Tim Kendall

Per. 4
4/20/09

Of Mice And Men

“...George raised the gun and steadied it...the hand shook violently...but his face set and

his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger” (Steinbeck, 106). The book Of Mice and Men, written

by John Steinbeck is full of symbolism, motifs, and themes. One of the prevalent themes in this

novel is the theme of mercy. The book revolves around the idea of killing, but not by the normal

incentives of rage, anger, and hate but out of mercy. The theme of mercy is portrayed by Candy,

Candy’s dog, and Lennie.

The theme of mercy is represented by the old man Candy. In the novel Candy is “[an]

old...” and crippled swamper (Steinbeck, 24). Because Candy lost his right hand and also be-

cause he is old, he is not much use at the ranch. The boss lets him continue to work on the ranch

even though Candy admits, “ ‘[he] ain’t much good with on’y one hand’ ” (Steinbeck, 59).

Candy is a kind of outcast among the other ranch hands and is worried that the boss will get rid

of him and kick him off the ranch. “ ‘When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me’ ”

Candy murmured, because he knows that once he is canned “ ‘[he] won’t have no place to go...’

” which will be worse than being dead (Steinbeck, 60). When he hears of George and Lenny’s

plan for their farm he is immediately excited, “ ‘S’pose I went in with you guys...’ ” he suggests

(Steinbeck, 59). After the death of his dog, his life time companion, the dream of the farm is

something to keep his spirits up. During their time on the ranch George, Lennie, and Candy be-

come companions and are all united by the dream of the farm. Their companionship is shown

when after Lennie kills Curly’s wife, George asks Candy if he will pretend like he “ ‘..never seen

her’ ” so he won’t be blamed. Candy readily agrees to help him and responds, “ ‘Sure, George.

Sure I’ll do that’ ” (Steinbeck, 95). Candy represents the theme of mercy by the kindness Lennie

and George show to him by allowing him to be part of their dream of the farm. Furthermore, he
 Tim Kendall
Per. 4
4/20/09

represents mercy by being old and crippled and at the “mercy” of the boss to keep him on the

ranch.

Consequently, the theme of mercy is represented by Candy’s dog. Candy’s dog is very

old and sick in it’s old age, much like Candy himself. The ‘ “...dog...is so God damn old he can’t

hardly walk. Stinks like hell, too’ ” (Steinbeck, 36). The author reveals that the dog is probably

in pain and is an unpleasant animal to have around the other workers. Although Candy has “

‘...been around him so much that [he] never notice[s] how he stinks...’ ”, the other ranch hands,

especially Carlson, despise having the dog around (Steinbeck, 44). During one part of the novel

Carlson asks, “‘Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?” (Steinbeck, 44). Even though it would be mer-

ciful to the dog Candy argues that he “ ‘...[was the] best damn sheep dog [he] ever seen’ ” and

that he ‘“...had ‘im ever since he was a pup”’ (Steinbeck 24, 44). Candy has “ ‘...had ‘im to

long...’ ” and says “ ‘...[he] couldn’ do that’ ” (Steinbeck, 45). He has a hard time letting go of

the dog even though it is probably the most merciful thing to do for it. Carlson insists that the “

‘...ol’ dog jus’ suffers hisself all the time...’ ” and offers to “ ‘...shoot him for [Candy]’ ” (Stein-

beck, 45). Getting desperate, Candy turns to Slim, who agrees that “ ‘...[the] dog ain’t no good

to himself..’ ” Candy final gives in and allows Carlson to take his dog away and kill him.

Candy’s dog is killed out of mercy and also because it has outlived it’s usefulness.

Finally, the theme of mercy is represented by George’s lifelong companion and friend,

Lennie. In the novel, Lennie is helpless due to a mental handicap he was born with and is com-

pletely reliant on George to guide him. We find out that George “ ‘[u]sed to play jokes on ‘im...’

” because “ ‘..he was to dumb to take care of ‘imself’ ” (Steinbeck, 40). ‘ “[W]hat made

[George] stop...’ ” was one time he told Lennie to “ ‘[j]ump in[to]’ ” a river, “ ‘...[a]n’ he jumps’ ”

(Steinbeck, 40). Lennie “ ‘..near drowned’ ” and “ ‘...was so damn nice to [George] for pullin’
 Tim Kendall
Per. 4
4/20/09

him out” ’ that George stopped playing jokes on him (Steinbeck, 40). At that point George real-

ized that he should be merciful to Lennie because of his mental disability. Later on in the novel

there is a scene where George is angry at Lennie for ‘ “...keep[in] [him] shovin’ all over the

country all the time” ’ (Steinbeck, 11). George goes on about how Lennie “ ‘...lose[s] [him] ever’

job [he] get[s]’ ” and how he could “ ‘...live so easy’ ” if he was alone (Steinbeck, 11). After this

George sees “...Lennie’s anguished face...” and is “...asham[ed]” (Steinbeck, 11). George knows

that “ ‘...somebody’d shoot...’ ” Lennie if he was by himself and tells him that he “ ‘...want[s]

[him] to stay with [him]’ ” (Steinbeck, 12). This is another act of mercy on George’s part be-

cause he wants to protect Lennie even though he could easily let him go. Lennie and George

can be looked at as dog and master, with Lennie being the dog and George as the master. This

can be seen when George asks Lennie to hand over a mouse and Lennie acts “...like a terrier

who doesn’t want to bring a ball to it’s master..” (Steinbeck, 9). Candy and his dog were also

lifelong companions which ended with Candy’s decision to put him out of his pains of old age.

Not surprisingly, at the end of the novel, George makes the same decision to kill Lenny because

he believes it is the best thing for him. Both of these acts of mercy directly relate to each other

and the overall theme of mercy.

Candy, his dog, and Lennie symbolize the theme of mercy in this novel. Mercy is quote,

“Kind and compassionate treatment...A disposition to be benevolent and forgiving” (Webster’s II

New Riverside Dictionary, 441). I understand that killing Lennie and Candy’s dog may have

been a kind and compassionate thing to do, but it still makes me sad to see their lives ended.

Who knows what they would have chosen if they had been able to decide for themselves.