Crooks Of Mice and Men
OF MICE AND MEN QUOTES & NOTES ^_^
George Milton
-“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.
-“If I was alone I could live so easy” --> Lennie is a burden to George
-“I want you to stay with me, Lennie” –George --> conveys Georges loneliness
Lennie Small
-“paws” animalistic quality; bear
-“all you can ever remember is them rabbits” –George. Lennie represents idealism and optimism in the American dream. “rabbits” symbol of freedom and peace of mind.
-“he’s jus’ like a kid” –Slim describes him perfectly
-“why do you got to get killed?” –Lennie no understanding of actions or consequences.
“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
-“crooks” nickname due to injury. Name given to him by other ranchers dominance, possession (slavery)
-“California Civil Code for 1905” had aspirations once of being successful. Educated individual. ( had “books”) 1905 tho! 25 years out of dates shows futility of his situation.
-“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
-“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.
-“difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger” --> shows his desperation for contact. He has become hardened by his pain but lets his guard down at times.
-“drew into himself” crooks forces to accept his oppression. Powerless in his fate.
Curley’s Wife/Women
George Milton
-“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.
-“If I was alone I could live so easy” --> Lennie is a burden to George
-“I want you to stay with me, Lennie” –George --> conveys Georges loneliness
Lennie Small
-“paws” animalistic quality; bear
-“all you can ever remember is them rabbits” –George. Lennie represents idealism and optimism in the American dream. “rabbits” symbol of freedom and peace of mind.
-“he’s jus’ like a kid” –Slim describes him perfectly
-“why do you got to get killed?” –Lennie no understanding of actions or consequences.
“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
-“crooks” nickname due to injury. Name given to him by other ranchers dominance, possession (slavery)
-“California Civil Code for 1905” had aspirations once of being successful. Educated individual. ( had “books”) 1905 tho! 25 years out of dates shows futility of his situation.
-“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
-“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.
-“difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger” --> shows his desperation for contact. He has become hardened by his pain but lets his guard down at times.
-“drew into himself” crooks forces to accept his oppression. Powerless in his fate.
Curley’s Wife/Women