monkeereadslit

2006-03-12T04:03:00.000-08:00

Character Analysis: Candy

Candy is an example of a character in the novel who experiences loneliness and isolation and powerless of Man against Man. He is a desperate character who tries to stay in the ranch in order to survive.

The clothes that candy wears tells us of his occupation and economical situation. " He was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a bug push-broom in his left hand " ( page 38 ) From this quote, we can see that Candy is a labourer of the working class as he dresses in durable and hardy materials such as denim jeans.

Candy's physical appearance also magnifies his loneliness in the ranch. We can see that Candy is "stoop-shouldered" (page 38), tall and disabled. This suggest that Candy looks down while walking, thus, hinting that he feels hopeless and has no self-esteen. He has no confidence in himself and has self-pity, and hence, fades into the background.

The scene where Candy gossips to George about Curley also shows his loneliness and isolation. The environment in which Candy lives in, that is the ranch, is hostile and tense as many other workers try to fight for jobs and pay, as seen from the conversation of the boss with George in page 43. " I said that stake you got in this guy? You taking his pay away from him? " And thus, in this hostile environment, it would be hard for Candy to make friends or close companions. Hence, Candy has to turn to strangers such as George and Lennie, instead to pour out his feelings, whcih has been hidden in his heart, thus, dealing with his loneliness and isolation.

Also, as Candy hears alot of gossip while cleaning the ranch, he uses this gossip to work his way into George's good grace or into society. He fills them in on the things in the ranch, for example, Curley's left glove being full of vaseline. and through this, he tries to build up trust between them, so that they could be friends. Also, by using such gossip, he brings attention to himself, as many people like to listen to gossips, by using the gossip as a topic of conversation. This shows his desperation for attention and thus, his loneliness and isolation. Candy is worried that he would be asked to leave the ranch due to his old age and disability as he is of no longer use to the farm. Hence, he is "afraid" of those who are of a higher status than himself, such as the boss and Curley. " Them guys just come, " he said, and shuffled past the boss and out the door " ( page 42) This act of waiting at the door when the boss is in the room shows that Candy " fears " the boss as he does not want to get into the bad books of him. This is beacuse he knows that once he is "fired", Candy would not have anywhere else to get a job, as as he is too old to work. This shows that h is not only desperate for attention but also for a place in the ranch, so that the boss would not think that he is useless and "fire" him. This is also an example of Candy's powerlessness against Man, which is the boss or Curley in this instance.

Another example of Candy's powerlessness against those of a higher status than himself is through his constant gossips. In the middle of Candy's gossip with George, Candy reminded him not to tell Curley any of the things that he had said, as seem from " Dont tell curley I said none of this. He'd slough me. He just dont give a damn. Wont ever get canned! cause his old man's the boss. " ( page 48 ) This shows his absence of freedom of speech as in Curley knows about what Candy has been saying behind his back, Candy would surely get hurt, as seen from the above quote.

Finally, from the descriptions of Candy's dog and Candy, we can conclude that Candy's dog is actually a mirror image of himself. Both Candy and the dog are disabled and old, both see no hope in life and are tired of himself, both are afraid and cautious of the people who hold power over them and most importantly, both had their uses when they were young but now, are as useless as one another. Also, from the description of the dog being half-blind, we may conclude that Candy chooses to avoid the things happen around him and closes one eye. However, from the above paragraphs, we can see that, unlike his dog, Candy tries to break away from his life of loneliess and isolation through various methods as mentioned above. We can also seee this from the symbolic meaning of "They went out the door. The sunshine lay in a thin line under the window. From a distance there could be heard from a rattle of dishes." ( page 60) This is because the thin line of sunshine represents hope and with the dog, which represents Candy, in the dark, we can see that there is hope for Candy to turn his life over and if he dares to take a step out of the darkness, as there is an open door, he would have escaped from his loneliness and isolation.

In conclusion, we can see that Candy is trying to avoid to fate of his dog, who is miserable and suffers in silence, by attempting to make friends through various methods, such as gossiping.

Georgina Zeng (38)
Wee Shi Jie (33)
Trish Yeo (32)
Deborah Ong (25)
Ng Jie Qi (20)
Rachel Lee (17)
2GY

2PE-CIANS:
( this is suppose to be handed out on paper to you guys to revise for the test)
Im sorry i have to blog it out, miss lee only made the copies today, afterschool.
I'll give them out to you when school reopens.
I dont think i'll be able to meet the whole class to pass you guys the notes.
So i hope all of you guys read this and print it out on your own.

LEAVE COMMENT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.

2006-03-12T03:52:00.000-08:00

Character Studies

George
The points listed below is what we have seen of George in chapt. 1. Look at chapt. 2 and find evidence to support this.
è Older brother figure – Care-giver
- Protector
- Provider
Does he behave differently towards Lennie? If so, how and why? If not, how?
In his relationship with Lennie, he is the dominant one. In his interaction with others, does he behave superior? Or does he treat others as his equals? Where do you see examples of this? And how does he treat them?
Pay attention to his treatment of others, and examine what that says about him.

Lennie
In what ways does what we see of Lennie in chapt. 2 reflect and support what we have seen of him in chapt. 1.
è Child-like – What aspects of his behaviour in chapt. 2 suggest this?
Why do you think he behaves in the manner?
Does he behave differently? And if so, why do you think
he does?
è Follows George
è Looks up to George
Examine the questions and points raised above, answer them as best as you can to get a fuller picture of Lennie, especially as in chapt. 2 we see how he interacts with people other than George.

Curley & the Boss
Compare and contrast the two
è What do they wear? Is it similar or different?
è How do they treat others?
è Examine the language they use. Is there a difference?
The Boss
è Pg 41 “not a laboring man”
- but in reference to his status, he seems like he actually does work (“soiled brown Stetson hat”)
(“he wore blue jean trousers, a flannel shirt”)
not concerned with appearances, and does not mind getting down and
dirty.
Also, flannel is a rough and cheap material. Commonly used by
laboring men, as it is cheap and would keep them warm during the cold
nights. Also relatively durable, although not as much as denim.
è A fair man
- described as Candy as being ‘pretty nice’ a number of times (pg 41)
- concerned with Lennie being taken advantage of by George
(“You takin’ his pay away from him?” pg 43)

- is aware of what could be going on, implies he’s involved with all his teams and workers.
(“don’t you try to put nothing over, Milton. I got my eye on you.”)
Curley
è Look at his body language. What does that tell you about him? If you cannot visualize it, then take direction from the text and try it in front of a mirror!
From what has been said about the boss, look at the contrasts and similarities with Curley, and do a study on Curley based on that! Compare and contrast!!! What does one tell you about the other?

Curley’s wife
She’s described before we see her, what effect does that have?
When we do see her, how do our impressions of her affect our viewing of her?
Her name. Does she have one? She is constantly referred to as Curley’s wife.
è suggests that she is defined by Curley, and her role as his wife.
è Why isn’t she named?
è Suggests lack of identity?
è Suggests that she is a possession?
è She has been defined by the men, and she’s trying to make her way in a man’s world. Does that explain her looking for attention?
Is she lonely? If so, why?

Slim & Carlson
What is the difference between them? What tells us this?
Examine the way in which they are described.
è Slim – Straightforward in his description. Does that reflect his character? That he is a trustworthy guy, with no hidden agendas? Nothing that you/we have to guess at?
è Carlson – How much of the passage is devoted to describing him? Most of what we can learn about him, comes from the manner in which he interacts with the others. Look especially at the language he uses, and the things that he says. What is his tone?
Is there a rivalry between them? Or a form of competition? Do you think Carlson is jealous of Slim, and the authority he holds? Do you think he attempts to be like him? Or just tries to ‘steal his thunder’? And if so, do you believe Carlson will ever live up to the standards that Slim sets?
As the above pairing, compare and contrast the two, and base your studies on that!

Candy
What strikes you the most about him? His physical abilities!!
è Old
è Lost one hand
è Grubby
è Does he take pride in his appearance? How would he rank in the oder of things at the ranch?
What theme does he relate to? Loneliness and isolation!
è Where can you see this?
è Does he envy the relationship that Lennie and George share?
è Does he try to get companionship? How? Gossip!
è He tries to interact with others by sharing gossip with them. What does that tell you about him?
· Candy’s companion is his old, half blind, and crippled dog. Are there any parallels to be drawn between the two?

2PE, YOUR LIT TEACHER SAYS:
Remember to read and re-read the chapters! Make notes, understand them, and do your own character studies!! Have a good break monkeys!

If you have any pressing questions, email your reps and they’ll get back to me.

Monkey break!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS LOZARS,
GOOD LUCK STUDYING FOR THE DUCK SCIENCE AND LITERATURE TEST DAMNNNN.

if you guys have any problem please leave a comment, i wont be bothered to get a chatterbox i hope everybody reads this, im sorry you guys have to read this on blog.
I wont be able to print this out and hand it to everybody during the hols, so this will really help if you have read this please call up your friends and remind them to read this.

- jovel, literature rep

*i dont think sarah has ms lee's email.
so please comment if you have any questions i'll email her back*

THANK CHEU.