Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a novel that takes place on a ranch during the 1930s. This story follows two main characters, George and Lennie. George is characterized as a father figure to Lennie who suffers from an intellectual disability. Many readers argue about the underlying meaning of the book and its themes throughout the story. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, many themes are portrayed through the killing of Candy’s dog.
A theme portrayed by the killing of Candy’s dog is that once you've contributed all you can to society, you have no use anymore. Carlson states in the text, " Whyn't you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up? I can smell that dog a mile away. Got no teeth, damn near blind, can't eat.”(Steinbeck, 37). This quote supports this theme by saying how his dog no longer has any function or ability to be useful so, he should just be put down. Carlson's lack of empathy for Candy in this situation shows how society doesn't give you the time of day if you don't fit its standards, much like many acts toward Lennie. This also reflects on Candy’s situation since he is now old and disabled there is also insulting that people in Candy’s situation would be more useful dead.
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The act of shooting Candy’s dog demonstrates that there is no place for affection and comfort in their lives. During this time the nature of work meant that it was hard to find long-lasting relationships. George and Lennie constantly stated how they are lucky as said in the following text, "...With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us…”(Steinbeck, 15). There were no accommodations made for the option that Candy’s affection for the dog was enough reason not to kill it, thus showing the harsh reality of the