Shoeburyness

Connor Cunningham

What does the character of crooks show us what life was like in for a black man in 1930’s America.

In the 1930’s America was in one of the biggest depressions the country had ever seen thirteen million people became un-employed in nineteen thirty two. In 1929 about 5,000 banks went out of business. And there were two million people migrating around the country. This was a very harsh and uncertain time for American citizens. They didn’t know where
they were getting there next meal from. This was a very dark time. In my essay I will discuss how Steinbeck reveals the experiences of African American men through his depiction of crooks in his role in “of mice and men.

In part one we don’t see the character crooks but Steinbeck gives us an impression about what America was like in the 1930’s. Through his choice of town names in part one. Soledad, weed and Salinas. Soledad means loneliness talking about how it was lonely In this time of depression.   Weed is rejection; rejection was a common thing for Americans to feel every day. And Salinas means saltines. In this way Steinbeck is telling us that American 1930’s was a depressing time for the country a lot of people were starving and hardly anyone had money.

Crooks is used as the ranches punch bag in the book it explains; “they let the nigger come in that night. Little skinner name of smitty took after the nigger, done pretty good two, the guys wouldn’t let him use his feet so the nigger got him if he could of used his feet
He says he would of killed the nigger” this shows that the ranch workers don’t show much respect for anyone that is a different race. So the word nigger means nothing to them. So crooks will just be another toy to play with. If Steinbeck had introduced crooks by himself walking in the room, he would have made it a little less consuming, which would make it as if you would think is that it just a black man getting beaten up. Whereas he introduced crooks from another...