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Comparing The American Dream In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Candy is another character author John Steinbeck uses to represent the American dream through his loneliness and his desire to be needed in society. Throughout the novel we see Candy being unhappy and unable to stand up for himself. He is often cast aside for being old and disabled. He doesn’t really have his own dream either. In chapter three he remarks, “They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county. Maybe if I give you guys my money, you’ll let me hoe in the garden even after I ain’t no good at it. An’ I’ll wash dishes an’ little chicken stuff like that. But I’ll be on our own place.” Here, Steinbeck uses Candy as a representation of an individual’s goal to be a contributing member …show more content…

He’s desperate to have a purpose and work for himself on their place. Like many people, Candy wants to feel appreciated. At the ranch, he is powerless and he feels useless. He’s worried that they will fire him soon because of this. Out of desperation, he puts his faith in George and Lennie’s dream. Finally in chapter four, Candy is able to stand up for himself. When confronted by Curley’s wife he states, “You don’t know that we got our own ranch to go to, an’ our own house. We ain’t got to stay here. We gotta house and chickens an’ fruit trees an’ a place a hundred times prettier than this. An’ we got fren’s, that’s what we got. Maybe there was a time when we was scared of gettin’ canned, but we ain’t no more.” In this passage, Steinbeck restates the fantasy and trust put into the American dream. They haven’t gotten the farm yet and Candy is already consumed by the idea that they’re going to do it. He is no longer fearful of getting fired, even though Curley’s wife could easily do so. He has a lot of faith in their dream and his friends and he has pride in what he believes he will

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