Candy Character Analysis in Of Mice and Men

Candy is an elderly “swamper” in charge of odd jobs around the ranch. He is missing a hand after losing it in an accident years ago, but remains employed in spite of his limited capabilities as a physical laborer. Candy is, at the start of the novella, deeply attached to a mangy, stinking, blind old dog which he’s raised from infancy into old age. Candy’s attachment to the dog and his unwillingness to accept that it needs to put down is a symbol of his own fears about aging out of his usefulness, his position on the ranch, and indeed his very life. When Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their plans for the farm they hope to buy one day, he offers to give them a large sum of money he received as a settlement for his injury if they allow him to join them on the farm—they agree, and all three of them find their hopes bolstered for a few days as they consider a life of freedom and plenty. Ultimately, Candy is left alone and despondent on the ranch after the other laborers go off in search of Lennie, who has just killed Curley’s wife and run away. Candy must reckon with the fact that his dreams are never going to come true, and instead his very worst fears may be what come to fruition.

Candy Quotes in Of Mice and Men

The Of Mice and Men quotes below are all either spoken by Candy or refer to Candy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Carl's right, Candy. That dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple.”

Related Characters: Slim (speaker), Candy, Carlson

Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog

Page Number and Citation: 45

Explanation and Analysis:

Candy, an old swamper on the ranch who lost his hand to a machine, has an old dog whom he adores. However, the other men whom he bunks with complain that it is useless and smelly. When Slim's dog gives birth to a litter of puppies, Carlson proposes that he put Candy's dog out of its misery and replace it with a puppy. In this quote, Slim agrees. He attempts to sympathize with the dog by saying that if he were "old an' a cripple," he would want someone to shoot him, but unfortunately, this statement seems to bear more Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum

“Maybe it’d hurt him,” [Candy] suggested. “I don’t mind takin’ care of him.”

Carlson said, “The way I’d shoot him, he wouldn’t feel nothing. I’d put the gun right there.” He pointed with his toe. “Right back of the head. He wouldn’t even quiver.”

Related Characters: Candy (speaker), Carlson (speaker)

Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog

Page Number and Citation: 45

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Slim, Carlson, and some of the other laborers on the ranch are trying to pressure Candy into letting Carlson put his old sheepdog out of its misery at long last. Candy is resistant to the idea on several levels—on a practical level, he loves the dog and doesn’t want to “hurt him.” On a deeper level, Candy knows that the dog’s longevity—or lack thereof—is tied to his own. As a disabled ranch hand, he knows his tenure on the ranch is only limited to the amount of time the boss takes pity on him—just as his dog’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusam

“S'pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing." Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. "We'd just go to her," George said. "We wouldn't ask nobody if we could. Jus' say, 'We'll go to her,' an' we would. Jus' milk the cow and sling some grain to the chickens an' go to her.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Candy

Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 60-61

Explanation and Analysis:

Candy overhears Lennie and George talking about the farm they one day want to own and pipes up that he, too, would love to get in on the deal. He says that he has money saved up from the settlement when he was injured, and that he would work on the land for no pay. In this quote, George and Candy both relish the idea that if they owned their own farm, they would not have to answer to anyone—if there was something they wanted to do, they wouldn't have to worry about losing their jobs if they left the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum vo

“I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog.”

Related Characters: Candy (speaker), George Milton

Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 61

Explanation and Analysis:

Overpowered by the collective agreement of the men that his dog needed to be shot, Candy reluctantly consents to letting Carlson shoot it outside. In this quote, Candy tells George that he regrets not shooting the dog himself. Of course, Candy would have never even thought to kill the dog due to old age if he hadn't been egged on by the other men. Candy reared the dog since it was a pup, and was very attached to it. He feels residual guilt for not killing the dog himself due to this attachment, even though he would never have had Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti sol

Candy Character Timeline in Of Mice and Men

The timeline below shows where the character Candy appears in Of Mice and Men. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. An old man named Candy, who is missing a hand, shows them to their lodgings. The bunkhouse where all the... (full context)

George spots a yellow can of insect poison above his allotted bunk and asks Candy whether the beds are full of lice. Candy insists that the last man who occupied... (full context)

Candy tells George and Lennie again how angry the boss was that they didn’t arrive in... (full context)

George asks more about “what kind of a guy” the boss is. Candy insists he’s “pretty nice” except for when he’s angry, and once even brought the laborers... (full context)

George goes to the front door and opens it—Candy is standing there with an old, blind, and lame sheepdog. George accuses Candy of eavesdropping.... (full context)

...glove on his left hand and is wearing high-heeled boots—just like the boss. He asks Candy if he has “seen [his] old man,” and Candy, addressing the man as Curley, says... (full context)

Candy tells the men that Curley is the boss’s son. Candy says that “like a lot... (full context)

George and Candy sit down at the card table and begin shuffling up a deck. Candy secretively tells... (full context)

Candy stands up and says he’s got to ready the wash basins for the men coming... (full context)

...fear she wouldn’t be able to feed them all. Carlson says that Slim should do Candy a favor and shoot his lame, smelly old dog, then give him one of the... (full context)

Candy comes into the bunk house, his old dog trailing behind him. Carlson, another laborer, comes... (full context)

Slim offers to give Candy a new pup from his bitch’s litter if Candy shoots his old dog. Candy says... (full context)

...the ranch. Carlson refuses to be distracted by Whit’s remembrances of Tenner, and continues hounding Candy about putting down his dog. Carlson offers to shoot it with his Luger. Though Candy... (full context)

...talks about his mule, who’s in need of some tar on its hoof, and reminds Candy that he can have any puppy he wants. Candy does not reply. George asks if... (full context)

...as he wants. Both Lennie and George are so lost in their reverie that when Candy speaks, they both jump. Candy asks if there really is a place like the one... (full context)

George is skeptical of Candy’s offer, and says he’d always conceived of himself and Lennie working the farm on their... (full context)

Lennie says he’s all alone and wants company—everyone else except for Candy has gone into town, and Candy only wants to sit in his bunk and budget... (full context)

...the stable, and Crooks calls out to ask if Slim has come into the barn. Candy answers, saying he’s come looking for Lennie. Crooks tells Candy that Lennie is with him.... (full context)

Candy tells Lennie that he’s been doing some figuring and has found a way for them... (full context)

Candy says that he’s spent his whole life working other people’s land and harvesting other people’s... (full context)

...startles the men. It is Curley’s wife, asking if any of them have seen Curley. Candy tells her they haven’t seen him, but Curley’s wife doesn’t move from the doorway. She... (full context)

...says. She asks the men to tell her what really happened to Curley’s hand, but Candy insists Curley simply got it caught in the machine. Curley’s wife laments her horrible circumstances,... (full context)

...talks coarsely to her once more, she will have him “strung up on a tree.” Candy warns Curley’s wife that if she does anything to get Crooks hurt, they’ll tell on... (full context)

Candy warns Curley’s wife that the men will be back soon and urges her to get... (full context)

Crooks, clearly shaken by Curley’s wife’s words, tells Lennie and Candy that they should go. Candy tries to comfort Crooks, but Crooks plainly states that what... (full context)

As Candy stands up to go back to the bunk house, too, Crooks asks him to stay... (full context)

Candy comes into the barn looking for Lennie, excited to tell him more about some of... (full context)

Candy and George stare in horror at Curley’s wife’s dead body. Both of them realize that... (full context)

Candy asks George if they’ll still be able to get their “little place.” George admits that... (full context)

Candy says he can’t believe Lennie would do something so violent. George insists Lennie didn’t do... (full context)

George tells Candy that they need to devise a plan to keep George from looking suspicious. He says... (full context)

Alone with Curley’s wife’s corpse, Candy curses the “lousy tart” for messing everything up for him. After lamenting aloud all that... (full context)

Slim tells Candy to stay with Curley’s wife, and Candy agrees to do so. All the other men,... (full context)

Candy Character Analysis

Candy Quotes in Of Mice and Men

Part 3 Quotes

Candy Character Timeline in Of Mice and Men