Crooks, a secondary character in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, is characterized both directly and indirectly in the novella.

Direct characterizations are when the author specifically tells readers who a character is.

• "Ya see the stable buck's a n....r." (I omitted the final word due to its ability to offend.) This example is a direct characterization because it openly states Crooks's race. He is a black man.
• "Nice fella too." This is also a direct characterization, because it tells readers what kind of person Crooks is.
• "Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him." This serves as a direct characterization because it offers a physical description of Crooks.
• "His lean face was lined with deep black wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were lighter than his face." This quote goes on to describe Crooks in more detail. However, it can also be defined as an indirect characterization, because it speaks of the pain Crooks has experienced, enough to put deep lines upon his face.

Indirect Characterizations:

• "He reads a lot." This indirect characterization speaks to Crooks's desire to be a knowledgeable man. Many blacks, at this point in time, were still oppressed and treated with racial bias. The idea that Crooks wanted more in life, which he tried to gain through reading, illustrates that Crooks was not the typical black farmhand.
• "I can do it if you want, Mr. Slim." This quote speaks to Crooks's character. He is a nice man, and he is willing to help others.
• "In it a range of medicine bottles, both for himself and for the horses." This quote's message is twofold. First, Crooks is on medication. Although the type of medication is not divulged, readers can assume that Crooks is ill or in constant pain because of the back pain he suffers from the horse kick. Secondly, the quote shows Crooks cares about the animals on the farm. He keeps their medications so that he knows exactly where they are and how to get to them when needed. This also shows that Crooks is a responsible man.
• "He had accumulated more possessions than he could carry on his back." This quote illustrates that Crooks has been on the farm for a while, unlike most of the other migrant workers, who move sporadically. Also, the quote refers to the idea that Crooks takes pride in his possessions. He is not able to simply leave, which would result in the abandonment of his possessions.

Direct characterization occurs when an author explicitly states what a character is like: happy, humble, impetuous, angry, and so on. Indirect characterization occurs when a character is revealed through descriptions of their looks, by listening to what the character says as well as his private thoughts, how other characters react to that character and the character's actions. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, much of the characterization is done indirectly. For example, Steinbeck never comes right out and states that Lennie is mentally disabled. Rather, he reveals Lennie's character through what he does, how he talks and what others say about him.

In the case of Crooks, Steinbeck chose to use both direct and indirect characterization. He is indirectly characterized in Chapter Two when Candy talks about him. He describes him physically as a black man who has a crooked back because he was kicked by a horse. He further relates that Crooks is a good horseshoe player, reads books, and is something of a fighter (because he wins a fight against "Smitty"). Candy seems to like Crooks although he does refer to him with a derogatory name for a black person, which would have been a common label at that time. In Chapter Three, Crooks is also characterized as having a face "lined with pain." 

In Chapter Four, Steinbeck uses direct characterization to inform the reader that Crooks was "proud and aloof." The reader later understands that Crooks is aloof because he is often ostracized from the white workers on the ranch and that he spends a great deal of time by himself. In the same chapter, Steinbeck again uses indirect characterization to reveal that Crooks is terribly lonely and frustrated by his position on the ranch. He temporarily takes out this frustration on Lennie by suggesting that George might leave Lennie alone. Finally, the reader also understands that Crooks has the same dreams as the other men when he suggests that he could go with George, Lennie and Candy to the dream farm and work and live with them. Unfortunately, Curley's wife spoils this dream by reminding Crooks that, as a black man, he is virtually a second class citizen without the same rights as the white men.

What are some examples of direct and indirect characterizations of Curley in Of Mice and Men?

In direct characterization, the narrator of a work tells us directly what a character is like, either in terms of appearance or personality. In indirect characterization, what a character is like emerges from his dialogue, his thoughts, and the observations of other characters.

An example of direct characterization would be the following:

He [Curley] glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a slight crouch. His glance was at once calculating and pugnacious.

In the passage above, the narrator tells us directly what movements Curley is making. He describes Curley glancing at the newcomers, then his arms bending and his hands making fists. Curley also goes into a boxer's crouch. The narrator also directly tells us what Curley's "glance" is like. It both sizes up the two new men and is eager for a fight (pugnacious).

The following is an example of indirect characterization. In these lines, Curley is speaking to George:

By Christ, he's gotta talk when he's spoke to. What the hell are you gettin' into it for?

This characterization is indirect because it is Curley's dialogue. The narrator does not interpret what it means for us. We are left to figure out for ourselves by the way Curley speaks that he is arrogant, bad-tempered, and aggressive.

Another example of indirect characterization occurs when Candy, the swamper, comments on why Curley acts the way he does:

Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy.

Again, this is indirect because it is another character's perception of Curley. We have to decide for ourselves if we believe Candy is trustworthy and evaluate what he says.

What are some examples of direct characterization in Of Mice and Men?

Direct characterization is a literary device. A literary device is a format or structure used by authors to add more meaning, description, or uniqueness to the typical words that are used in writing.

Direct characterization consists of describing a character both inside and out. This gives the reader a clear picture of what the character looks like, and sometimes it could provide us with information about the character's personality traits. Direct characterization can come from the narrator or from another character who describes themselves or other characters outright—or "directly."

In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, we find direct characterization as early as chapter 1 when the narrator describes the two main characters. In this particular novel, direct characterization serves several purposes aside from illustrating the characters. The first is to accentuate how physically different and contrasting these two characters are from one another. The second is to show how their physical traits are dissonant with their personalities.

For example, the men are described in the following way:

Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders.

George is described with special emphasis on his small size and strong hands:

The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.

The author then moves on to Lennie, who is described as George's "opposite:"

Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little . . . His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.

We can immediately tell that the narrator wants to emphasize the "sloping," "loose" way that this "huge" man's limbs hang in comparison to George's "small but strong" arms. There, we can tell that size does not matter when it comes to who is the dominant male in this relationship. All this is possible thanks to direct characterization. 

What are some examples of direct characterization in Of Mice and Men?

An author can use either direct or indirect characterization to describe a character.  When an author uses direct characterization, he is telling you about the characters.  When he uses indirect characterization, you learn about the characters indirectly, through what they say and do and what other characters say about them.

For example, when the narrator describes the characters, this is direct characterization.  Characterization might describe either physical or personality traits.  Here is a direct characterization of George.

The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. (Ch. 1)

This is direct characterization because it tells you exactly what he looks like.

On the other hand, here is some indirect characterization of George.

George looked sharply at him. "What'd you take outa that pocket?"

"Ain't a thing in my pocket," Lennie said cleverly.

"I know there ain't. You got it in your hand. What you got in your hand- hidin' it?" (Ch. 1)

 This shows that George knows how to read Lennie well, and from his interaction with Lennie we learn many things about George.  We learn that, despite the fact that he sometimes loses his temper, he is patient and patriarchal.  He looks out for Lennie, such as in this instance.  He knows that Lennie might pick up dead things like the mouse, and he has to protect him from it.  He acts more like a father or older brother than a traveling companion.

The mix of direct and indirect characterization used in this first introduction of George tells us a lot.  First of all, George is smaller than Lennie but he is obviously in charge.  Lennie needs looking after.  He is big, but he is not quite right in the head.  He respects George, but more like a child does a parent than man to man.  We learn all of this both directly and indirectly, through Steinbeck's excellent descriptions, what the characters say to each other, and what the characters do.

In this story of two men who go around together during the Great Depression, the narrator often hangs back and tells the story without judgement.  Indirect characterization allows the story to unfold, with the characters telling the reader about themselves.  Yet when the narrator tells the reader directly about the characters, that is when we should listen, because we can get some extra insight.

What are some examples of direct and indirect characterizations of George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men?

Most authors use indirect characterization which includes

• physical descriptions

"The first man was smalland quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features.  Every part of him was defined:  small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.  Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.  His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely."

• characters' actions

His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.  The small man stepped nervously beside him.

• characters' thoughts, feelings, and speeches

"'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys n the world.  They got no family.  They don't belong no place....With us, it ain't like that. We got a future." [George]

"For the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside. He crounched down in the hay and listened.  'I done a real bad thing,' he said. 'I shouldn't had did that.  George'll be mad. An'...he said...an'hide in the brush till he come....'"

• the comments and reactions of other characters

"Crooks interrupted brutally. 'You guys is just kiddin' yourself.  You'll talk about it a hell of a lot, but you son't get no land.  You'll be a swamper here till they take you out in a box.  Hell, I seen too many guys.  Lennie here'll quit an' be on the road in two, three, weeks.  Seems like ever' guy got land in his head.'"

• Direct characterization occurs with statements by the author, giving his/her opinion of the character(s). [e.g. Steinbeck writes that Slim has "God-like eyes."]

Steinbeck writes that Lennie drags his feet the way "a bear drags his paws."