How is Crooks' appearance described in 'Of Mice and Men'?

Answer 1

Crooks room is important because it is a place of solitude, but loneliness. Crooks has what the other men don't - his own space, but in a way it is his own downfall. Crooks is not welcome in the bunkhouse, and he craves attention

When Lennie and Candy enter the bunkhouse, crooks is unwelcoming, but secretly overjoyed at having some company.

When Crooks tells Lennie about his problems, and Lennie does not listen to him, Crooks realises why george takes Lennie around with him. The reader is shown that the men are incredibly lonely, and it doesnt matter if the person they are telling their problems doesnt listen, they are just someone to talk to.

When Candy enters crooks room, he says 'i never been in here before' we realise that in all of the years candy and crooks have worked alongside each other, they have never talked.

the conflict rises when Curleys wife enters crooks room, because she is considered dangerous to the men, they describe her as a 'floozy' who has 'got the eye'. She insults the men, and is racist to crooks, which shows he is an outcast.

The room is the main place where we learn about crooks and the situation he is in. The description at the start and end of the extract where Steinbeck describes crooks rubbing linement in his back, shows us he does this every night. this shows he is lonely, and is restricted from talking to the men, purely because he is black .

This is the room where Curley's wife threatens Crooks and we realise she knows that Lennie broke Curley's hand, as she tells Lennie, I like Machines.

Curely's wife's dream and past is revealed here and well as Crooks'.

Answer 2

This tells us that Racism was a big problem at the time the novel was written. Crooks has a bed of straw, is alone near some horses and can't be in the same room as the other men "Cos I'm black". Whereas the men in the bunkhouse have better beds and have company, however Crooks has more posessions because he is permanent whereas the men are itinerant workers (travel around a lot to find work).

Answer 3

"Crooks' body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth they seemed to glitter with intensity. His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face" This shows that Crooks' image is just as intense as his personality and Steinbeck is trying to show readers how powerless and lonely Crooks really is, to make us feel empathetic towards him.

Answer 4

Crooks is a black stable buck with a crooked back from an incident with a horse. He is mistreated because of his race, and has a low opinion of the white workers.

Character Analysis

Crooks (named for his crooked back) is the stable hand who works with the ranch horses. He lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch. Crooks is bookish and likes to keep his room neat, but he has been so beaten down by loneliness and prejudicial treatment of that he is now suspicious of any kindness he receives.

Lennie's brief interaction with Crooks reveals the complexity of racial prejudice in the northern California ranch life. Though Crooks was born in California (not like many Southern blacks who had migrated, he implies), he is still always made to feel like an outsider, even in his home state. Crooks is painfully aware that his skin color is all that keeps him separate in this culture. This outsider status causes him to lament his loneliness, but he also delights in seeing the loneliness of others, perhaps because misery loves company. When Crooks begins to pick on Lennie, suggesting George won't come home, we discover the slight mean streak that undoubtedly develops after being alone for so long. Lennie unwittingly soothes Crooks into feeling at ease, and Candy even gets the man excited about the dream farm, to the point where Crooks could fancy himself worthy and equal enough to be in on the plan with the guys.

Crooks's little dream of the farm is shattered by Curley's wife's nasty comments, slotting the black man right back into his "place" as inferior to a white woman. Jolted into that era's reality by Curley's wife harsh treatment, Crooks refuses to say the woman is wrong. Instead, he accepts the fact that he lives with ever-present racial discrimination. He dismisses the other men, saying he had "forgotten himself" because they'd treated him so well. It seems Crooks defines his own notion of himself not based on what he believes he's worth, but on knowing that no matter how he feels, others around him will always value him as less. As quickly as he got excited about the dream, he abandons it, telling Candy he was "Jus foolin" about being interested in his own freedom and happiness.

Answer 5

The objects that Crooks has shows who he is on the inside. The books show that he is a smart and educated person, his 'dirty magazines' show he has desires just like any other man on the ranch and the medicine shows how he feels about himself. This is a very important point. He has placed his medicine with the medicine of the animals he has to live with. This shows that he thinks of himself as an animal as well, it shows that years of discrimination has broken his soul. He has been dehumanised. As well as that, he is black, so therefore he has been segregated and isolated from the others. His room he does try to keep tidy and he has a book which states all his rights. This is important, because the scene when Curley's wife enters, he uses his rights against her.

Answer 6

Crooks is described as a proud and aloof African American stable hand on the ranch. He has a crooked back from a previous injury, which causes him to be isolated from the other ranch workers. He is also intelligent and well-read.

Answer 7

dark den, with hay and a candle light to lighten the room. The hay was used for Crook's sleeping bed and also the room was lonely, just the way he liked it.

Answer 8

He is a quite grumpy man.. he had Rheumatism, whithch you will see in the book.. He dislikes whites quite a bit.. :) hope i helped

Answer 9

He's reading and wishing he didn't have a crooked back/wasn't black