Through the description of Crook's room, his past life, and his current existence on the ranch, Chapter Four continues Steinbeck's themes of loneliness, barriers between people, and the powerlessness of the little guy in a huge world. Crooks describes his solitary life in terms of all the workers. He shares with Curley's wife the problem of no one with whom to talk. When Lennie questions him about the pups, Crooks changes the subject and mentions, "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's just bein' with another guy. That's all." Crooks can relate to the loneliness of the ranch hands. He goes back to his room and reads alone. "Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody — to be near him … . A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you … . I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."
Crooks' loneliness is part of Steinbeck's microcosm of the world. Multiply Crooks a million times, and Steinbeck is pointing out the barriers and artificial obstacles people and society build against each other. Adding to Crooks' sense of powerlessness is his position, which is made clear by Curley's wife when she breaks up their little gathering. When Crooks tries to get her to leave because her presence is sure to cause trouble, she tells him, "Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny." Crooks knows that she is absolutely correct; in fact, once she uses her position as Curley's white wife as a weapon, Crooks dissolves into nothingness. Steinbeck describes him growing smaller, pressing himself against the wall, and trying to avoid the hurt. As Steinbeck states, "Crooks had retired into the terrible protective dignity of the Negro." Candy with his old age, Lennie with his retardation, Crooks with his race, Curley's wife with her gender: all are victims of the attitudes and prejudices of society.
