Notesale: Turn your study into money

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Steinbeck's novel, 'Of Mice and Men' represents what life was like for people
during The Great Depression through following the lives of two men, George and
his animalistic companion Lennie
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One of these men, a 'swamper'
named Candy befriends the two and shares their dream of owning their own land
and having rabbits
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Candy's vulnerability is portrayed to the reader in the extract through the fact that
he is called 'old Candy' suggesting that he has past the age at which he would be
considered useful on the ranch
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As Candy is also seen to be
complaining of 'gut ache' while the others are seemingly alright, he is also seen
as weak and inferior
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Sympathy for Candy is created through the suggestion of shooting his dog by
Carlson
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Candys love for his dog and
sadness he feels at the thought of any harm coming to him, creates a empathy
from the reader as they would not like to think of anything bad happening to an
innocent animal and therefore would not like to be in Candys situation
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For this reason the audience connects more with
the character of Candy as he faces a terrible fate through no fault of his own
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The distribution of power in the bunkhouse is uneven, with the younger and
stronger men gaining more respect that the outcasts who are marginalised by the
others due to their disabilities, including Crooks, the crippled black stable worker,
Lennie due to his disability and Candy because of his age
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As Slim, who has the most power out of
all the workers, agrees that 'That dog ain't no good to himself
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This shows Candys lack
of confidence in himself as he does not speak up in defence of his friend saying
'maybe it'd hurt him' without much conviction
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This is more emotive as he appears to have
given up hope of saving his dog as he asks to postpone the inevitable death
instead of asking for his life to be spared
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He is unwilling to let his dog go as he feels as though it is a metaphorical
representation of the way life will treat him, when he gets too old he will be
replaced by something new
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In allowing the dog to be taken, Candy is
showing he has given up on his life too, as the dog was the last good thing in his
life
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The death of the dog is foreshadowing the death of Lennie at the end of the
novel, as Lennie also is given animalistic qualities, and gives the reader a sense
of dramatic irony, for this reason the reader is sympathetic towards Candy as
they too understand his feelings of loss
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' which Candy feels as the reality of the situation becomes clear
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After the death of the dog he is
brought into George and Lennie's dream, as they feel sympathetic towards him
and want to help him become happy
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