the Jim Crow laws didn’t exist, Crooks would have been able to break the barrier between some of the white men who were interested in making friends and loaning for some company. However, we think that even if Jim Crow laws didn’t exist, some men would still be treated differently. An example is Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife. We think that Steinbeck is interested in opening the doors to the different segments of society in the 1930’s. He intends to show how black people were severely segregated and separate so that Crooks’ ability to socialise with the white men was prevented.