The Disfunction of the Elderly John Steinbeck, the author of the novela Of Mice and Men develops many characters throughout his novella including the character of candy. The novella tracks the man of George and Lenny, Lenny being a mentally handicapped man and George his caregiver, as they go to a job site and find a old man. This old man, Candy, is portrayed in such a way that demonstrates that the elderly and handicapped are a disfunction to society and will never truly achieve the idea of the American dream. A person can have a major purpose in their life, they can be living their live to the fullest with a solid income, but this can all die with the snap of a finger. Once a person has reached their purpose in life they are useless; they have no reason to continue. This is in complete relation to Candy as after his dog is killed he contemplates that if he gets fired from his job, his one purpose, the same thing that happened to his dog should happen to him, death. As it is stated, “You see what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me”(Steinbeck 60). The dog itself is a symbol for Candy, but also for all of the elderly. The dog was old and had a purpose at one point in its life for it was a sheep dog. Once it got old though and could not do its job it was useless and deserved to die. The same idea goes for Candy, once he doesn’t have a job anymore he is useless and the only
However, Candy is somewhat forced to have his dog killed to put it out of it’s misery. It can be noted that Candy did not want to loose him after reminising on all the history the two had shared together, “Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him.”
Some people think that the dog was better off dead, “'Why’n’t you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up? I can smell that dog a mile away. Got no teeth, damn near blind, can’t eat'" (Steinbeck 18). Readers often refer to this quote to assume that the dog was suffering and should be killed off for its own good. Many people perceived the situation differently because it is a dog not a child, not a woman, not a man.
Body Paragraph I Candy is the loneliest person because he loses his only friend which was his dog.” Look , Candy. This ol’ dog jus’ suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head-” he leaned over and pointed, “- right there, why he’d never know what hit him”. Candy’s dog was the only thing he had left to keep him occupied he had no other friends or family.
He ain’t no good to you Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?’” (Steinbeck 44) Carlson doesn’t understand why Candy keeps the dog because he doesn’t have any worth, and he isn’t useful.
"We're born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone” Orson Welles. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck focuses on the struggle of having a disability while struggling to get by during the American Great Depression on a Californian ranch life. Even though one may have to live around their disability, they do not let that become a big stepping stone in the life, whether they know about it or not. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie Small, Carlson and Crooks are three great examples of how they keep living their lives despite the facts that they each have a disabilities to their lives.
You gotta get him out.” (Steinbeck 74). The quote connects to the point because this old dog represented a person who can’t physically do anything anymore, so people lose their interest in this person like they lost to the dog and told Candy to get him out of the room. When they also said that the dog is useless Candy took it personally. This shows that during this time people counted the time they didn’t have time for useless things or
As candy wanted his companion to be with him at the end, as did george for lennie. Candy represents the old person who isn´t needed anymore, which is an inevitable outcome. As someday , you will grow incompetent of fulfilling demands, or needs, and will be let go. I determined this through his actions, quotes, symbolism, and foreshadowing. Candy is one of the most important characters to understand, as he is representative of
They were seen as useless and as extra mouths to feed. Candy faces the endless fear that the boss will fire him once he loses his worth on the farm. Candy’s fears are portrayed when Carlson shoots his old dog because the dog is too old to be of use. He tells Lennie
Throughout the centuries the growth in special needs children and adults have increased dramatically. Although there isn’t many statistics nor many records of how many special needs people there were in the early 1930’s it’s still apparent that they were there. The book “Of Mice And Men” written by John Steinbeck he uses the characters Lennie, who appears to be special needs, and George, Lennie’s caretaker, to show the contrast between the two mental capacities and the role of dependency on another. In Steinbeck’s “Of Mice And Men” the character Lennie Smalls shows that the actions and consequences differ from people who have special needs or mental disorders from those who don’t.
Scott Hamilton once stated, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Disability is only an obstacle in a person's life, but it does not set the identity of that person. John Steinbeck's novel shows how disabled people are treated differently by writing about their heartbreak and sorrow. Many individuals with disabilities feel that a disability is a wall blocking them from achieving their goals. In our society, people are told what to be and what to do with their disability, but one should have the choice to carve their pathway to success.
Steinbeck states in the novel, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight?”(60). An example of Candy telling George and Lennie his problems. Candy still feels upset over his dog death by Carlson. But by using that excuse he got George to agree with him, to let him live in the ranch once they earn enough money. With Candy’s help with George and Lennie’s dream, it is easier and now faster for the three of them to get their ranch.
The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley only caring about his social appearance. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has given you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. Steinbeck shows the human condition of men while they survive in the American depression.
In Chapter Three in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, there is a pressing scene in which Candy's dog meets his demise. Carlson first suggests Candy shoot his beloved companion and then turns it into a personal goal of his that the dog does not walk out of the room alive. He thinks the dog doesn’t have any real value, and is better off dead; this belief is a reflection of what happens when usefulness is outlived in this harsh society. The lonely silence that follows the killing shows the emptiness of the room, and the sorrow that follows. This scene is significant because it shows how the dog, who is a cripple and old, is a metaphor for Candy, who will soon outlive his usefulness; the dog is also a symbol of the loneliness the other men feel, and
The only thing that has been with Candy through everything is his dog, he lost his hand, his youth and now his beloved dog. Candy is left with nothing but himself, and because he doesn’t say much to anyone he has few
In the story Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the dog to represent loneliness of Candy. The men in the bunkhouse where complaining about how bad the dog stunk so Carl said let me do it he won’t even feel a thing. Curly says, “ I had him since he was a pup though”(Steinbeck #44). Steinbeck is trying to show that because the dog has been with Curly all this time he is going to be lonely once Carlson kills him. Curley won’t have a person or a dog to wake up to and talk to or attend to the dog.