Character Quotes for Of Mice and Men - Candy

Candy is "a tall, stoop-shouldered old man …. He was dressed in blue jeans and carried a big push-broom in his left hand." His right hand is simply a stump because he lost his hand in a ranch accident. Now the owners of the ranch keep him on as long as he can "swamp" out or clean the bunkhouse, because there was no retirement and pensions in that time, so when he stops working he will have no source of income therefore cannot be able to survive in the world – linked with the survival of the fittest. Candy gives Steinbeck an opportunity to discuss social discrimination based on age and handicaps. Candy represents what happens to everyone who gets old in American society: They are let go, canned, thrown out, and used up. Candy's greatest fear is that once he is no longer able to help with the cleaning he will be "disposed of." Like his old dog, he has lived beyond his usefulness. Candy and his dog parallel the relationship of George and Lennie. Like Candy's dog, Lennie depends on George to take care of him and show him what to do. Candy, like George, is different from the other ranch hands because he has his dog as a constant companion, someone devoted and loyal to him. When the unfeeling Carlson suggests that Candy's dog be put out of its misery, Candy abdicates the responsibility to Carlson. He tells George later that he should have shot his dog himself, foreshadowing George's decision to take responsibility for Lennie's death and "be his brother's keeper." Candy also plays a significant role in the dream, providing the money needed to make the down payment. Because of Candy, the dream almost becomes real. Candy's down payment causes George to believe that, perhaps, the dream can be realized. But none of them count on the tragic meeting between Curley's wife and Lennie in the barn. Even then Candy still thinks he can have his safe haven, a place where no one will throw him out when he is too old. The dream is so strong in him that he pleads with George, to no avail, to have their farm despite Lennie's death. “The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heels there walked a dragfooted sheepdog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat.” Throughout the novel, there is the difference between the two of them. Even in the description there is a parallel of the description of the dog and the "Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy." (Page 26) Candy is basically the old "swamper" on the ranch who knows just about everything about everyone. He provides George with all the information he needs to know about most of the people on the ranch and gives the reader insight to their personalities as well. Candy's sort of like a narrator in the beginning of the story in the sense that he helps to explain the ranch hands. "You seen 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. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs." (Page 60) This is basically Candy realizing that he's weak and not really important to anyone on the farm; he has no more power than his dog, who was shot, had. Much like his name, Candy is a sweet person and a nice thing to have a round, but he is in no way, shape, or form vital to life. In this context, Candy is trying to convince George to allow him to go with him to the dream ranch because, not only does Candy have the $350 to put the down payment on the farm, but he's willing to work there since no one is going to help him, and (in all likelihood) he's going to get fired soon. "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog." (Page 61) This was one of the most important quotes that Candy made. It foreshadowed the end of the story, which was that George would shoot Lennie instead of letting a "stranger" (the other ranch hands, namely Curley) do it. This quote foreshadows this due to the parallelism that is drawn between the relationship of Candy with his dog and the relationship of George with Lennie.