Of Mice and Men Group

Question:

missragee504
missragee504
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Why has Crooks been able to accumulate more personal items then the other ranch hands in Of Mice and Men?

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Posted by missragee504 on Thursday November 12, 2009 at 12:57 PM and tagged with accumulation of wealth, crooks, of mice and men, personal items, ranch hands.

Answers:


  1. chikazu Student
    Community / Jr. College

    I would have to say the answer to that one would have to be because noone really pays any attention to Crooks, mostly because he is shunned so much by the rest of the workers.

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    Posted by chikazu on Thursday November 12, 2009 at 1:00 PM

  2. schoolmarmie
    schoolmarmie Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    I agree that Crooks is shunned because, as the only black ranch hand, he is segregated from the other rancher workers.  Consequently, he does not go into to town and spend his money on woman and drinks like the other men.  Since he spends so much time alone, he prefers to accumulate personal items, like his books. 

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    Posted by schoolmarmie on Thursday November 12, 2009 at 1:52 PM


  3. brettd Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Also, although Steinbeck doesn't refer to it directly, the reader gets the impression that he has been the stable buck at this ranch for quite some time, whereas many of the other men working there are truly migrants.

    Remember that when George and Lenny first arrived, they were filling the bunks of men who had just left the job, and they themselves were migrant workers moving from farm to farm.

    Because of the probable length of time Crooks had been at this one job, he was able to accumulate more.

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    Posted by brettd on Thursday November 12, 2009 at 4:23 PM