Candy

Question 1

Name the quotes for Candy

Answer 1

‘A round stick like wrist but no hand’
’ When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.’
‘I ought to have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog’
‘Blind old eyes’
‘Struggled lamely’
‘This thing they had never really believed in was coming true’
‘I think I knowed we’d never do her’ – George

Question 2

analyse:
‘A round stick like wrist but no hand’

Answer 2

• Candy’s age and physical ability reduces his value in the eyes of others on the ranch.
• Savours the little money he has because he cannot earn his wealth through physical labour
• Harder on Candy as he works in a testosterone fuelled environment.
  Dehumanization – The way Candy’s hand is described in such an impersonal way highlights how he’s seen more as a tool than a person, especially in a society that values strength.

Context
Dust bowl - after the dust bowl physical labour was the main source of income for most people
treatment of people with disabilities - second class employable status as he wasn’t an efficient worker - harsh reality of 1930’s

Question 3

analyse:
‘I ought to have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog’
‘ When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.’

Answer 3

• He can’t bare to live without his dog anymore or live with the regret of not killing his dog himself.
• Recognises that his life is so lonely that without his dog it isn’t worth living.
• regret and guilt - feels a sense of responsibility for the dog and wished he did it himself
• highlights his vulnerability of being an old man and fear of being discarded when he is no longer useful
  context
  treatment of people with disability - he is aware that he could be discarded easily much like his dog

Social Darwinism – In the context of the ranch, where strength and self-sufficiency are prized, Candy’s age and disability make him feel isolated and disposable.

Question 4

Analyse:
‘Blind old eyes’
‘Struggled lamely’

Answer 4

-Dog was seen to be his closest friend and representative of his compassionate nature
– very similar depictions – parallels to each other
Context
Dust bowl – itinerant workers could not establish meaningful relationships with others meaning he experienced loneliness and isolation
Social Darwinism – In the context of the ranch, where strength and self-sufficiency are prized, Candy’s age and disability make him feel isolated and disposable.

Question 5

Analyse:
‘This thing they had never really believed in was coming true’
‘I think I knowed we’d never do her’ – George to Candy

Answer 5

• Shows he is willing to find new relationships with people, unlike other itinerant workers, after he strikes a close bond with George and Lennie in regards to their own ranch
• False hope of a dream that society promises you
  -Surrender the dream
  Context
• Portraying the American dream as a myth / abstract point of view – unachievable
• Itinerant workers - they struggled to develop relationships as they moved around from ranch to ranch
• Robert Burns poem ‘To a mouse’ - dreams don’t always work out (‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’)