In ‘Of Mice and Men- When we first meet candy in the novel, he is described as a ‘ stoop-shouldered old man. Perhaps, Steinbeck is emphasizing that he has been weighed down and almost crushed by hard physical work and the pressures of old age as he nears his end of working life. In 1930s America, old people like Candy had very little financial security; in the midst of the economic depression of the 30s following the Wall Street crash of 1929, an old agricultural migrant worker like Candy would have been desperately clinging on to employment. In fact, later in the novel, he says “ just as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county.” Steinbeck also uses Candy’s stump or ‘ stick-like wrist’ to emphasize his vulnerability and powerlessness. On a literal level, he has lost his hand in an accident involving machinery, perhaps highlighting the poor levels of health and safety of ranches in the US in the 30s but symbolically Steinbeck often uses hands to represent power- Lennie’s paw, for instance, represents his immense physical power- so Candy’s stump steers us to position him as one of the weaker members of the ranch. Steinbeck called the ranch a ‘ microcosm’ of 1930s America, in this respect, Candy represents the plight of old people, who often found themselves in a more vulnerable position financially.
When George and Lennie first arrive, Steinbeck uses Candy as a tool to introduce the other characters to us. He describes the boss, Curley, and Curley’s wife, amongst others, to G L. His descriptions of these characters, therefore, influence our perception of them. He describes Curly’s wife as a ‘tart’, for instance, and suggests that engaging with her could be dangerous for G L. When we first encounter her, therefore, we already have an impression of her as a potential sexual promiscuous and likely to cause conflict. His later description of her when he stands over her dead body in chapter 5, is even more striking. He says: “ You God damn tramp… you do it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body know’d you’d mess things up. You weren’t so good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart.” At this point, he is mourning the death of the dream as he recognizes that he will now not be able to buy a house with G L. In some respects, we could see him as a mouthpiece for us as readers here in what we also feel a sense of loss and disappointment at this stage and perhaps blames C’ wife for engaging with Lennie in the barn. On the other hand, his willingness to blame Curley’s wife for her own death is also notable. She is a female victim of male violence. Admittedly Lennie did not act out of malice but she is nevertheless a victim and surely does not deserve to be blamed. Candy’s misogynistic attitude as he labels and blames Curly’s wife throughout is one means by which Steinbeck reveals the prevalence of such attitudes in the 1930s USA. His attitude towards Crooks is also significant. Although he appears to be on cordial terms with Crooks when they talk in Chapter 4 and calls him a ‘ nice fella’ when he first mentions him in chapter 2, he also repeatedly uses a derogatory racial slur( ‘ N****R’) to refer to him. This reveals a lot about the entrenched racism of the 1930s US in that even a sympathetic character like Candy, who appears to respect Crooks, does not hesitate to use language which contributes to his oppression. ( Slim contrasts with Candy in this respect by referring to Crooks using his name rather than an insulting term.)
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Candy’s old age and disability cause him to be one of the most vulnerable characters on the ranch. Another way Steinbeck highlights this is by drawing between him and his dog. Both are old and less physically able than they used to be. Candy appears desperate to hold on to him rather than let Carlson shoot him when he says, “ I had him so long… You wouldn’t think that it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I saw.” He could be seen as a reminder of the Status that Candy once had, a trophy reminding him of past achievements or successes. When he loses the dog, he could be seen to be losing recognition in others’ eyes of the man he sued to be. He also loses a companion, a sense of purpose, and something that marks him out as different. In a world in which migrant workers find it difficult to form a long- term relationships because their lives are so transitory and they never have time to settle down anywhere, Candy has a permanent companion.
Just like George when he loses Lennie at the end of the novel when Candy loses his dog, his life is reduced to the insignificant, monotonous, lonely life of any other migrant worker in Soledad( the Spanish for loneliness).
To conclude, many of the characters in Of Mice and Men appear to be “lonely” to an extent, although, the theme of loneliness is extremely noticeable in Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife. These three characters all can be related together because they are all similar in that they are the same type of lonely, a physical lonely. With time aging and a horrific incident happening to Candy’s hand, is becoming less useful, realizing that his time will be up on the ranch and may have to sadly be laid off entirely. Crooks is picked apart because he is simply black and no other reason for it. Curley’s wife is simply the only woman around leaving her with no one to relate to.
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