Maahoogle
...ooks challenges Lennie's right to hold onto his puppy. Then he presents a frightening vision of Lennie's life should George desert him. Yet Lennie's friendliness and innocence slowly change Crooks' attitude, and he becomes kinder toward Lennie. Even his doubts about whether the farm vision can come true slowly fade. Like Candy, Crooks asks to be part of George and Lennie's dream. He offers to work without pay in return for the companionship and independence the farm promises. All four men are misfits in the normal ranch world, and they seem to fit together. But unlike Candy, Crooks gives up on the dream. Candy still tries to get George to hold onto the vision, even after Lennie is cut off. Crooks deserts the dream when he feels George is putting him down like all the others. For Candy, a man must have a home to grow old in. To Crooks, pride is the most important thing a man can have. What function does Crooks play in the novel? One obvious role is to give Steinbeck a way to make a statement against racial discrimination. A black man is also a necessary element if Steinbeck is attempting to create a microcosm of the larger world with his ranch community. Crooks' presence also gives us a little better understanding and respect for Lennie as a person. All the other men on the ranch look down on Crooks. "If I say something, why it's just a nigger sayin' it," he tells Lennie. But Lennie accepts Crooks as an equal, someone to "come in an' set" with. George, on the other hand, is uncomfortable that Crooks has been let in on the dream. George is not quite as liberal as we might have thought. Crooks is an even lonelier character than Candy, because not only is he old and a cripple, like Candy, but he is also black. Most of the men h...