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The only black laborer on the ranch, Crooks the stable hand is a sensitive but “aloof” man who is ostracized due to his race. Crooks suffers from a crooked spine, an injury sustained in an accident with a horse years earlier. Due to his identity as a black man and a disabled individual, Crooks is doubly marginalized by the people around him. He resents being treated so poorly so often, but he also knows there’s little he can do other than keep to himself and try to avoid the ire of Curley and the boss. Lennie’s poor understanding of social norms and his intense desire for friendship lead him to come to Crooks’s room one evening in search of company. As Crooks slowly and uncertainly lets Lennie into his private world and innermost thoughts, he finds someone who is willing to listen to him for the first time in years—even if Lennie is unable to truly understand the intense frustration and loneliness Crooks feels each day.
Crooks Quotes in Of Mice and Men
The Of Mice and Men quotes below are all either spoken by Crooks or refer to Crooks. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 4
Quotes
“I seen it over an' over—a guy talkin' to another guy and it don't make no difference if he don't hear or understand. The thing is, they're talkin', or they're settin' still not talkin'. It don't make no difference, no difference...It's just the talking.”
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“A guy needs somebody—to be near him.” He whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.”
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“A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin', an' he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn't drunk. I don't know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an' then it would be all right. But I jus' don't know.”
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“I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an' that same damn thing in their heads [. . .] every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.”
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Crooks Quotes in Of Mice and Men
The Of Mice and Men quotes below are all either spoken by Crooks or refer to Crooks. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 4
Quotes
“I seen it over an' over—a guy talkin' to another guy and it don't make no difference if he don't hear or understand. The thing is, they're talkin', or they're settin' still not talkin'. It don't make no difference, no difference...It's just the talking.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
“A guy needs somebody—to be near him.” He whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin', an' he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn't drunk. I don't know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an' then it would be all right. But I jus' don't know.”
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“I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an' that same damn thing in their heads [. . .] every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.”
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