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   katemschultz Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

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   The world these men live in is an unsympathetic one and a world were there is no room for sentiment and attachment. Candy has had his dog his the dog was a puppy; the dog is probably the only true friend Candy has. However, since the dog is no longer useful or beautiful, Carlson argues that the dog should be shot and put out of its misery. Candy finally agrees to it, though it is a difficult decision for him to make. This relates to many things we see today--old, beautiful building get torn down because we need something more modern, many older people get put into homes or assisted living facilities because we have no time to take care of them and the issues they may bring with them.

   The dog is also a symbol for Lennie and Candy is a symbol for George. Though Lennie and George have an unusually close friendship for men in this era, Lennie is constantly getting himself and George in trouble and kicked out of jobs. George needs to make the decision as to whether he will kill Lennie or let the angry mob, led by Curly, take his friend's life. Rather than have the same regret Candy did about not being the one to kill his dog, George takes the matters into his own hands, and puts Lennie out of his misery and save him from misery yet to come.

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   Posted by katemschultz on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 4:07 PM