In Of Mice and Men, many characters experience different situations that they must overcome. Candy is an "old swamper (Steinbeck 19)" who is knowledgeable in the happenings surrounding him. Crooks is a stable buck who is forced to live in the barn. Although different because of their ethnicity and ideas, Candy and Crooks present similarities in many aspects including their social status and role in the novel.

The character Crooks is very distinct in his physical appearance due to large amounts of imagery. Steinbeck declares that "'...the stable buck's a nigger.'...'Nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him (Steinbeck 20).'" This tells the reader Crook's general physical appearance, crippled and black. When Candy "'...pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round a stick-like wrist, but no hand (Steinbeck 18),'" the reader learns that Candy, like Crooks...