Candy

• [Chapter 2, Pg 21]

  "....said the old swamper" / "Said the old man"

  • Steinbeck often calling him 'old' anticipates how little he is going to be listened to on the ranch: everyone else is of a working age and they may feel like he is not pulling his weight
  • He is decrepit which gives him a link to his dog, so his position on ranch is very low. It is just above Crooks because of the colour of his skin
  • This indicates why he is weak when Carlson bullies him and also why he wants George and Lennie's dream so much, as he has nothing else left for him
• [Chapter 2, Pg 21]

  "Why..... he... just quit, the way a guy will"

  • Here, he shows a lot of experience. This summarises the life of a migrant worker back in those times
  • The ellipses shows how surprised he is because he actually has to explain to George and Lennie why the person quit
  • "A guy will" is a collective reference to all workers and how anyone would quit at anytime back then, the circle of life
• [Chapter 3, Pg 50]

  "I been around him so much I never notice how he stinks" [The Dog]

  • This shows the close relationship between Candy and his dog
  • It's almost like when we love someone so much, we disregard all their flaws
• [Chapter 3, Pg 56]

  "For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silently"

  • As the dog dies it's almost as if something within him dies as well when he lays silently.
  • He is unable to do anything about it and the reference to his little power in decision making on the ranch against the words of Slim is also very clear.. "That dog ain't no good to himself..."
• [Chapter 4, Pg 84]

  "Candy stood in the doorway, looking blindly into the lighted room"

  • This demonstrates the social barrier between the whites and blacks at the time and also his awareness of this fact

  -

  "Candy came in, but he was still embarrassed. "You got a cozy place in here""

  • This is an attempt to break down those racial boundaries, Lennie's innocence and unawareness may be slowly rubbing off on Candy
• [Chapter 4, Pg 90]

  "You don't know that we got our own ranch to go to" [arguing with Curley's Wife]

  • This shows us how much he wants to get involved in the dream which was originally George and Lennie's
  • The collective pronoun 'we' is important as he is including himself with George and Lennie, who are much more of pair than he is with them, but this shows the length he wants to take to join the dream
  • Also highlights how much of a team he thinks they've become
• [Chapter 5, Pg 107]

  "Then- it's all off?" Candy asked sulkily"

  • When Curley's wife dies, it seems like the dream has died with her
  • The hyphen after 'Then' shows how much pain he feels in saying the next phrase
  • The adverb 'sulkily' further emphasizes his frustration yet disappointment
• [Chapter 5, Pg 108]

  "You goddamn tramp", he said viciously. "You done it, didn't you? I s'pose you're glad. Ever'body knowed you'd mess things up.... You lousy tart"

  • Here, Candy has a go at dead Curley's wife. It is all built up frustration firstly, because his dog is killed and secondly, because his dreams are now also crushed
  • Even though she didn't die on purpose Candy blames HER: this could be because he can't be aggressive towards anyone else on the ranch as he is very low in the ranch's hierarchy
• [Chapter 2]

  "Grey of muzzle ... Moth eaten" <-- Candy's DOG

  • The Dog is an EXTENSION of Candy himself. The ADJECTIVE "Grey" confirms this, just like how Candy is also 'Grey'
  • The ALLITERATION of "Muzzle..." and "Moth" shows how the Ranch workers may PERCEIVE the Dog, OLD and USED UP. This may demonstrate a wider perspective on Old PEOPLE as a result

  --> Possibly foreshadows the END of the Dog's Life???

  A) -

  
• [Chapter 4]

  Talking to Crooks: "Nobody would listen to us"

  • Candy is the only OLD Man, Crooks is the only BLACK Man

  Both of them realise the Unique STRUGGLES which they face as 'outsiders' , nobody LISTENING to them nor BELIEVING in what they say

  • This illustrates the Abject Disregard that society gives people like Candy (and Crooks)

  ---> They are fully MINDFUL of the fact that society has more or less MARGINALISED them from the rest of the World

  A) -

  
• [Chapter 3, Pg 52-55]

  "Candy looked for help from face to face." [After dog shooting]

  • Candy’s searching for help is pointless, because he does not get any HELP from the men on the Ranch

  He does not feel able to DEFEND his dog, by saying that he is valued because 'he is a COMPANION', as this is not seen as being WORTH anything on the Ranch, or Wider Society

  • The REPETITION of 'face to face' suggests that all of the men are the SAME and have the same REACTION; they are not behaving as Individuals

  A) -

  
• [??]

  "I ain't much good with only one hand ... That’s why they give me a job swampin"

  • The MODAL Verb "ain't" illustrates his INTERNALIZED BELIEF that, as an Old Man, he is very USELESS in society

  ---> This may cause the audience to feel a lot of PATHOS (pity) and EMPATHY for him
• [Chapter 3, Pg 67]

  "They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true" <-- Agreement of THEIR DREAM

  • This "American Dream" that was simply just an idea, is now becoming a REALITY

  They all realise that they may actually have a CHANCE at getting a shot of the American Dream

  • The COLLECTIVE PRONOUN "They" is where Steinbeck illustrates this SOLIDARITY and STRENGTH that the Ranch Workers may have, if they come together in a COMMUNITY

  A) -

  
• [Chapter 3]

  "They says [my dog] wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they Can me here, I wisht somebody would shoot me... I can't get no more jobs"

  • Candy’s dog is shot because it no longer serves a PURPOSE, reflecting the Harsh life that Elderly Men live, when there is no room for things that are NOT USEFUL, and this extends to humans too

  Candy feels USELESS: He feels that as an old person, he has nothing left to offer society

  • Candy suggests that he would rather DIE than be without a job, as he will have nowhere to live and no means of SUPPORTING himself

  A) -