In the novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Candy is one of the main characters, who symbolizes some major themes. He is the oldest worker and his job as a ‘swamper’ who cleans the bunkhouse. He has spent majority of his life in the farm, working for someone else. He also has his dog, his best friend. He is usually described as “careful” “shuffled” and “slow”. This shows that he is a very slow and thoughtful man. Candy symbolizes several things about America in the 1930s.
The first theme that Candy represents is loneliness. Most of the migrant workers during 1930s traveled alone. Candy was one of them. He didn’t have any friends or family. The only friend he had was his dog. “I didn’t hear anything you guys was sayin”. I ain’t interested in nothing you guys was saying’. A guy on a ranch don’t never listen not he don’t ask no questions.” This shows how Candy is admitting himself how lonely it is. Each worker has different private lives. There is no such thing as friends. “I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, ‘cause I ain’t got no relatives or nothing… “ This agai...
Steinbeck describes Candy right after the men hear the shot that kills the dog. Candy's loneliness over the loss of his dog is short lived as he becomes part of George's and Lennie's plan to get their own farm. In fact, Candy makes the dream seem almost possible because he has saved $300 which he will contribute to the price of the property George can buy. The three men believe that one day they will up and leave the ranch and go live on their own "little piece of land." In the end, however, Candy is plunged back into despair and loneliness after he discovers Lennie has killed Curley's wife. The dream is shattered. He poignantly communicates his feelings over the loss at the end of chapter five: “You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart.” He sniveled, and his voice shook. “I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.” He paused, and then went on in a singsong. And he repeated the old words: “If they was a circus or a baseball game .
As Slim and George arrived at the bar, neither of them said a word. Slim looked at George but George avoided his attempt at making eye contact. They walked in and sat at a round wooden table that looked to be a decade old. George sat down at one end and Slim sat down on the other directly across.
Candy shows great spirit throughout the book and really shows off the good aspects of the American Dream. It is only until the end of the book until the plan to go away starts to be questioned. He starts asking questions like ”You an’ me can get that little place cant we, George?”(Steinbeck,94) This denial was once again recognized by Kevin Attell, who said “George and Lennie’s dream is specifically necessitated by and responds to the limitations played on their lives. ”(Attell)
excited one. He now has hope of doing something and it came from the "dream
Later on in the book, Candy finds out about George and Lennie’s dream of buying and living on a farm of their own. This gives candy a false hope for change, but is also gives him reason to live. During the next fifty pages we see Candy build on the dream, until it comes crashing down when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. The last we see of Candy is when he is talking to George soon after the incident, wondering if they can still live on their farm. George states that he knew that they would never be able to go through with it, just like everyone else with that same dream, eradicating all of Candy’s hopes. Candy is a representative character, in that he embodies the character of George, as well as his problems. The experiences Candy goes through mirror the experiences George goes through.
Candy is awfully old and has no right hand due to an accident on the ranch. Being old and attempting to work is already challenging enough, having no right hand just adds to the difficulty. “’I ain't much with on'y one hand. I lost my right hand here on this ranch. That’s why they give me a job swampin'" (Steinbeck 60) He cannot accomplish much with only one hand, yet he still continues to work. An instance where an effect from his impairment shows in the book exists in Chapter 3, when Carlson shoots his dog. The guys here certainly fail at having respect for him. Candy tells them multiple times he has no intention of allowing them to shoot his dog, however they still act. Candy eventually lets them execute it. His reasons for giving up is that he is not growing younger and could not accomplish anything even if he was to seek to argue with them on the subject. A final example of his impairment is that he cannot perform an exceptional amount of work. The reason for this is obvious. He is aged, tired and without a right
Candy is an old man with one hand and he has an old useless dog. His dog is shot in the back of the head because he is useless and ineffective. When he over hears George and Lennie’s plans about the farm he wants in; with the money George and Lennie have saved and with Candy’s money they could actually afford the farm. Crook is the only black man and is an outsider because of that. He becomes very fond of Lennie and hopes he can hoe the garden at Lennie’s and George’s farm. Curley is the boss’s son who is very over protective of his flirtatious wife. He is a boxer and is very intimidated by anyone bigger than him but would never show it. He assumes the worst if anyone even talks to his wife. Curley’s Wife is extremely enticing and is always flirting with the other workers; which causes Curley to overreact and get in many fights. Curley’s wife is the only female in the entire book. Slim is the only character in the book that seems to have his life together and the other characters seek his advice. Slim is the only one who can comprehend George and Lennie’s connection and helps George at the end of the book. Carlson is a ranch hand who shoots Candy’s useless
Candy is crippled, and is almost useless in the farm and is just trying to make it to the next day without going insane. When he overhears Lennie and George talk about their dream about their “piece of land” he gets excited and tells them he can contribute his money as well in order to make this dream become reality. In the novella, Candy says, “ Tell you what-” He leaned in forward eagerly. “S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’
He is a old swamper in the farm. But he was different between Lennie. Candy is weakness in physical. When he is greeting George and Lennie, “He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but not hand”(18). Candy has no hope of life, when he lost his own hand in the accident. He worried about his future and fear of becoming useless because of his hand. He only can does some clearing work in the farm. But when he hears Lennie and George’s dreams which want to have a farm of their own, He rekindled the hope of life and joined in
In this incident, we can see those old people such as our grandparents in Candy. In the story, Candy is very insecure about life, specifically, his own, as he feel like it’s waning. Additionally, his injuries and the loss of his dog mentally bleeds him more. In the story, he said, “You seen what they done to the dog tonight? They say he was no good to himself nor nobody else.
Lennie to take care of. The next day George convinces the farm boss to hire
The psychological approach views literature through the lens of psychology. There are multiple approaches to the psychological aspect of literature but the two most recognized are the Freudian and Jungian approach. The best approach to use when critically analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the Jungian approach. Because the novel’s main theme is a struggle with the idea of “self”, using this approach allows the reader to understand the main character, its influences, and ultimately his actions.
The American Dream to Candy is a nice idea, a hope for a better future a better way of life. Candy gets hope when he overhears George and Lennie talking about how they “could live offa the fatta the lan’.”(29). Steinbeck says “Candy went on excitedly, “How much they want for a place like that?” ” (29) Candy is excited! There was a future for him so he isn’t just a nuisance that everyone wants to shoot off and be rid of.
Candy used to herd sheep with the dog he obtained as a puppy. As time advanced so did the age of both the dog and its owner, implicating their time was almost up. Candy is soon filled with regret when he lets a man kill his dog because it was too old, which made the old swamper feel hurt because he figured maybe the men think of him as too old as well. “‘I ought have shot that dog myself,’” stated Candy. “‘I shouldn't ought of let no stranger shoot my dog.’” (It is possible Steinbeck was symbolizing Candy through the poor animal, and is attempting to show that the old man feels like a failure. After the murder of Curley’s wife, Candy become much more emotionally destroyed, as his dream to work comfortably and live happily both deteriorate in less than one week. “‘I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for the guys,’” Candy cried out towards the corpse of Curley’s wife. “‘If they was a circus or a baseball game… we would of went to her… jus’ said ‘ta hell with work, ‘an went to her.” Just when the old swamper believed he would feel a part of something important, fate crushed all hope and confidence in the dream. The pattern of broken dreams and broken hopes continues through this character's experiences, leaving him to feel alone and of no use as the others
5.) Crooks- Crooks, the black stable-hand, gets his name from his crooked back. He is isolated from the other men because of the color of his skin. Soon, Crooks becomes fond of Lennie, and even though he claims to have seen countless men following empty dreams of buying their own land, he asks Lennie if he can go with them, because he wants to hoe in the garden.