Why I think Candy was added by John Steinbeck to his book

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Why I think Candy was added by John Steinbeck to his book

Of Mice and Men

There are many reasons why John Steinbeck added Candy to his book Of Mice and Men. The first and foremost reason, which may not be so obvious at first, is that Candy is in fact the narrator. He is the narrator in a way because he is the one telling George and Lennie about the ranch. Candy describes to them the people, their personalities and who to stay away from.

When Candy is first introduced, he is called the 'old swamper'. We only discover his name after a while. The first person Candy talks about is Crooks, the 'nigger' stable. From this you can make out that the others on the ranch are prejudice towards the stable buck, ' Ya see the stable buck's a nigger,' Crooks is clearly disadvantaged due to his skin colour. When the boss is finished talking to Lennie and George, George tells Lennie off for talking. As Lennie is being told off, George looked outside and found Candy standing there, thinking Candy was eavesdropping, George repeatedly asks Candy why he was standing out side, '…and peered out. "Say, what the hell you doin' listenin'?' '"I wasn't listenin'. I was jus' standin' in the shade a minute scratchin' my dog."' Candy says that guys on ranches don't listen into things they shouldn't, ' "A guy on a ranch don't never listen nor he don't ast no questions."' Candy tells George about Curley and to keep Lennie away from him, '" Curley's like a lot of little guys. Kind of like he's made at em' because he ain't a big guy. You seen little guys like that, ain't you? Always scrappy?"' He tells George to not tell Curley that he was talking about him because he would get 'sloughed' by Curley and Curley won't get fired because he is the boss' son. '"Don't Curley I said none of this. He'd slough me. He just don't give a damn. Won't ever get canned 'cause his old man's the boss"'

Candy also tells George that Curley has gotten even cockier than before he was married, '"Seems like Curley is cockier'n ever since he got married."' Candy tells George a secret about Curley's hand, '"You seen that glove on his left hand?… Well that glove's full of Vaseline… Well, I tell ya what, Curley says he's keepin' that hand soft for his wife."' George is clearly not impressed by Candy's secret and tells him '"That's a dirty thing to tell around,"' the comment by George seemed expected by Candy who listened in delight. '"The old man was reassured. He had drawn a derogatory statement from George. He felt safe now, and he spoke more confidently."' Candy seems to know about Curley's wife and her giving 'the eye' to Slim and Carlson. '"I seen her give Slim the eye,"' '"An' I seen her give Carlson the eye."'

When the subject of Candy's dog comes up, they decide to put the dog out of its misery and to kill it, '"This ol' dog jus' suffers hisself all the time."' They all try to tell Candy that the dog won't feel it after he admits that the dog should be put down, '"He won't even feel it"'

Candy was standing outside Crooks' room and wanted to come inside. He was asking Lennie about 'the dream' that George and he had. It seemed that Crooks was trying to make negative remarks about the dream but Candy seemed interested in it. Candy became involved because he overheard a conversation between George and Lennie and was in, ' Candy went on exitedly: "How much they want for a place like that?"'

When Candy saw Curley's wife dead on the floor he was clearly shocked, '"Oh, Jesus Christ!"' and then he left the barn. Candy first response to the sight was he asked George if they could still accomplish the dream. It seemed to him not to prolong the inevitable because he knew the answer to his own question, 'Now Candy spoke his greatest fear. "You an' me can get that little place, can't we George? You an' me can go there an' live nice, can't we, George? Can't we?" Before George answered, Candy dropped his head and looked down at the hay. He knew.' George said '"I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her…"' '"Then - it's all off?" Candy asked sulkily. George didn't answer this, as they both knew the answer. Candy felt sorrow and anger at Curley's wife; he then expresses this into words. '"You God damn tramp… 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"' Candy clearly feels angry with Curley's wife and why shouldn't he be, she shattered his dreams as if it were a piece of glass into tiny fragments.

The way Candy behaves and speaks as if he were the narrator telling the story, although he isn't. He speaks in a tone, which isn't with any anger or conflict with anyone and is friends with everyone. As he is the only one explaining what the ranch is like, what to do and what not to do he is as if the narrator describing everyone's character and who to steer clear of. He speaks as if an old friend of the person listening in a soft and comfortable tone.

Of Mice & Men is set in California within the 1930's during the time of the depression. During this time many people lived in poverty, struggling to find employment, and had to resort to travelling from ranch to ranch in search of it. Unemployment had risen to 25% in the United States. At this time the 'American dream' that so many had sought after out had become nothing more than a lost dream.

George tries to be a good example to Lennie of how a man should be. He teaches Lennie from what he has learned himself through travelling "You never oughta drink water when it ain't running, Lennie, he said hopelessly." Lennie doesn't always seem to respond to George's knowledge because of Lennie's mental state. George must teach Lennie by example sometimes as Lennie often imitates George, like when George washed his face and neck before they reached the ranch. After George washed "Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly".

George will respect a group's leader, such as Slim, and will follow advice and instruction but he is also strong minded himself and dislikes unpleasant or unjust people such as Curley. George is wary of most people he meets apart from Lennie and also Slim who he unusually opens up to

George is respected by others but also counted the same as everyone else. Others do not think of him as a leader, except possibly by Lennie. Most others see him as an honest peer. He is accepted into groups.

George was never completely isolated because he always had the constant companionship of Lennie. He was isolated in the fact that he did not feel that he could open up to anyone, to talk about his problems and Lennie's mental handicap. George did eventually open up to Slim, unexpectedly. I think this is because George admired Slim, "George looked over at Slim and saw the calm, godlike eyes…" George is also isolated from others apart from Lennie because he is forced to keep moving from ranch to ranch after Lennie destroys their opportunity to work at every ranch the par visit. When Lennie is killed, George is left all alone.

George is also a very brave man but not because he risked his life or put himself in danger. George's bravest act in Of Mice and Men was shooting his long-term companion, Lennie. George was both reluctant and determined to shoot Lennie. Even though he didn't want to he knew what he had to do. "The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger." By shooting Lennie, George lost his closest friend and his dream for his own place. He had to work alone now that Lennie had gone and became just another ordinary ranch worker. George said on many occasions "Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world… But not us". George and Lennie were only different because they had each other. George was also brave because he made sure it was he who killed Lennie. After Candy let someone else shoot his dog he was unhappy and regretted not doing it himself. Candy felt his dog was his responsibility and he should have put him down. In much the same way George felt that Lennie was his responsibility and so it should be him who ends Lennie's life. George was braver than Candy in this respect as he killed Lennie unlike Candy, who allowed Slim to do the deed. Both stories have very sad endings. In Of Mice and Men, George is left without a companion, as just another ranch worker, and is further away from his dream than he ever was before.

A short synopsis of "Of Mice And Men" is that the two main characters George and Lennie when we first meet them are looking for jobs on a ranch. George was a small but smart person. Lennie was a large man but he was mentally handicapped. The story ends tragically with the end of a long friendship with the death of Lennie. Another life is also lost and this is of Curley's wife in Lennie's hands.

In "Of Mice And Men" a clear image of the setting is illustrated thus putting the readers in the shoes of the characters. The settings and surroundings are described in a way I feel that I could close my eyes and imagine I was there. Steinbeck's intense way of describing and presenting the characters help create a familiarity with the reader which enabled us to relate closely with the characters. Steinbeck's uses a very vivid descriptive style of writing he describes each and every part giving substance to each section of the novel, this is important in creating an atmosphere for the reader. For example when Steinbeck writes, "The Salinas River drops in close to the hill-side bank and runs deep and green." (Pg 18) Instead of simple descriptions Steinbeck uses powerful adjectives and makes the reader experience the full familiarity.

On the whole the first chapter consists of a similar style of writing. Examples can be when he writes, "On one side of the river the golden foothills slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees - willows fresh and green with every spring," this statement goes in to a lot of detail and it was made to seem that Steinbeck was present at the scene he describes.

in "Of Mice And Men" it is obvious that all the people on the ranch were lonely and although George and Lennie had each other they still possessed their own kind of loneliness. This is also the case shown in the novel "Great Expectations". As I analyzed "Great Expectations" I came to believe that Pip did not really have a family largely due to the reason that his mother and father were dead. Although he did have his sister and brother in-law however without his parents it was not the same. In the theme of loneliness the relationships that the main characters have in the two novels are very similar, although having someone there in "Of Mice And Men" George and Lennie had each other and in "Great Expectations" Pip had his brother in-law an overwhelming sense of loneliness still existed.

For example, Lennie and George depend on each other and share things with each other in the same way Pip and Joe Gargery the blacksmith shared things with each other. I have also realised that the main characters depend on either one. For example, George is Lennie's nurturer meaning George looks after Lennie just like Joe Gargery looks out for Pip. This shows me that John Steinbeck and Charles Dickens write upon many themes in their novels and that you cannot classify there writing in a novel under one theme-lonliness

John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men conveys the impression, that it is a novel of protest. The character Candy suffers from discrimination because of his age and his disability. Steinbeck uses this character to protest against ageism and the treatment of the disabled during the Great Depression.

The repeated reference to Candy's hopelessness could be understood as a protest against ageism. He says more than once that if he "can't swamp out no bunkhouses, they'll put" him "in the county". His whole life is based on one pillar, the kindness of the boss. He "wisht somebody'd shoot" him, if he gets fired. He "won't have no place to go" and is tied on the ranch. When Curley's wife says that Candy is "a lousy ol' sheep", Candy "subsided". He suggests to tell the boss about that dispute, but he knows that "nobody'd listen to" them. Steinbeck uses these situations to protest against ageism.

The hopelessness is also used by John Steinbeck to protest against the treatment of the disabled during the Great Depression. Candy knows that he does not have a future. Crooks emphasises this fact, when he says that Candy will be "a swamper … till they take" him "out in a box". Candy swamps out houses, because he is not able to do something else. Although he hopes that their dream will work, he recognises that it is unrealistic. It is unrealistic because of his disability. Steinbeck's protest against the treatment of the disabled is evident from the way he describes Candy's hopelessness.

Through his descriptions of Candy's primitive working and living conditions, Steinbeck protests against ageism. Candy is an "old swamper", who lives in a "bunkhouse". His possessions are a "bunk" and "an apple box". The reader interprets these facts as a protest against ageism. Theoretically, one should treat aged people respectfully. In our society, pensioners have a better life than employees. However, Candy is a "swamper". He is not treated fairly. He lives in community with "lice" and "roaches".

Steinbeck also uses Candy's primitive working and living conditions to protest against the treatment of the disabled. Candy's job intensifies the discrimination against him, because of his disability. The reader finds out very fast that Candy is an "old swamper". He carries "a big push-broom in his left hand". Of course Steinbeck emphasises that Candy carries the "broom" in his left hand, because he lost his right one. To portray the relation between his Candy's disability and his job, Steinbeck juxtaposes these ideas. Directly after the mention of the "big push-broom", he emphasises his disability. Obviously this connection is a protest against the treatment of the disabled.

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To some degree, Steinbeck uses the shooting of Candy's dog as a protest against ageism. The link between the "old swamper" Candy, and the "old dog" is obvious. Both, Candy and the dog are old. Especially Slim hurts Candy, when he says that he "wisht somebody'd shoot" him if he gets "old". Through this description, Steinbeck tries to simplify the circumstances for the reader. He evokes an impression of a Candy, who is very similar to his dog. That means that Slim discriminates Candy indirectly. However, also Carlson classifies Candy. He says that the dog "stinks to beat hell". In ...

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