Crooks Essay Example for Free

Crooks Essay Crooks as the biggest victim on the ranch discuss Monday 24th October 2011 In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ Steinbeck presents Crooks, the black stable-buck as the biggest victim on the ranch because of his race. Crooks is also the most damaged person, emotionally and physically. He has a crooked back and has begun to mimic the cruel and violent behaviour of the other men on the ranch. The impact of his loneliness also makes him push people away, leaving him even more lonely and segregated. The other men exclude Crooks because he is black. He is not allowed to go into the bunkhouse with all the white men because they are racist and follow the racist behaviour of segregation. It is clear that Steinbeck is critisising wider society through his description of Crooks. Crooks has his own room ‘had his bunk in the harness room’ he lives alone and is no more important than the animals symbolised by the nearness to the animals. He is alone all the time and gets lonely but never admits it because he is too proud. Steinbeck show’s the irony of Candy saying ‘must be nice to have a room all to your self’. When Lennie comes in to his room, Crooks has right to ask him to leave but instead acts as though he didn’t want Lennie to stay. He says – ‘come on in and set a while†¦long as you wont get out and leave me alone. ’ The ellipsis’ show his hesitation after he admitted he wants the company he realizes and changed it around to say he wants to be alone. This is so Crooks can maintain his pride and his dignity. He his so lonely that he admits to Lennie – ‘just a guy talking to another guy doesn’t matter if he understands. ’ This tells us Crooks is happy talking to Lennie even though Lennie does not understand most of the things Crooks is saying. It is the company and the talking to another human that matters to him. Steinbeck also adds that Crooks ‘reads a lot’. Steinbeck implies that even though Crooks is treated badly he could be the most educated worker on the ranch has a better understanding of things than most of the other men and is wiser because he is older and has seen more things. Also he has a ‘Californian Civil Code’ book, because he has this book and reads it often he knows a lot about the laws of discrimination in different areas. He is interested in is rights as a black man unfortunately, despite his knowledge Crooks is unable to change anything. Slim is the only man who treats Crooks sympathetically. He respects Crooks more and talks to him some times. Slim is ‘kind’ and ‘is a good listener’ but Slim and Crooks are the opposite- Slim is respected and has power whereas Crooks is disrespected and beaten by the men because of the colour of his skin. Slim is a ‘tall man’ who is ‘capable of killing a fly on the wheelers butt without touching the mule’ but Crooks was just a ‘stable buck, nigger with a ‘crooked back’. Through this contrast, Steinbeck provokes pathos about Crooks’ life. Ironically, even Slim is effected by the hardship on the ranch casually drowns four pups. Steinbeck depicts Crooks as the most physically damaged person on the ranch. One of the reasons for this is that the white men beat Crooks, just because he was black. The boss uses Crooks to let his anger out – ‘the boss gives him hell when he’s mad. ’ Even though the boss hired Crooks to do a job he beats him when he is angry, this shows Crooks is of a low status on the ranch and that he matters the least. The men are also very cruel to Crooks when they say ‘ Jesus we had fun. They are referring to a time when they beat Crooks. This is very cruel he had no way of defending himself by fighting back because he has a crooked back and is much weaker he also has no one on his side. What is more brutal is that they did it just for pleasure this suggests that the ranch is corrupting everyone. Steinbeck warns us of the consequences of brutality in the wider world. Furthermore the cruelty Crooks faces made him cruel to Lennie when he says – ‘I don’t blame the guy you travel with for keeping you outta sight. ’ and ‘what if he don’t come back. Crooks wants to frighten Lennie and is clearly jealous of the companionship he has with George. When ‘Crooks face lightened with pleasure in his torture’ it shows that Crooks has learnt from the other men how to be cruel. This is also another way he has been damaged emotionally by the ranch because most of the men become cruel and it is a violent world where only the fittest will survive. Crooks wishes that he could have what George and Lennie have so he gets dragged in to the dream against his better judgment – ‘Never a god dammed one of em gets it just like hea ven. Here is Crooks talks about men trying to get land for themselves. He does not believe in God because his life has been so bad that there cannot be a God but he still equates land with heaven. Crooks is lonely and has a room to himself on the ranch and in it there were ‘hung broken harness strips in process of being mended, strips of new leather. ’ Ironically ’Being a stable buck he was more permanent than other men’ His permanency does not give him status he is all alone and unlike the bunk house where games are played in the evenings his room is filled with work objects so he would not get much time to relax or rest. Also in his room is ‘a range of medicine bottles for himself and the horses. ’ This is another example of him being no more important that the animals and also part of the discrimination against him. Steinbeck depicts Crooks as a victim by the description of his physical appearance. – ‘His body was bent over to the left by his Crooked spine’ His lean face was lined with deep wrinkles, and he had thin, pain-tightened lips which were paler than his face. ’ His body is bent over because a horse has kicked him on the ranch so the ranch damages him physically. His lined face shows the evidence of the brutality of the ranch, he is older and weaker because of the hard work he has done and his thin, pain-tightened lips show the pain he is in. yet he still has to work everyday and he tries to soothe the pain by repeatedly applying liniment to his back. This reminds us of his pain – ‘he poured his liniment into his pink palmed hand. ’ Although Crooks is damaged by the ranch and has no status, he is a very proud, dignified man who wants people to respect the few rights he has, ‘you got no right to come in here’ he said to Lennie because his room was the only thing people has respect. He has read about black rights, he is interested in what rights he could have in other places. Although Crooks had the right to ban Candy and Lennie from his room the desire for company overrode this. He was happy to have the company of the two men, ‘well, why’n’t you kick ‘em out? ’ ‘I di’nt care much’. Steinbeck makes us sympathise with Crooks as he is presented as the biggest victim on the ranch because he is damaged mentally, physically and emotionally. Steinbeck also makes us sympathise with Crooks because he is lonely and how he is lonely from the isolation from the other men.

The piece was based on the theme of jealousy, and although the play changed :: Drama

The piece was based on the theme of jealousy, and although the play changed and adapted DRAMA PART 1 ASSESSMENT My first piece of practical work is to be performed on 24th June 2005. The piece was based on the theme of jealousy, and although the play changed and adapted as it developed, we tried to keep the performance set on this theme. My contribution to the performance was as an actor. My specific role was the ghost or one of the main characters, and I narrated the play as it went on. I also had a small role as a schoolteacher. To help me in my performance, I studied the play A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller. This was very influential, and it helped our group make many decisions and choose the characters for our play. I also read the book Lies Hurt, But So Does The Truth by Aliyah Sapsard and Marion Boulicault, which helped me to understand one of the other characters in our play better, as their emotions were similar. The script of the film O, which is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello also helped to influence the characters in my performance. The final play I looked at was History Boys, and this play helped with the physical performance of the play. We projected short, filmed moving clips onto the back of the performance area to act as links between scenes, as they do in History Boys. As mentioned, the most influential play was A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller. This play was set in New York, America, in the late 1940s. This differs from out piece, which was set in England, in the present day. Even though we were using A View From The Bridge as our main influence, we felt that the story would work better set in the modern day, and it also meant that we didn’t have to adapt to a different location or time period for our piece. We could all draw on real life, to help our play. The characters that appear in our production are mainly schoolgirls. This is contrasting with the play we studied, as in A View From The Bridge; the majority of the characters are adults. Some of the roles they played, however, were similar to some of the roles used in our performance. In our piece, we had the character Emma Winters. She was admired by Alex, who looked up to her, and finally became obsessed. This is similar to A View From The Bridge, in which Eddie becomes obsessed by Catherine. In our piece, we also have the character

Aunt Jennifers Tigers

Ashlee Purcell Dr. Wagner Enc 1102 27, Nov. 2012 Critical Response Adrienne Rich was an amazing poet who expressed certain matters and women’s needs through her writings. Her poem â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† was used to express male and female relationships or maybe one in particular. Although many critics argue the point of view, the overall theme of â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† is Aunt Jennifer’s oppression through marriage, and the use of embroidery as the form of self-expression.The first verse of â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† is used to describe the tigers. They â€Å"prance across a screen†. This implies no sadness, the term â€Å"prance†, according to Dictionary. com, is defined to spring from the hind legs; to move by springing, as a horse, to ride gaily, proudly, or insolently, to move or go in an elated manner; cavort, and to dance or move in a lively or spirited manner; caper. This shows that the tige rs are moving in a happy, lively fashion. They are â€Å"topaz denizens of a world of green†.Topaz is unquestionably an ancient healing stone and gemstone. The Egyptians believed that topaz was colored with a golden glow of the mighty sun god Ra. Because of this they believed that topaz was very powerful and protected faithful against harm. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who was their god of sun. The Romans considered topaz to be a symbol of power of the ruler who had it. They also believed that it bestowed wisdom on the ruler. The royal crown of England is set with nearly five hundred topaz stones.These stones have been said to have been mined in the Erzgebirge better known as Ore Mountains. According to the Bible, topaz is one of the many stones that protect New Jerusalem. In ancient Mexico topaz was used in conflicts to ascertain the truth. Aunt Jennifer expressed herself as a tiger mixed with the topaz stone has a important meaning of a certain power, and these tigers are unafraid knowing of the power it holds according to the verse â€Å" They do not fear the man beneath the tree†. In the second verse Aunt jennifer’s fingers â€Å"flutter† through the wool.Although the meaning of the word flutter could be used both in a negative and positive way, they way send is having difficulty pulling the ivory needle in the next line persuades the reason to believe the fluttering is a sign of stress. Reading on to the next line, â€Å"The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band†, describes possibly why Aunt Jennifer is in distress. His wedding ring â€Å"sits heavily upon† her hand. The Uncle is not around anymore to wear his ring. Did he leave? Did he die? Because the ring itself cannot possibly be so heavy to affect her stitching, it must serve a symbolic meaning of the Uncle.How could the Uncle feel heavy upon Aunt Jennifer? Was he violent, demanding or opressive to Aunt Jennifer? Althought we are not prov ided with any further information I believe it is safe to say the Uncle had some kind of a negative effect on Jennifer’s emotional state if she is displaying physical signs of agitation. Work Cited â€Å"Adrienne Rich. † Wikipedia. org. Wikipedia. 1 Mar 2009. Rich, Adrienne. â€Å"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers. † Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Kennedy, X. J. , Dana Gioia. New York: 2010. Print.

Stem Cell Research Essay - 2142 Words

I. Introduction The desecration of life by use of embryonic stem cells is not necessary with alternatives such as adult, placenta, and umbilical stem cells available which hold promising results. Stem cell research definitely has shown its ability to benefit humanity, but at what lengths? At what cost? America along with the world continues to battle against embryonic stem cell research as it results in termination of a human life form. With a clear understanding of what stem cells are and how they are used the evidence clearly shows that alternative forms of stems cells can lead to the same promising results without arising any ethical concerns. The most well accepted definition of stem cells is that they are cells that can†¦show more content†¦From all three stem cells (embryonic, adult, and umbilical cord) we hope to find cures for: diabetes and brain diseases such as Parkinsons. These cells offer hope to treating diseases such as cancer and Multiple Sclerosis. While the intentions to cu re diseases are important this is not the only reason for stem cell research. It is also important for scientist to understand the development of cells and how each cell holds certain properties. This knowledge would increase the ability to utilize adult stem cells. If scientists could understand what within the cell causes it to develop into a particular function, we then could manipulate adult stem cells for the purpose need in each individual circumstance. It is also recorded that stem cell research may be useful for improvement of livestock and other animals. (Conan-Davies 1) II. Background Politicians have had to step into the topic of stem cell research as it is one of the leading controversial policies in America. 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