In his Novel Of
Mice and Men Steinbeck describes vividly the hardship and especially
the loneliness of people during the depression. In order to overcome
these feelings, Candy, one of the main characters in the novel, takes
care of on old, blind, and lame dog. At the same time, George and
Lennie hold tightly to their friendship. We can find many parallels
between the relationships between George and Lennie, and Candy and
his old dog. The dog and Lennie are loyal partners in this lonely
world; they are nuisance; and it was necessary for their partners to
get rid of them in order to survive even though and the killing was a
tragic, cruel act.
Candy and his dog,
Lennie and George, each gain a sense of belonging by having a
partner. Candy is an old worker who works for the farm for many
years. He has a stable job, but what gives him a sense of belonging
and love is his old, blind, lame dog. The friendship with the dog
raises Candy's life to be more meaningful than just being alive and a
survivor. The same thing is about the friendship between Lennie and
George. Lennie needs George more than just to survive; he needs him
to feel as if he belongs to someone and some future dream. As Lennie
says 'because I got you too look after me, and I got you got me to
look after you' (page 14) Partnership suggests some comfort and
meaning in this lonely world.
Although Lennie
and the dog are good and loyal partners, they are both nuisance. The
old dog stinks badly and people in the farmhouse want Candy to get
rid of him because his 'stink hangs around even after he's gone'
(page 44). Lennie is nuisance to George because he constantly gets
into trouble. From the beginning of the story, we understand that
George and Lennie are on the run because Lennie has done something
that made other people afraid and outraged. Both Candy