5. Why is the stable buck set apart from other men?

It is evident that the dominant culture and race oppresses the minority. Just like the owners of the farm have an economic advantage and a higher social status than the white workers, the white workers have an advantage over Crooks (stable buck) because of his race. The forms of oppression are dependent on the class and color of a character. The standard to which characters aspire is the white race, and a high social status based on your economic status. The characters in the novel are stuck to their social strata. Crook does not live in the same house as the workers because of his race. He is also not allowed into the laborers bunkhouse, nor allowed to play a game of cards with them.

Crooks, the black stable hand, reveals an interesting and philosophical attitude to the way he is treated. In fact, he perhaps secretly enjoys the privileges and privacy of having his own room and quiet comforts, because, on one occasion after telling his temporary visitors that it is time for them to leave, says: "A colored man got to have some rights even if he don't like 'em."