he has become mean, too. Certainly, he "kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs." So, when Lennie steps into his room in the barn, Crooks cruelly tells him to leave, displaying some resentment, as well: "I ain't wanted in the bunk house, and you ain't wanted in my room."

In addition, because the white men call him names as exemplified in Chapter 2 when the field workers came back from the fields, and a man called out to him using a racial slur, Crooks may delight in being cruel in return. In fact, when he initially talks to Lennie about George, he "presse[s] forward some kind of private victory" as he causes Lennie anxiety when he asks him what he would do if George did not return from town and he "never heard of him no more." Lennie whines,

"He won't do it...George wouldn't do nothing like that....Don't you think he will?"
Crooks's face lighted with pleasure in his torture. "Nobody can't tell what a guy'll do....S'pose he gets killed or hurt so he can't come back."

Further, as Crooks continues to taunt the big man, Lennie becomes angry and he walks "dangerously" toward Crooks, asking, "Who hurt George?" Crooks realizes that he has pushed Lennie too far; so, he tells Lennie to sit down, saying, "George ain't hurt."

Crooks said gently,"Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he's goin' to come back. S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? ....A guy needs somebody--to be near him....A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody."

Clearly, then, there is a certain resentment in Crooks that he has been so unfairly marginalized. He is an intelligent man, clean, and not used to being treated so cruelly as he is not from the South, but grew up in California. He retaliates against the white men through Lennie by taunting him about George's not returning, but he also wants Lennie to understand how he feels being alone all the time.

In my opinion, Crooks taunts Lennie because he (Crooks) is a man who is angry about the way that he has been treated by all the other people on the ranch.  Because he is black, he has been treated badly by everyone and so he wants to get revenge on someone.

They say that everyone wants to be above someone in their life.  If you are picked on by everyone, you want at least one person that you can pick on so you don't feel like a complete loser.  I think this is why Crooks taunts Lennie.  He senses that Lennie is in some way lower on the "totem pole" than he is and so he will hurt Lennie to help make himself feel better.

In chapter four, Lennie walks into Crooks's room uninvited and strikes up a conversation with the stable hand. During their conversation, Crooks laments about his loneliness and the discrimination he faces on an everyday basis because he is the only black man on the ranch. Crooks then asks Lennie what would happen if George did not come back from town, which upsets and worries Lennie. After Crooks repeats his question, Steinbeck writes, "Crooks pressed forward some kind of private victory" (35). This comment is significant because it highlights the reason why Crooks purposely tries to upset Lennie. As the most oppressed, discriminated person on the farm, Crooks is at the very bottom of the social hierarchy. He is used to feeling lonely, oppressed, and overlooked. However, Crooks knows that he is intellectually superior to Lennie and takes advantage of his rare elevated status during his private conversation with Lennie. With a sense of authority, Crooks mimics the cruelty he receives on an everyday basis from the other white workers. Crooks's cruelty provides him with a sense of authority, which he learns from the oppressive, prejudiced white workers on the farm.

Crooks, in Of Mice and Men, could be taunting Lennie for a few reasons.

First, Crooks realizes how much George means to Lennie. Crooks is also aware that Lennie is slightly mentally challenged (which mirrors Crooks' physical challenge). Since Crooks has most likely been the center of harassment (given his disability and the fact that he is Black), he finds this as his chance to give someone else "the riot act."

Second, and similarly, Crooks is alone. Both his race and his disability have forced him to be exiled by the other ranch-hands. This said, Crooks may be either jealous of Lennie or want someone to sympathize/empathize with him.That being said, if Lennie is to believe that George may not come back, then he may become friends with Crooks out of need--something Crooks honestly desires.