Steinbeck uses many methods of characterisation throughout the novel, but most are apparent in section four especially surrounding the key character Crooks – a disabled black “stable buck” or as better known on the farm as the “busted back nigger”. This ‘double disadvantage’ of being a “cripple” and black further exaggerates the prejudice he faces at the time and makes us immediately notice some possible themes of the novel; inequality and discrimination. This allows us to gain insight into the historical content of racist America in the 30’s and therefore connect sympathetically to the disadvantaged characters.
Like many of the characters we first collect information about Crooks from what other people say about him, particularly in section two, “The stable bucks a nigger, nice fella too.” We initially hear about him through Candy, another disabled member of the ranch. The author uses Candy’s gossipy nature as a ‘delivery tool’ or ‘narrative device’ many times during the course of the novel to give us, the reader, extra information – Candy introduces us to Slim too as a “hell of a nice fella”.
Another method Steinbeck uses is ‘direct authorial intervention’ or interrupting the novel – usually during a conversation to give us extra information. This method is popular with the author and is used many times in the novella; for example, when Crooks’ face “lighted with pleasure” at Lennie’s “torture”. This teaches us more about Crooks and his ‘3D personality’, specifically his sadistic side as he enjoyed cruelly tormenting Lennie about George leaving him –however he does not usually get a chance to have social superiority over anyone, let alone a white man so of course we as a modern 21st century reader empathise with Crooks because we know about his torturous past.
The Essay on Sociology Methods For Acquiring Information
Methods For Acquiring Information A sociologist's goal is to identify recurring patterns of and influences on social behavior. Sociologists use nearly all the methods of acquiring information, from advanced mathematical statistics to the interpretation of texts to study social behavior. The sociologist use surveys, direct observation, experiments, and existing sources. They use these methods to ...
A main technique of characterisation is the direct method Steinbeck chooses to use at the start and end of every chapter. All of the chapters begin with a detailed description of a scene and end on a similar note. Section four starts off with a depiction of Crooks’ room or “little shed off the barn” where we seem to gather more information on the stable buck based on his many possessions rather than an actual portrayal of him. Having a separate room at first seems like an advantage until we realise that it is a result of racial segregation – he “ain’t wanted in the bunk house” because he’s “black” and he “stinks” and although he’s been “flung in with the animals” Steinbeck throws a positive spin on it by including that “by being alone, Crooks could leave his things about” this could possibly be the author telling the reader that he’s taken notice of the racist problems in America, but he is not directly dealing with them. Instead he tries to deal with the other issues of the time like sexism and discrimination.
The extra-long description of Crooks’ home proves that he is a key character as well as revealing more of his ‘sides’; educated and “proud”. Among his possessions were books including “a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the civil rights code” showing that he cares about his rights even if society doesn’t believe he has any – “you got no right to come in my room” “nobody got any right in here but me.” The repetition of the word ‘right’ shows that he is fully aware of his but is not afraid to remind other people of their own. One of the things Crooks Is proud of is that he “ain’t no southern negro” meaning he doesn’t come from a slave background (although his low status on the farm suggests he is still a failure and he knows it.) The fact that Crooks owns a dictionary is juxtaposed with the stereotypical image of a black man as it shows he is literate, unlike many other members on the ranch. It all reinforces the tragic theme of the novel, Crooks is clever but the colour of his skin limits everything he can do in his life meaning he cannot ever leave the ranch. All of this information shows that Steinbeck’s direct method of telling is extremely useful to analyse characters.
The Essay on George And Lennie Crooks Steinbeck Extract
An Extract Demonstrating Steinbeck's Style In Of An Extract Demonstrating Steinbeck's Style In Of Mice And Men The extract I have chosen is from the beginning of chapter four and stretches from page 71 to page 73. This extract gives a detailed description of Crooks, his room and his possessions. The entrance of Lennie into Crooks room and the development of their relationship throughout the scene ...
Structurally the author uses a mixture of dialogue and stage directions – the ‘screenplay’ method which would explain why none of the sections/chapters are named (in a screenplay chapters would not be labelled).
Steinbeck starts and ends each section with a vivid description of the setting and each section has one scene with a fixed location, chapter four being Crooks’ quarters, “On one side of the room there was a square four-paned window, and on the other, a narrow plank door leading into the barn.” This could be because Steinbeck initially wanted Of Mice and Men to be dramatized and wanted the book to be easily turned into a film.
Crooks is used in section four specifically as a ‘vehicle’ by which Steinbeck uses to explore the themes of loneliness (Steinbeck gives us a huge hint towards the theme, Soledad means loneliness in Spanish).
“You ain’t wanted in my room” suggests a lot of resentment in Crooks but we know he secretly wants to be a part of the ranch like the other workers “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.” Crooks “whines” to Lennie further on in chapter four about how lonely he is when he continues to tell him that “a guy gets sick when he’s too lonely.” Steinbeck has included this to show that lack of human contact can affect anyone and everyone– this is done in the same way with Curley’s wife who is the only woman on the farm and it clearly affects her.
Although we can empathise with Crooks he did to a certain extent bring the solitude and loneliness on himself by not even trying to befriend the other men. He was bitter about being a “back-busted nigger” however he was clandestinely thrilled when Lennie and Candy came into his room and they became companions for a night – at first he is protective and tries to keep his tough exterior but it is quickly defeated by talk of ‘The American Dream.’ The dream softens Crooks harsh personality and leaves him exposed which he is unused to – Steinbeck shows us this by using ellipses “well… if you guys… wanted me to lend a hand…” he is unsure and cannot completely trust anyone and when he thinks he is not wanted, quickly changes his mind and pretends he doesn’t want to join in with ‘the dream’, “well, jus’ forget it, I wouldn’t want to go to no place like that.” Of course we know that he is lying and actually wanted to go to live with them “off the fatta tha’ lan’.”
The Essay on The Impossibility of the American Dream
America has come to represent ideals such as wealth, happiness, and freedom. Immigrants travel to America in search of the American Dream, constructed of these hopes, although the majority of foreigners and natives alike never discover it. Various American novelists comprehend this unachievable desire and explore its depths in books that have now become classics. Among these novels are John ...
Balance is another one of Steinbeck’s methods, exclusively to do with Crooks. Unlike the laudatory style of characterisation of Slim or Curley, Crooks is equally “good and “bad”, for example when he found it difficult to “conceal his pleasure” when Candy came into his room, however when he “presses forward some kind of private victory” whilst teasing Lennie we see the less favourable of his sides. This makes his character in general more believable than all-good Slim or all-bad Curley as it shows he is more 2-dimensional, (it is unusual to find someone who is absolutely perfect.)
The structure of “Of Mice and Men” is also a very major method, Steinbeck ‘foreshadows’ a lot throughout the novel. The most significant in chapter four hints towards the dreadful ending – Candy, Lennie and Crooks are excitedly discussing the thought of buying some land of their own and we start to believe that the dream may actually come true, that is until Curley’s wife (who is often associated with danger on the ranch) unexpectedly shows up and breaks the ‘spell’. This foreshadows that she was the eventual cause of the demise of the dream.
The novel has a cyclical structure, both beginning and end are situated at the river and section four has a similar theme. It’s starts with a very resentful Crooks lonely in his bunk “rubbing his spine” with his liniment and later on after “retiring into the terrible protective dignity of the negro” when Curley’s wife threatens him with lynching he continues to rub the liniment on his back, ending the chapter where it began.
