(a) In the passage Steinbeck uses a metaphor to describe Candy. Candy’s dog is described as getting “painfully to his feet to follow”. Candy’s dog appears to be a metaphor for how Candy himself feels. It also reflects that he is old and like his dog useless. Alternatively, it reflect how Candy follows the life of a ranch worker even though it is not his true place in society, like the dog, it has been forced to live with a kind other than his own. The adjective “painfully” is significant to the reader as it conveys how it pains Candy to be living this life, which he cannot escape and evokes sympathy from the reader. Steinbeck may have used a metaphor to present Candy to reflect how society does not value him and see him as worthless. Steinbeck is trying to convey the harsh realities of a ranch worker in the 1930s.
Steinbeck uses setting to reflect how despite the hopeless situation Candy is in, he continues to have hope. Candy steps out into “the brilliant sunshine”, in the novella, light appears to represent hope. This suggests that Candy continues to have aspirations for the future, even though we know that not many men can escape the ranch. Furthermore, the idea that Candy’s hope is represented by the sunshine suggests that it is inevitable for ranch workers to hope, as hope is just as crucial as the sun. Alternatively, it could reflect how close Candy is to achieving the American Dream and Steinbeck seems to have done this to evoke sympathy from the reader for Candy as we know how close he is to achieving it, but it seems to elude him. The most significant word here is “brilliant” as it suggests that the light is so bright that the ranch workers are simply blinded and so forget the reality of life and begin to believe in wild possibilities. Steinbeck appears to have presented Candy as stepping into the “brilliant” sunshine to reflect how even in the darkest of situations, there is hope. Furthermore, he could be conveying that ranch workers like Candy are perhaps naïve for being fooled by the light and not properly assessing their circumstances.
(b) How do you think Steinbeck uses the character of Candy in the novel as a whole to convey important ideas about society at that time?
Steinbeck appears to have used Candy as a catalyst for the novel, as he makes the dream a possibility, and it appears that the possibility of the dream becoming a reality ends the story for the trio (George, Candy and Lennie), rather than begins it. It is due to Candy that “this thing that they had never really believed in was coming true”. This makes the reader feel happy for them that the dream is a possibility, so Steinbeck is not only building up the trios aspirations, but the reader’s too. Alternatively, this could reflect how this is a belief and there was perhaps reason why it was a belief and George had never really believed in it, this makes the reader feel anxious about their future. The most significant word here is “thing” as it suggests that the dream is unknown to them and they do not truly understand the “thing”. Steinbeck may have used Candy as a catalyst for making the dream a possibility to convey how the ranch workers in the 1930s were easily excitable and this lead to them making decisions which were unrealistic.
Towards the end of the book Candy seems to represent the despair felt by men when they realized the American Dream, was only ever a dream. Candy “dropped his head and looked down at the hay”. This suggests that he is no longer looking up to the sun light and that now all hope is gone. Furthermore, he looks at the “hay” which suggests that he now realizes that his place in life is working on the ranch and that he will be unable to escape it. The most significant word here is “dropped” as it reflects to the reader how volatile the dream is and that it can drop you at any time. This evokes sympathy from the reader, as we understand how much Candy wanted the dream. Steinbeck is perhaps suggesting that Candy’s despair is shared by many and that in the 1930s, many people failed the dream and they too felt the way Candy did.
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