The use of these quotes would imply that candy would be an old man rather than a younger man and so has been working on the ranch for a very Eng period of time: “The old man moved towards the door” and “the old man was reassured” Steinbeck wants us to know that Candy himself Is old. It Is being pointed out as the blindingly obvious just so we start getting a good image of the character that is Candy. Because Candy is such an old character and therefore been working on the ranch a long time, This means he would know a lot about the characters of the Ranch and the gossip that comes along with it.
We get this information from the fact Candy says “l seen her give Slim the eye. Curler never seen it. An’ I seen her give Carlson the eye. This proves to us he knows where to be “at the right time” to see all of this happening and to find out the gossip that is happening throughout the ranch. Let’s remember, the fact he’s old and has been working the ranch most of this time would imply that he knows it like the back of his hand and would know the quickest ways around. We can also tell that from this Candy Is presented as not having a high opinion / disapproves of Curlers wife as he says “Well, I think Curlers married a Tart. Also the way he speaks about her newly wed to her husband and then giving people “the ye” means he is easily in dislike of her and therefore, he can easily tell people bad things about her. Candy however knowing the gossip would most likely be right about a character. Still, it’s an easy way to tell he dislikes and doesn’t think highly of the woman, this could be related to the status women had during this society but It still doesn’t mean he should have to consult this theme of low statuses women. On the other hand, we get a sense of loneliness by the fact Candy has to please people (in this case George and Leonie) in order to secure a friend. The fact Candy “was reassured” and “he felt safe now, and he spoke more confidently” means he was able to feel safe enough around George (Maybe thinking George likes him) to start talking about Gossip around the ranch. Still, It clearly mean Candy sometimes would be a quiet soul because he Is a lonely person through the novel.
From these we also get that candy is a kind hearted, warm and welcoming Character and so is generally a really nice person. We can say this because he was not rude but really kind to George and Leonie throughout the whole of the passage. How do the other Characters treat Candy throughout the novel and what does this show you about the society in which he lives? Candy is treated almost like he is unimportant and no use. Carlson shoots his dog without fully taking into consideration Candy’s feelings.
Candy says: “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wish somebody shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that” By “can me” he means, “fire me” (lose his Job). Shooting the dog is a symbol in the book that nobody cares what happens when someone is no longer useful, which s why Candy would probably lose his Job when he can’t work anymore, despite the fact that he has been loyal for years and lost an arm in their service.
Also, if he couldn’t work anymore, he’d have to rely on some sort of charity, which may not have been the best thing. Throughout the whole novel from when we meet him onwards we find out Curler being the Boss’s son thinks he is untouchable and nobody can hurt him and thus is superior to anybody else on the ranch (with exception to his father. ) Therefore, he does not speak to Candy as in this society a ranch hand like him at his old age would e “nothing” compared to Curler. So we do not see much interaction between the two characters.
Similarly Curlers wife despite having no / little power (due to the fact in this time period, society at the time did not think women should have any power, they were Just there to be house wives. ) she is rude to Candy. She tries using any power she has (or thinks she has) against him to try and hurt his feelings or get him into trouble. George and Leonie, however, are nicer to Candy and even let him be part of their dream to own a small piece of land. They all plan together to buy a particular piece of and… Even though it never actually ends up happening in the book. However, this was a plan George was determined to have for Just him and Leonie because those two are the only people they have ever had. However, know what Candy has been through, and how he can ‘contribute’ to their dream George allows him to Join in. This is also an example of Candy loneliness because he is friends with them he latches onto them and gets in on their dream so he at least knows he has one person in his life. Through the novel Candy is treated as if he is worthless.
It makes sense as people of is age and as a ranch worker, people like him would not get much if any respect because the way society made the hierarchy of classes. Candy would have been near the bottom and it shows through the way people treated him. It shows us society back then was hard to work with and was not a fair one at all. That is why when George and Leonie come into the scene he sense the kindness in them (it’s like the light, his one way of getting out of the scary, lonely world he lives in) and thus latches onto everything they have and tried to please and impress them by doing what he does.
