Importance Of Characters In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men is a novel about two migrant worker friends, George and Lennie, and the events that happen when they go to work on a ranch in California. Even though these two are the main characters, there are plenty other characters who are just as important to the story. The supporting characters add many layers and different spin offs to the plot and themes presented by the author. These supporting characters add a broad and interesting perspective to the events of the story. They vary from powerful and influential white men to a crippled to a weary black stable hand to even a dog. The different perspectives we get from these characters is very beneficial to setting up the stage for the main attraction: George and Lennie. For example, Candy and his dog are significant to the story because they act as a comparison for the more important characters, foreshadow

The first suggestion that the dog is going to be shot comes in chapter two, when Carlson and Slim are discussing the litter of puppies and Carlson suggests that they get Candy to shoot his dog. “Why’n’t you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him a new one to raise up” (). From this quote, it can be inferred that something will happen to Lennie. When the dog is actually shot, by Carlson, Candy later regrets not doing it himself, confessing to George, “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog”. () These two events foreshadow that George is going to shoot Lennie. In the last chapter when George does shoot Lennie, the audience understands that even though Lennie was his best friend, he owed Lennie that much to have someone who cares about him shoot him instead of a stranger who does not care. It is also interesting to point out that Candy’s dog and Lennie were both shot with Carlson’s