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:
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Part 3
Quotes
“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.”
“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.”
“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 Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“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 Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Of Mice and Men LitChart as a printable PDF.
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.
Part 2
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...
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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...
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Candy tells George and Lennie again how angry the boss was that they didn’t arrive in...
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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...
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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....
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...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...
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Candy tells the men that Curley is the boss’s son. Candy says that “like a lot...
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George and Candy sit down at the card table and begin shuffling up a deck. Candy secretively tells...
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Candy stands up and says he’s got to ready the wash basins for the men coming...
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...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...
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Part 3
Candy comes into the bunk house, his old dog trailing behind him. Carlson, another laborer, comes...
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Slim offers to give Candy a new pup from his bitch’s litter if Candy shoots his old dog. Candy says...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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George is skeptical of Candy’s offer, and says he’d always conceived of himself and Lennie working the farm on their...
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Part 4
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...
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...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....
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Candy tells Lennie that he’s been doing some figuring and has found a way for them...
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Candy says that he’s spent his whole life working other people’s land and harvesting other people’s...
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...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...
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...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,...
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...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...
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Candy warns Curley’s wife that the men will be back soon and urges her to get...
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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...
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As Candy stands up to go back to the bunk house, too, Crooks asks him to stay...
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Part 5
Candy comes into the barn looking for Lennie, excited to tell him more about some of...
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Candy and George stare in horror at Curley’s wife’s dead body. Both of them realize that...
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Candy asks George if they’ll still be able to get their “little place.” George admits that...
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Candy says he can’t believe Lennie would do something so violent. George insists Lennie didn’t do...
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George tells Candy that they need to devise a plan to keep George from looking suspicious. He says...
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Alone with Curley’s wife’s corpse, Candy curses the “lousy tart” for messing everything up for him. After lamenting aloud all that...
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Slim tells Candy to stay with Curley’s wife, and Candy agrees to do so. All the other men,...
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