Preview

Comparing Candy's dog and Lennie in Of Mice and Men

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1250 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Candy's dog and Lennie in Of Mice and Men
The importance of friendship for itinerant workers in America at this time.
The importance of friendship is a strong theme throughout the book and is shown through Candy and his dog, George and Lennie.
Candy has had his dog since he was a puppy and have spent everyday together because of this they have a very strong bond and this shows when he says “i had i’m too long” this is evidence that they have been together for a long time. George and Lennie’s relationship is very similar to that of Candy and his dog as there is always a leader/father figure and a follower/son. Lennie says “i got you to look after me and you got me to look after you” This shows the strong bond between Lennie and George as they will both always look after each other. This links with Candy’s quotation as they mean the same thing as both of them have travelled around together and are there for eachother. It also shows that the dog is the same to Candy as Lennie is to George. There relationship is constant as they always have and always will travel around together, this seems to surprise Slim as they have been together for so long because no other men he has met have moved around together and moved around so much because Lennie always messes up and they have to move on to not be caught whereas most men would stay with their jobs were as jobs were very scarce in these times. “Hardly none of the guys travel together” this shows that it is each man to their own as they don’t want to be responsible for anyone else but themselves. This is portrayed as loneliness in the novel in many ways through other characters such as Curley’s wife and Crooks.

How each (lennie and the dog) die. Look at the passages leading up to this and describing the killings
The deaths of the two characters is similar as they are both foreshadowed in many ways, for example Lennie’s death is foreshadowed when he kills Curley’s wife also by Candy’s dog being shot, this is the main event that foreshadows Lennie’s death.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Steinbeck’s novel carries of lot of symbolism on its pages. It is owing to these symbols the author revealed the characters to the reader. One of the most important symbols of the novel is the symbolism of the Candy’s dog. As Candy’s dog is no longer needed and has given birth to new strong sheepdogs the only possible resolution is to kill the “unnecessary” animal. This killing is hidden behind the motive of not making the dog suffer. Once somebody becomes weak – he is no longer needed. Though Candy loves his dog he does not stop Carlson from killing it. The key of this symbolism is that Candy himself is an “old sheepdog” and Lennie becomes an “old sheepdog” at the end of the novel.…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Candy’s Dog-foreshadowing for George and Lennie and Candy, old/out of use so it is killed, brings out the brutality/carelessness in human nature (Carlson)…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The thought of living without a companion scares Candy and George through most of the book. For example, George cannot live without Lennie, despite Lennie being a burden. When George and Lennie are stopped for the night while on their trip to Soledad, Lennie angers George and asks, “‘...you want I should go away and leave you alone?’”(12) to which George replies, “‘No — look!... I want you to stay with me,’”(13). It would be easier for George to let Lennie leave, but the fact that he is so desperate to have Lennie stay shows how he cannot live without Lennie because Lennie makes him too happy. Of course, the friendship does not have to be with a human, as Candy fears loneliness without his dog. While in their room, Candy and Carlson have a conversation about Candy’s dog,“Carlson said,‘...I’ll put the old devil out of his misery,’... Candy said hopefully,‘You ain’t got no gun… Maybe tomorra,’”(47). With the key words being “hopefully” and “maybe tomorra”, Candy shows how he does not want his dog gone, he would be too lonely. Both George and Candy fear loneliness, as they know it will make them feel as if their lives are worthless. Throughout Of Mice and Men George and Candy fear the loneliness they would feel if they lost their…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Steinbeck provides the readers with specific descriptions of Candy after his dog is taken away portraying the loneliness inside of Candy. Whereas in the film, none of the detailed description of Candy is being displayed. In the novel, this is proven by the quote “Candy lay still, staring at the ceiling. Slim gazed at him for a moment and then looked down at his hands; he subdued one hand with the other; and held it down. There came a little gnawing sound from under the floor and all the men looked down toward it gratefully. Only Candy continued to stare at the ceiling” (Steinbeck 55). The novel delivers the theme of “loneliness” with the refined use of imagery at this scene, however the film does not. The character “Curley’s wife” is also seen as a lonely person. In the film, she is portrayed as an energetic person enters the scene often with a smile on her face without obvious indications of loneliness. In contrast, in the novel, without actual display of facial expressions, she is seen as a very lonely person. “Aw, nuts!’ she said. ‘What kinda harm am I doin’ to you? Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live” (Steinbeck…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fundamentally, the theme of danger and violence runs throughout the novella, we as readers first getting a glimpse of it when we hear about the woman in Weed wearing red, then again with the dead mouse and again when Lennie crushes Curley’s hand, also crushing his boxing dreams. But the real downfall came when Lennie mistakenly kills Curley’s wife, after being the only person to give her the time of day. She flirts with him because Lennie stays to…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * Candy’s old dog- symbolizes Lennie! The dog id a companion like Lennie is to George. But the dog is useless, old and a burden. Lennie is a burden on George. Candy says he “should of done it himself” when the dog is killed because it is his best friend. FORESHADOWING ALERT- Lennie’s death, George does it. George is his best friend.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through many sacrifices, Lennie and George’s dream was to have a partnership in some land and a house. Unfortunately through the downward spiral of events, their partnership turned out to be a heartbreaking dream. Ultimately, it was through Lennie’s nuisance and mental challenged actions that he was killed. Lennie’s death was a shocking…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Quotes from the book show how useless Candy and his dog are, being old, disabled, and not being able to do work. Showing the stereotype of the elderly in this time. And they also show the relationship of Lennie and George, just with different characters. These characters are important to understand because of one: they show the stereotype of the elderly and disabled during the great depression; and two: they show the relationship of Lennie and George and foreshadow the end of the book. Tying the symbol and character back to the quote, [Candy] said miserably, "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else”(Steinbeck 60). It shows both the side of not being useful and also, the relationship and foreshadowing of George and…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the first people George and Lennie meet is Candy, an old man who is missing his right hand due to an accident at the ranch. Because of his condition, he is unable to work alongside the other men and in turn feels lonely with only his dog to accompany him which is later euthanized as a result of…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The killing of Candy's dog was related to when George killed Lennie in several ways. First of all, both the dog and Lennie were weak, and killed as soon as they became useless to the society. Also, the dog was Candy's friend, and Lennie was George's friend. In both cases, Slim viewed the deaths as mercy killings. The last similarity was that both Candy and George felt lonely after the death of their companions. The difference was that Carlson killed the dog for selfish reasons, while George killed Lennie out of mercy. This was how the killing of the dog relates to the killing of Lennie.…

    • 1777 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapter 3 of “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, numerous intriguing events take place. First, George confesses to Slim what happened when he and Lennie were in Weed; next, Carlson shoots Candy’s dog. Then, Candy joins George and Lennie in their dream for the future, and finally, a fight at the end between Curley and Lennie takes place. Two symbols in the chapter are Candy’s dog and George’s solitaire game.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    characters Lennie and George are the main characters in the book. Lennie has a mild mental disability and relies on George to help him through life. Due to his condition Lennie doesn't always realize what he is doing. Just like he as unaware of his strength which led to the accidental killing of Curly's wife. In return, he too was killed, thus showing that you do pay a price for your actions. In this case, the consequence was more of a punishment than a reward.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The facts that the death of Candy’s dog and the death of Lennie are identical, reflects on the way Lennie was killed. He was shot in the back of the head just like Candy’s dog. Candy told George that he should of shot his dog himself. This made George kill Lennie himself, instead of dying by a stranger like Candy’s dog.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “”George would have a better life without Lennie and would be ale to be who he wants to be. Candy wants to keep his forever friend(his dog), but is basically forced to have his dog shot. All Lennie wants to do is pet soft things, but he is too “big and…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    It symbolized loneliness because it shows how Candy’s only real companion is now gone and he doesn’t have no one to rely on. In the text, it states “The old man squirmed uncomfortably. "Well- hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him." He said proudly, "You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.". This line shows how his relationship with his dog was so long and meaningful that letting him go would be too much. Also, he might be thinking about who would he be friends now since his old friend is going to go soon. Maybe that’s why he decides to have a friendship with George and…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics