Analysis of Crooks – Of Mice and Men

Crooks is a lively, sharp-witted, black stable-hand, who takes his name from his curve back. Like most of the characters in the story, he admits that he is extremely lonely. When Lennie visits him in his room, his reaction reveals this fact. At first, he turns Lennie away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white mens houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins bug out and he invites Lennie to sit with him. Like Curleys wife, Crooks is a disempowered character who turns his vulnerability into a weapon to aggress those who are steady weaker.He plays a cruel game with Lennie, suggesting to him that George is gone for good. Only when Lennie threatens him with physical violence does he relent. Crooks exhibits the corrosive effects that loneliness can have on a person his character evokes agreement as the origins of his cruel behavior are made evident. Perhaps what Crooks wants more than anything else is a sense of beto enjoy simple pleasures such as the right to enter the bunkhouse or to play cards with the separate men.This desire would explain why, even though he has reason to doubt George and Lennies talk well-nigh the farm that they want to own, Crooks cannot help but ask if there might be room for him to practise along and hoe in the garden. Candy One of the books major themes and several of its predominant symbols revolve around Candy. The old handyman, aging and left with only one hand as the leave alone of an accident, worries that the boss will soon declare him useless and demand that he leave the ranch.Of course, life on the ranchespecially Candys dog, once an impressive sheep herder but now toothless, foul-smelling, and toffee with agesupports Candys fears. Past accomplishments and current emotional ties matter little, as Carson makes clear when he insists that Candy let him put the dog out of its misery. In such a field, Candys dog serves as a harsh reminder of th e fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness. For a brief time, however, the dream of vivification out his days with George and Lennie on their dream farm distracts Candy from this harsh reality.He deems the few acres of destroy they describe worthy of his hard-earned lifes savings, which testifies to his desperate need to believe in a world kinder than the one in which he lives. Like George, Candy clings to the idea of having the freedom to take up or set aside work as he chooses. So strong is his devotion to this idea that, even after he discovers that Lennie has killed Curleys wife, he pleads for himself and George to go ahead and buy the farm as planned.