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Delve into the portrayal of Crooks in Steinbeck's work with detailed analysis of his depiction, possessions, and historical context in 1930s America.
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Steinbeck’s characters refer to Crooks using the following words: nigger A busted back nigger The stable buck cripple negro What does this tell us about them?
Steinbeckhimself describes Crooks using the following words: A lean negro head, lined with pain, the eye patient A proud, aloof man Having “pain tightened lips” A face lined with deep black wrinkles What does this tell us about Steinbeck?
Crooks himself, conveys a lot about his character. I can’t play because I’m black Nobody got any right in here but me My old man had a chicken ranch Crooks face lighted with pleasure in his torture If you … guys would want a hand to work for nothing
What do we learn about him from his possessions? Crooks possessed several pairs of shoes, a pair of rubber boots, a big alarm clock and a single-barreled shotgun. And he had books, too; a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. There were battered magazines and a few dirty books on a special shelf over his bunk. A pair of large gold-rimmed spectacles hung from a nail on the wall above his bed. The description of Crooks’ room and Crooks himself is the most detailed of all the characters in the novel. What significance do you think this has?
What was life like for black people in 1930s America? It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately Books shall not be interchangeable between white and coloured schools No person shall provide meals to white and coloured passengers in the same room, same table or same counter Any place of public entertainment shall separate the races It shall be unlawful for coloured people to frequent any park used and enjoyed by white people The ‘Jim Crow’ Laws
Lynch Mobs During the 1930s, after thousands of African Americans had been put to death by mobs, lynchings were no longer unusual or shocking events that deviated from the norm. Approximately 4,742 individuals were lynched between 1882 and 1968; of the victims, 3,445 or 73 percent were Black. Between 1889 and 1918, 3,224 individuals were lynched, of whom 2,522 or 78 percent were Black. Typically, the victims were hung or burned to death by mobs of White vigilantes, frequently in front of thousands of spectators, many of whom would take pieces of the dead person's body as souvenirs to help remember the spectacular event.
