Crooks Of Mice and Men Essay

George Milton -â€Å"I been mean, ain’t I?†   George is a good friend to Lennie. He protects him and does what is necessary to keep him out of trouble. -â€Å"If I was alone I could live so easy†   Lennie is a burden to George -â€Å"I want you to stay with me, Lennie† –George   conveys Georges loneliness Lennie Small -â€Å"paws†   animalistic quality; bear -â€Å"all you can ever remember is them rabbits† –George. Lennie represents idealism and optimism in the American dream. â€Å"rabbits† symbol of freedom and peace of mind. -â€Å"he’s jus’ like a kid† –Slim   describes him perfectly -â€Å"why do you got to get killed?† –Lennie no understanding of actions or consequences. â€Å"its mean here† –Lennie too innocent to cope with harsh environment -hallucination of Aunt Clare: main moral figure in his life. Tells him between right and wrong and about consequence. Crooks/Racism -â€Å"crooks†   nickname due to injury. Name given to him by other ranchers dominance, possession (slavery) -â€Å"California Civil Code for 1905† had aspirations once of being successful. Educated individual. ( had â€Å"books†) 1905 tho! 25 years out of dates   shows futility of his situation. -â€Å"crooks was a proud, aloof man† Steinbeck does not aim to victimize/generalize Crooks. He’s 3 dimensional; knows his worth. BUT has no power to change his fate. -location of Crooks in ranch (barn) symbolizes his distance the other men. Explicitly: segregation, metaphorically: emotional distance/loneliness -â€Å"they’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog†-Crooks. When Crooks finally finds someone weaker than him, he feels he must destroy them. Relates to his own oppression. Suffering leads to cruelty. -â€Å"difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger† shows his desperation for contact. He has become hardened by h is pain but lets his guard down at times. -â€Å"drew into himself†   crooks forces to accept his oppression. Powerless in his fate. Curley’s Wife/Women -â€Å"that glove’s fulla Vaseline† –Candy ( Curley’s mark of dominance over his wife; she’s an object to him, a trophy. AND clear warning to other men) -â€Å"Curley’s wife† no name. dehumanization. -â€Å"fingernails were red†   symbol of danger, sexuality, blood, passion. Stoplight! She will be cause of danger later in novel. -â€Å"rolled clusters, like sausages† –> childlike, naà ¯ve little girl. Contrasts with red. -â€Å"heavily made up†   suggest she’s hiding the true here. Underneath surface there is hidden personality: loneliness, desperate, need, kindness. Puts on front of sexuality and flirtatiousness. ALSO conveys men on the ranch only care about sex from women. -â€Å"what a tramp† –George ïÆ'   hypocritical view towards women. Has sex with prostitutes but calls her a tart da fuq +!! Objectification. Ironic cuz what she really wants is human contact not sex. The men don’t even consider that she could have more complexity other than wanted a man physically. -ranch is a patriarchal environment. -â€Å"I get lonely† –Curley’s wife (mask taken off, complexity revealed) Candy -Him and his disability aid in themes of minority, oppression, and loneliness. -â€Å"the swamper warmed to his gossip† ïÆ'   he needs a distraction from his own, unsatisfying life. Friendship â€Å"stayed behind the other†   symbolizes how they always protect each other â€Å"we got somebody to talk to† importance of friendship, especially at times of hardship. Human contact takes away loneliness Loneliness/Isolation â€Å"a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody† –Crooks â€Å"suppose you ain’t got nobody† –Crooks –> almost ironic; Crooks doesn’t realize that everyone is alone in this environment. His pain consumes and blinds him, he isn’t the only one who’s feeling it. The American Dream -â€Å"you give me a good whore house every time† –> although they want to achieve their dream, they waste their money on prostitutes and booze. Cycle of pain and desperation, a temporary void of loneliness and boredom that has to be filled. -â€Å"every damn on of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head† –Crooks –> Crook’s knows reality of American Dream. Faced this for long long time due to racism. -â€Å"they left all the weak ones here† –Curley’s wife   themes of novella come full circle. Oppression of minorities.