Commentary on the Death of Candy's Dog
In the passage from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Carlson, one of the workers on the ranch, convinces Candy to allow him to kill his dog because it is too foul-smelling, old, and physically disabled to keep around. Slim, George, and Whit, the other three men in the bunkhouse, do not disapprove of Carlson’s desire to rid of the mutt, and Candy reluctantly agrees. In the extract, Steinbeck characterizes Candy as mentally and physically weak and passive through adverbs and diction conveying apathy describing Candy’s behaviour, the symbolization of Candy’s dog and Slim’s horse, and subtext implying Candy’s inability to stand up for himself.
Steinbeck clearly illustrates Candy’s unassertiveness through …show more content…
When Candy agrees to let Carlson shoot his dog, Carlson “[stoops] over [a little leather thong] and [ties] it around the old dog’s neck.” Carlson’s maneuver of the leather thong represents his desire to get rid of Candy’s dog. The stooping motion represents the suggestion of killing the dog, and the tying motion represents Carlson pressuring Candy to let him shoot the dog. The author also describes the dog as physically old. After Carlson “[twitches] the thong,” and “the old dog [goes] slowly and stiffly to his feet and [follows] the gently pulling leash.” Steinbeck emphasizes that the dog is “old” through repetition, while the dog’s slow and stiff movement portrays Candy body as frail. Carlson’s twitching of the thong and pulling of the leash represents him coaxing Candy into letting him shoot the dog. Candy’s dog doesn’t express much resistance to the pulling leash, symbolizing Candy’s compliance to Carlson. Steinbeck also characterizes Candy as weak and passive through the symbolization of Slim’s mule. Once Carlson exits the bunkhouse, “Slim [says] loudly, ‘One of my lead mules got a bad hoof. Got to get some tar on it.” Slim points out the mule’s physical flaw, reminding that Candy is missing an arm. He also adds that his mule needs help fixing its hoof, alluding to Candy’s attempt to reverse Carlson’s suggestion by seeking Slim’s help. Overall, Steinbeck …show more content…
While Carlson pressures him into letting him kill his dog, “Candy [looks] a long time at Slim to try to find some reversal. ” Candy displays his inability to stand up for his dog by attempting to seek help from Slim. In turn, Candy being unable defend his own dog shows that he cannot defend himself because his dog symbolizes him. When “Slim [gives] him none,” referring to “reversal,” Candy surrenders his dog to Carlson, saying, “Awright–take ‘im.” He concedes to Carlson easily, not demonstrating additional effort to defend his dog beyond looking to others for help. When Carlson leaves the room, “the silence [comes] into the room. And the silence [lasts].” Although the bunkhouse’s stillness is a physical aspect, Steinbeck uses it to imply that Candy is afraid of defending himself, as he scarcely disputes Carlson’s desire to kill his dog. Right after the silence comes into the room, “George [chuckles]” and begins to talk to Slim. However, the conversation is short-lived, as “the silence [falls] on the room again” soon after. The silence in the bunkhouse follows a sequence of silence and interruption. This pattern of silence and interruption represents Candy’s attempt and subsequent failure to reverse Carlson’s suggestion, the interruption being Candy’s attempt and the silence signalling failure. By displaying Candy’s inability to defend his dog and utilizing silence to represent Candy’s unassertive
In the passage from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Carlson, one of the workers on the ranch, convinces Candy to allow him to kill his dog because it is too foul-smelling, old, and physically disabled to keep around. Slim, George, and Whit, the other three men in the bunkhouse, do not disapprove of Carlson’s desire to rid of the mutt, and Candy reluctantly agrees. In the extract, Steinbeck characterizes Candy as mentally and physically weak and passive through adverbs and diction conveying apathy describing Candy’s behaviour, the symbolization of Candy’s dog and Slim’s horse, and subtext implying Candy’s inability to stand up for himself.
Steinbeck clearly illustrates Candy’s unassertiveness through …show more content…
When Candy agrees to let Carlson shoot his dog, Carlson “[stoops] over [a little leather thong] and [ties] it around the old dog’s neck.” Carlson’s maneuver of the leather thong represents his desire to get rid of Candy’s dog. The stooping motion represents the suggestion of killing the dog, and the tying motion represents Carlson pressuring Candy to let him shoot the dog. The author also describes the dog as physically old. After Carlson “[twitches] the thong,” and “the old dog [goes] slowly and stiffly to his feet and [follows] the gently pulling leash.” Steinbeck emphasizes that the dog is “old” through repetition, while the dog’s slow and stiff movement portrays Candy body as frail. Carlson’s twitching of the thong and pulling of the leash represents him coaxing Candy into letting him shoot the dog. Candy’s dog doesn’t express much resistance to the pulling leash, symbolizing Candy’s compliance to Carlson. Steinbeck also characterizes Candy as weak and passive through the symbolization of Slim’s mule. Once Carlson exits the bunkhouse, “Slim [says] loudly, ‘One of my lead mules got a bad hoof. Got to get some tar on it.” Slim points out the mule’s physical flaw, reminding that Candy is missing an arm. He also adds that his mule needs help fixing its hoof, alluding to Candy’s attempt to reverse Carlson’s suggestion by seeking Slim’s help. Overall, Steinbeck …show more content…
While Carlson pressures him into letting him kill his dog, “Candy [looks] a long time at Slim to try to find some reversal. ” Candy displays his inability to stand up for his dog by attempting to seek help from Slim. In turn, Candy being unable defend his own dog shows that he cannot defend himself because his dog symbolizes him. When “Slim [gives] him none,” referring to “reversal,” Candy surrenders his dog to Carlson, saying, “Awright–take ‘im.” He concedes to Carlson easily, not demonstrating additional effort to defend his dog beyond looking to others for help. When Carlson leaves the room, “the silence [comes] into the room. And the silence [lasts].” Although the bunkhouse’s stillness is a physical aspect, Steinbeck uses it to imply that Candy is afraid of defending himself, as he scarcely disputes Carlson’s desire to kill his dog. Right after the silence comes into the room, “George [chuckles]” and begins to talk to Slim. However, the conversation is short-lived, as “the silence [falls] on the room again” soon after. The silence in the bunkhouse follows a sequence of silence and interruption. This pattern of silence and interruption represents Candy’s attempt and subsequent failure to reverse Carlson’s suggestion, the interruption being Candy’s attempt and the silence signalling failure. By displaying Candy’s inability to defend his dog and utilizing silence to represent Candy’s unassertive