A Short Essay on John Stienbeck's "Of Mice And Men" -- Is Crooks a Survior?

Essay by mjj328High School, 10th gradeA+, April 2004

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"A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody." (pg.72) In John Stienback's Of Mice And Men, Crooks was able to live a life filled with loneliness and persecution. He was shoved aside on the farm, ignored and alone. He endured the persecution against him because he was an African-American. Because Crooks existed in conditions that could drive one insane, he is a survivor.

Crooks did not live in the bunkhouse with the other men, but lived in the harness room of the barn, alone. It was not only not living with the other men--they excluded him from all activities. "S'pose you couldn't even go in the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black," (pg.72) Crooks said. Crooks just stayed alone in his room, reading, a poor substitute for human conversation. His cry, "A guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick," (pg.73) shows how miserable Crooks was on the farm. But he stayed and endured these conditions, which makes him a survivor.

Crooks not only survived with the prejudice against him on the farm, but also with the prejudice against him because of his race his entire life. His statement, "If I say something, why it's just a nigger saying it," (pg.70) shows that no one listened to him when he talked, but ignored him because he was an African-American. During this time, all African-Americans were treated as inferiors by the whites. "You keep your place then, Nigger." (pg.81) Curley's wife says to him, which showed that he was expected to be respectful toward her simply because she was white. Because Crooks tolerated the unfair persecution against him, he is a survivor.

Crooks lived a life of loneliness and unjust racism, but he never allowed these things to crush him. He stood through both,