Kindness or Cruelty
Throughout the story in Of Mice and Men the author, John Steinbeck, shows a comparison of two characters of how they can be kind or cruel. These characters are Crooks and Candy. They are both distant from the other men because of artificial barriers put on them by society. For Crooks, it is because of his colored skin and for Candy, he is old and crippled. Both of these characters show a mixture of kindness and cruelty.
Crooks is a black stable worker who cares for horses. He is isolated from the others because of his race. He is not allowed in the bunkhouse, or to even play cards. Crook says sharply, “You got no right to come into my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” (Steinbeck 69) This shows …show more content…
He owns an old sheep dog since it was a pup and he has a strong relationship with it. Candy loves the dog very much and wants to protect it from the other men. Candy is also lonely and his dog is the only real friend he has. He said, “You wouldn’t think to look at him now but he is the best sheep dog I ever seen.” (Steinbeck 44) Carlson wants to kill the dog but Candy is too kind of a person to shoot it himself. Since he is old and is disable because of his hand, he is too helpless to stop the shooting of his dog. Afterwards though Candy says, “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (Steinbeck 61) He then realizes that he should have stood up for his dog and done it himself.
Although Crooks and Candy do not seem alike, they actually are. Crooks and Candy both are lonely people who face discrimination which makes them act the way they do. They both understand how it feels to be the outcast, unwanted, and useless. Also they both have a disability that enables them from working. Crooks has a crooked back and Candy is missing a hand. Neither have any friends as well. Not to mention, neither of them likes
Throughout the story in Of Mice and Men the author, John Steinbeck, shows a comparison of two characters of how they can be kind or cruel. These characters are Crooks and Candy. They are both distant from the other men because of artificial barriers put on them by society. For Crooks, it is because of his colored skin and for Candy, he is old and crippled. Both of these characters show a mixture of kindness and cruelty.
Crooks is a black stable worker who cares for horses. He is isolated from the others because of his race. He is not allowed in the bunkhouse, or to even play cards. Crook says sharply, “You got no right to come into my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” (Steinbeck 69) This shows …show more content…
He owns an old sheep dog since it was a pup and he has a strong relationship with it. Candy loves the dog very much and wants to protect it from the other men. Candy is also lonely and his dog is the only real friend he has. He said, “You wouldn’t think to look at him now but he is the best sheep dog I ever seen.” (Steinbeck 44) Carlson wants to kill the dog but Candy is too kind of a person to shoot it himself. Since he is old and is disable because of his hand, he is too helpless to stop the shooting of his dog. Afterwards though Candy says, “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” (Steinbeck 61) He then realizes that he should have stood up for his dog and done it himself.
Although Crooks and Candy do not seem alike, they actually are. Crooks and Candy both are lonely people who face discrimination which makes them act the way they do. They both understand how it feels to be the outcast, unwanted, and useless. Also they both have a disability that enables them from working. Crooks has a crooked back and Candy is missing a hand. Neither have any friends as well. Not to mention, neither of them likes