Of mice and man - In what ways does Steinbeck make this a significant and moving moment -p.74?

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In what ways does Steinbeck make this a significant and moving moment?

This passage is found almost halfway through the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’.  It is the scene in which Carlson persuades Candy to allow his dog to be shot to ‘put the old devil out of his misery’ (p74).  Steinbeck has cleverly and carefully constructed this extract, (like the rest of the novel), so it appears as a moving and significant moment using various methods and due to various different reasons.

  One reason is to convey the theme of the Old and Useless, ‘he ain’t no good’, and what is to become of them, (i.e. to show the utilitarian attitude towards one another).  The fact that Carlson shoots the dog is significant because it may be an ominous hint towards Candy’s future. ‘I … somebody’d shoot me… get old an’ a cripple’.  If this wasn’t said by Slim, I would have believed this to be a hint towards Candy to suggest that he is just a waste of space and should be put down as if he were an animal, like his dog.  

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  It is ironic that Candy’s dog is shot ‘right back of head’, as Lennie is later on in the book, with exactly the same gun.  This is why it has been said that the death of Candy’s dog foreshadows the death of Lennie.

  Other similarities can be detected in this extract between Candy’s dog and Lennie.  For instance, the ‘old dog’ is a setback to Candy, by preventing him from making any friends just as Lennie is to George.  Maybe this is one of the reasons Candy grew old without a wife or a friend, and maybe ...

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