Of Mince and Men Essay
To what degree of sympathy do you have for Candy?
I feel a certain degree of sympathy for Candy, who had been living a hopeless existence, disabled and demoted to swamper with little chance of achieving very much, saving little bits of money but with no purpose until Lennie and George’s arrival. With them came the dream. Candy finally had something to look forward to and something worthwhile that he could invest in. Instead of being lonely and isolated, separated from the other workers because of his inability to equal them with the manual tasks they carried out, he found allies in Lennie and George. Their friendship eventually extended to encompass him. He was part of something, united by the dream, had some purpose, ‘I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.’
I sympathise with Candy in his realisation that the dream would not be fulfilled. I think it is worse to have had hopes dashed than to have had no hopes in the first place. He is now conscious of what he stands to lose. Steinbeck describes him as ‘Old Candy’, conjuring up images of weakness, frailty and dependence. ‘He sniveled and his voice shook.’ The implication here is that Candy has lost his selfcontrol. He is becoming consumed by ‘his anger and his sorrow.’ Lennie was an integral part of the dream and George had no interest in pursuing it without him. It is interesting that Candy does not express his bitterness towards Lennie, but instead towards Curley’s wife.
Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to reveal a common attitude towards women and expose the hypocrisy that allows Curley to visit whorehouses, but denies his wife the opportunity to just talk to other men. Candy says to her, ‘You gotta husban’. You got no call foolin’ aroun’ with other guys, causin’ trouble.’ This type of accusation suggests that Candy considers himself on the moral high ground and Curley’s wife’s superior. This scrabble to avoid occupying the lowest rung in the social ladder evokes some pity.
I feel a certain degree of sympathy for Candy, who had been living a hopeless existence, disabled and demoted to swamper with little chance of achieving very much, saving little bits of money but with no purpose until Lennie and George’s arrival. With them came the dream. Candy finally had something to look forward to and something worthwhile that he could invest in. Instead of being lonely and isolated, separated from the other workers because of his inability to equal them with the manual tasks they carried out, he found allies in Lennie and George. Their friendship eventually extended to encompass him. He was part of something, united by the dream, had some purpose, ‘I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.’
I sympathise with Candy in his realisation that the dream would not be fulfilled. I think it is worse to have had hopes dashed than to have had no hopes in the first place. He is now conscious of what he stands to lose. Steinbeck describes him as ‘Old Candy’, conjuring up images of weakness, frailty and dependence. ‘He sniveled and his voice shook.’ The implication here is that Candy has lost his selfcontrol. He is becoming consumed by ‘his anger and his sorrow.’ Lennie was an integral part of the dream and George had no interest in pursuing it without him. It is interesting that Candy does not express his bitterness towards Lennie, but instead towards Curley’s wife.
Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to reveal a common attitude towards women and expose the hypocrisy that allows Curley to visit whorehouses, but denies his wife the opportunity to just talk to other men. Candy says to her, ‘You gotta husban’. You got no call foolin’ aroun’ with other guys, causin’ trouble.’ This type of accusation suggests that Candy considers himself on the moral high ground and Curley’s wife’s superior. This scrabble to avoid occupying the lowest rung in the social ladder evokes some pity.