What Is Candy Value In Of Mice And Men

In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Lennie and Candy make difficult choices that result in painful consequences. Lennie values touching soft things, while Candy values friendship. The decisions they make based on these values lead to the climax and tragic ending of the novel. Lennie values soft things and kept touching them throughout the story. For example, in the bunkhouse George told Slim, “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch everything he likes. Just wants to feel it… He just scared her. I’d be scared too if he grab me. But he never hurt. He just wanted to touch the red dress” (Steinbeck 41). This shows that when Lennie sees something that is soft, he will touch it even if it is a stranger’s red dress. This is important, because after Lennie made this decision, George and Lennie had to leave Weed and start from

For example, Candy and his dog went to the bunkhouse and Carlson told Candy to shoot his dog, but Candy replied with, “I’ve been around him so much I never noticed how he stinks… No, I couldn’t do that. I had him too long” (Steinbeck 44-45). This shows that Candy has been with his dog for a long time and would do anything for him. This is important because later on, he agreed with Carlson to shoot his dog, because his dog was old and suffering, and he did not want his dog to be in any more pain. After Carlson shot his dog, Candy told George, “I ought to shoot that dog myself. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog” (Steinbeck 61). This shows that Candy didn’t want anyone else to shoot his friend but himself, because no stranger deserves to shoot his dog. This is important because when Candy told this to George, George will keep this in mind when he is dealing with Lennie at the end of the story. As a result, Candy’s value of friendship led to the tragic ending of George shooting