Of Mice and Men Group
Question:
lachalin
Student
High School - 10th Grade
Why has Crooks been able to accumulate more personal items than the other ranch hands in "Of Mice and Men"?
Chapter 4
Answers:
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Posted by dymatsuoka on Monday May 12, 2008 at 5:46 PM
Crooks has been able to accumulate more personal items than the other ranch hands because he lives alone, and can "leave his things about". He has his bunk "in the harness room, a little shed that lean(s) off the wall of the barn". Crooks is segregated from the others because of race - he "ain't wanted in the bunk house" because he is black. The other ranch hands don't let him play cards with them, and he is generally ostracized. The only time Crooks is included with the rest is at Christmas, when "the boss brings in whiskey for the entire crew".
Another reason Crooks has been able to accumulate more possessions is because "being a stable buck and a cripple, he (is) more permanent than the other men, and he (has) accumulated more...than (just) what he (can) carry on his back". His job is to tend the horses and take care of their tack, work that does not depend on the seasons or the cycle of the crops. Unlike the others who essentially live out of their "bindles", Crooks stays in one place, and hopes to do so as long as he can perform his duties. Sadly, he does not know what will happen after that.
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