In Of Mice and Men, the characters Candy and Crooks features at the bottom of the Tyler Ranch hierarchy. Throughout, the novella both Candy and Crooks are coherent with the themes of loneliness, friendship, dreams and the predatory nature exemplified in the microcosm of American society, that is the Tyler Ranch. The reader is introduced to the characters of Candy within the initial parts of the novel. He appears as a ‘swamper’, one of the degraded jobs in the ranch he has earned, partly due to his age, as well as being incapacitated by his lost hand. It becomes apparent that he introduces most of the characters before they actually appear themselves.
Candy is likewise used to identify and provide insight onto the lives of the ranch workers. When he shows George and Lennie the bunkhouse, he provides information such as the blacksmith named ‘Whitey’. It is also through Candy that the itinerant nature of the ranch life is emphasized with how the workers including the blacksmith leave for another ranch. Candy also provides first impressions of the characters such as Curley’s wife, initially describing her as ‘purty’ and then as a ‘tart’, while describing the boss as a ‘hell of a nice fella.’
The significance of Candy is illustrated through the death of his dog, which represents the end of Candy’s only true long-term relationship and portrays the ruthless era of 1930s America. In addition, Steinbeck likens the two relationships of George and Lennie, and Candy and his dog, by using a simile to compare Lennie to a dog ‘like a terrier who doesn’t want to give a ball back to his master.’ The death of the dog acts as a parallel and is significant as it foreshadows the death of Lennie, who similarly to the dog has a disability and stands no chance in the vicious circle of 1930s America.
Candy is present in Steinbeck’s dominant theme of dreams. The power of George and Lennie’s dream of a simple life on an idyllic farm rests in its ability to soothe the afflicted, as for Lennie after the incident involving Curley’s hand and Candy after his dog dies. When Candy hears of their dream he is pathetically eager to join them, he offers his life savings towards the purchase of the farm. True to the nature of tragedy, Steinbeck makes the vision of the farm so beautiful, and so close to reality and the fraternal bond between George and Lennie so strong, in order to place his protagonists at a considerable height from which to fall.
Candy is present in Steinbeck’s dominant theme of dreams. The power of George and Lennie’s dream of a simple life on an idyllic farm rests in its ability to soothe the afflicted, as for Lennie after the incident involving Curley’s hand and Candy after his dog dies. When Candy hears of their dream he is pathetically eager to join them, he offers his life savings towards the purchase of the farm. True to the nature of tragedy, Steinbeck makes the vision of the farm so beautiful, and so close to reality and the fraternal bond between George and Lennie so strong, in order to place his protagonists at a considerable height from which to fall.
On the other hand, the character of Crooks is yet another indispensable character in the novel. Appearing very briefly in one chapter, Steinbeck is able to prove his worth and importance effectively. Crooks is initially described through the voice of Candy, as the ‘nigger’ who was ‘given hell by the boss.’ When the reader is first introduced to Crooks, his possessions are revealed which entirely summarise his qualities. The ‘big alarm clock’ he owns, ‘the number of shoes and boots’ are clear examples of how he takes care of himself while briefly revealing how he to is a victim of loneliness. The fact that his medicine bottles are mired with the horses reduces him to the state of an animal, further emphasising on the discrimination he undergoes. In addition to that, he also owns a number of books to which he compensates loneliness with while the ‘California Civil Code’ is another example of his personal obligation to racism and human rights.
Crook’s first piece of dialogue is the striking question ‘why don’t I got a right to have a light?’ which hints at his personal view on racism in the ranch. It is Crooks’ ‘proud and aloof’ nature that is his only defence of the harsh consequences of racism. Given that he is forbidden from coming into the bunkhouse, he briefly challenges Lennie as well upon entering his own cabin, an implication that results from his degradation in the ranch. In this way, Crooks is able to mirror the harsh existence of discrimination and violence put up against black people in the Great Depression.
When Crooks comes to understand how Lennie and George are ‘workin’ up a stake’ to ‘live of the fatta the lan’, he challenges the perception skillfully. By stating how this concept of obtaining the dream is ‘just like heaven’, he prophetically claims ‘nobody gets a piece of heaven’ and that ‘it’s all just in their heads.’ This prophetic assumption only turns to be tragically and inevitably true in the end. However, Crooks also appears to be drawn into the magnetic quality of the dream, once Candy convinces him but afterwards professes ‘I was just jokin’.
Crooks also appears to be one of the tragic victims of loneliness; he sadly confesses to Lennie ‘Its just bein’ with another guy’, ‘it’s just the talkin’, which reveals his desire to find a companion to simply talk to. The fact that ‘a guy goes nuts without anybody’ becomes true as Crooks becomes jealous of Lennie’s friendship with George, to an extent that it drives him to torment Lennie on how ‘suppose George never comes back’. This tragic and lonely existence of Crooks is also reinforced with how Curley’s wife threatens to have him lynched, which ‘reduced him to nothing.’ Crooks as a result, portrays the archetype of people ostracized by their race.
Candy and Crooks are unique characters but have certain similarities. Steinbeck employs them to reveal two brief examples of how people are discriminated in society. They both suffer from the tormenting nature of loneliness, and are ensnared by their own disabilities. Hence trapped in the oppressively harsh nature of the microcosm of American society, that is the Tyler Ranch. I believe that both Crooks and Candy are tow characters who help to render the tragic and depressing nature of ranch life, while individually contributing their roles to the novel: Crooks as the discriminated stable-buck suffering from loneliness and Candy as the man torn between life and his debilitating age.
