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The American Dream is spoken about in the Declaration of Independence: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In the novel Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream is shown as dead and unreachable. One of the characters in the novel is Crooks’ and his dream is to have full rights and to be equal to anyone who is white. Crooks' dream was unattainable because he was discriminated against by his race, his disability, and his loneliness. Crooks represents how the American Dream is hard to achieve and make a reality.
Crooks is segregated by his race. He shows a representation of the harsh effects of Racism in the 1930s during the Great Depression. An example is that he is forced to sleep in a separate bunk from the others. On page 28 Crooks says to Lennie “ I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in mine.”This shows that he does not live with the other guys. He lives in the stables. Crooks' is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the other ranch workers. He has his place in the barn with the ranch animals and takes care of the horses. This is why Crooks is an example of Black men living with disadvantages during the 1930s.
Another reason his dream was not attainable was because of his disability. Crooks had a crippled back. He was kicked in the back by a horse. Candy describes Crooks as a “Nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he's mad” (20). No one truly respected him. Crippled men were looked down to. This proves that crooks couldn't work as well as the other farmworkers. Candy was also physically disabled because he only had one hand, but he wasn't isolated or judged like Crooks was. From all this, people with a disability were treated differently and were not respected. They were discriminated against because, in people's eyes, they saw them as useless.
The last reason, his dream was not accomplished was because of his loneliness and negative mindset. Crook was always lonely and never had anyone to talk to. He was always in his room reading books and never talking to anyone because no one wanted to talk to him. On page 75 crooks were saying “Guys don’t come into a colored man's room very much”. Crook was in his room when Lennie appeared and started to have a conversation with him. Crooks was shocked because someone was talking to him. A few moments later Candy joined the conversation and entered Crooks's room for the first time. Crook has never had anyone in his room besides the boss and Slim. Lennie and Crook talked to him and tried to help Crooks achieve his goal by feeling like he belonged. Crook, Lennie, and Candy were all having a good time until Curley's wife came inside. She wanted to join their conversation but they didn't want her. Crooks tells her to leave his room and yells at her to get out. She got offended and threatened him. For example, she said, “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny.” (81). This shows that she was being racist and disrespectful to him. She was telling him that he would never fit into society.
Crooks’ American Dream was slowly coming to reality, but then stopped and wasn't finished. Sadly, Crooks' dream was unattainable because he was discriminated against by his race, his disability, and his loneliness. His dream was a failure because Curley's wife tells him he will never be a part of society and never will be treated the same as the whites.
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