The bunkhouse was nearly empty, the men in the dining hall. The sun was just rising above the horizon, peeking through the dusty windows. If a blind man walked into the rectangular building, he would have never known a man named George was sitting on a bunk near the blackened stove, gazing at the floor, his eyes full of morose. The mattress next to him and the shelves hanging above it were empty, as if no one had sat on the bed or placed their belongings on the makeshift apple box shelves in a long while.
Candy walked in, his eyes full of pity, and George averted his gaze from the floor up to the old man, but immediately looked away.
“George, I brung you some food from the hall,” the old man said as he tossed a bulging napkin into
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Candy was standing over George’s still body, but as Candy spoke, George turned his head and gazed up at the old swamper for a while, until he finally decided to get out of his bed and walk out the bunkhouse door with Candy at his heels. “Wachya mean you killed him, George?” Candy said to him once they were outside. “You haven’t seen Curley in a while, have you?” Candy shook his head. “Well, once we got back here from the woods, we realized Curley was gone. Nowhere to be found. So sure, ya would’ve assumed Curley killed ‘im, but no. I took Carlson’s gun, and shot ‘im in the same spot on his neck that Carlson shot your dog, Candy. I could’n’ just let Curley torture Lennie like ‘e would’ve. I needed him to not be in pain, but I’m not sure I did the right thing.” The men were silent for awhile, gazing towards the woods. “You did, George. Remember? I still wish I didn’ let Carlson shoot my dog.” “But that’s the thing, Candy,” George said as he turned his head to his friend. “I ain’t sure you’d wanna. I killed my best friend, and I feel terrible. You didn’ kill your dog, and you still feel terrible. But if I’d’ve let Curley kill the guy I knew the longest, I would still feel terrible. I can’ win, Candy.” “George, Lennie wasn’t in any pain. Don’t beat yourself up. Obviously the other men in there know you did the right thing-” “Candy! Don’tcha see?” George was shouting now. “Carlson’s been beating me up, making me do all the
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?”
Some people think that George did not do the right thing by killing Lennie because there were alternative options for shooting him. But, if George and Lennie decided to run away, they would be running their whole life, and if George decided to turn Lennie in, he
After Curley's wife hearing the men's were back that made her leave and Candys says to Lennie that she was glad that he beat her husband. When George came back from town, he criticizes Candy for talking about
Any good person does not want to watch a friend to be hurt, and George is no exception. George is most worried for Lennie when Curley says ‘“i’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big dumb bastard myself, even if i only got one hand.”’ (steinbeck 48). this is when Curley, Slim and Carlson are getting together to find Lennie and hurt him and kill him. George thought
Candy stood in his place and said to George "Take my money George, pay it to the Judge"
Now in the story there are many similarities between candy and George besides there need to get away and deal with hard choices in life. But no matter what character there are always some differences. One of the differences between the characters George and Candy is that candy likes to think ahead and plan for his future while George on the other hand would rather make a dream and fulfill it as soon as possible. A sample would be when George first proposed the plan that they shall live on their own farm making their own money Candy thought George was crazy. But when George showed that he was serious Candy joined right on board. Showing that It took some time for Candy to agree because he thought about how it would affect his life when George just went on the same road till his dream was fulfilled.
On pages 63 to 65, Lennie struggles internally over his own unrealized strength. After Lennie crushed Curley’s hand, Lennie sat cowering in the corner. He’s scared that he did something wrong but he never meant to hurt Curley. He only fought back because George told him to. George and Slim assured George that it wasn’t his fault and that he didn’t do a bad thing. On pages 44 to 48, Candy undergoes a personal struggle. When Carlson tells him that his dog is old and suffering and should be put down, Candy does not want to give up his dog. After Slim agreed that Candy’s dog should be put down on page 45, “Candy looked helplessly at him, for Slim’s opinions were law.” After being defeated by Carlson’s reasonable argument, Candy finally forces himself to give up his dog, knowing that he won’t have to suffer any more.
Understanding just how important security is to his own future, Candy hopes he can tempt George with his life’s savings and seal the deal when he mentions he had no living relatives to either help him or benefit from his death. Scared and embarrassed, Candy never comes straight out and admits how ageism has affected him, but he does express his feelings of fear and his desire to feel like he belongs when he comments to George, “They’ll can me purty soon. Just as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouses…” (60). Without any family or friends, without a job or any money, Candy latches on to the idea of owning land together: “An’ it’d be our own, an’ nobody could can us” (58). Unfortunately, since Candy is much older than the other ranch workers, he often feels left out and lonely amongst a group of young, healthy men. Despite his insecurities, Candy still wants to contribute something to society to help provide him with a sense of purpose and to help make him feel like someone still needs him.
Of Mice And Men The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ reveal life in the 1930’s. A time very diverse to ours. Steinback, the author of this novel wrote about various issues such as lifestyle of the travelling ranchmen, loneliness, friendship, the American dream, racism and sexism. The book is about two migrant labourers, George Milton and Lennie Small in California.
Carlson was finally fed up with the smell of the dog and argued that it should be put down, offering to do it himself. Candy helplessly looked to the faces of the other men, hoping that they would side with him, but no one else seemed to care either way. Eventually, Candy allowed Carlson to do the job, if only so that he didn’t appear weak in front of the workers. This circumstance differed from Slim’s as it was not a necessity for the dog to be killed, though Carlson managed to trick Candy into thinking otherwise. Carlson pressured him into believing that the dog needed to be taken care of because it was in pain, but he was just doing it for his own cold, selfish reasons. Candy didn’t realize this until it was too late. He should have been the one to put his dog down, if
While Lennie was in the barn something was going on in the bunk house. Carlson was trying to persuade Candy to let him shoot his dog. Carlson argued that the dog was old, sick and miserable and that ending its suffering would be the best thing to do for the dog. After a few minutes, of thought Candy wearily agreed. So Carlson took the old, weary dog outside put a gun to the back of the dog’s head and pulled the trigger.
George saved Lennie by shooting him with a gun in the back of the head. It was fast and painless, but Curley had other plans for Lennie, “We oughtta let ‘im get away. You don’t know that Curley. Curley gont’ta wanta get him lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed”( Steinbeck 94). Candy knows that Curely will lynch Lennie if he finds him. George knew he had to find Lennie before Curley. George decided to shoot Lennie because he knew Lennie would have either been locked up in jail his entire life, or have been beaten up and lynched by Curley. After George shoots Lennie, Slim reassures George that he did the right thing, “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda”(Steinbeck 107). George needed Slim to let him know that it was the right thing to do. Slim gave George closure, because George was in awe. George realized he did the right thing after he followed Slim out of the
Of Mice and Men was written during a period of racism. In the 1960's it was important for everyone to get along with eachother because not everyone was equal. George and Lennie showed a great part in friendship throught the whole book. At the ranch in Selinas mostly everyone showed friendship in some way. Friendship was a great factor when the book was published because of all the racism going on at the time.
Just like George and Lennie, Candy was also lonely and alone in the world, “... I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing...” it was a different matter when he
Candy confides in George and shares his regret of not killing his dog himself, “‘I oughtta shot the dog myself, George’” (61). Candy doesn’t want to shoot the dog, but later regrets not having the courage to do so, seeing it as it was his responsibility. This relates to George also because George learned from this that he should be the one to shoot Lennie. After fighting and crushing Curley’s hand, Lennie explains, “‘I didn’t wanta hurt him,’” (64) Lennie shows that he only defended himself. This is the same as when Lennie didn’t mean to kill Curley’s Wife. Pain appears in this dispassionate of others.