Although during the scene he relentlessly invites Lennie into his bunk, he responds to his kind innocents with harsh taunts to intimidate and frighten Lennie . He tells him, "Pretend George went to town tonight and you haven't seen him again," which obviously makes Lennie feel threatened and worried about his best friend. When Crooks sees this, his face "lightens with pleasure." This implies that Crooks enjoys tormenting Lennie, suggesting that he is a very base and evil character. However, he might taunt him because he sees how Lennie is less capable than him - Lennie understands nothing about segregation or work in Crooks' eyes, and only cares about the puppies, while Crooks is much more intelligent, but he is treated so differently and seen as in an inferior position to Lennie. He may also be jealous of the strong friendship Lennie has with George, and does not understand why he cannot have such a friendship as well, thus tormenting Lennie beside himself..