Here are some resources to help you get a fuller understanding of the character.
This video, by Mr Bruff, has some really interesting points:
- Candy, like many characters, has a nickname, not a real name. It makes us think of sweet things, but it also sounds like candid, meaning honest and open. In Chapter 2 he confides in George about quite a few others. Look back at that chapter to see what we as readers learn about the boss, Curley, Curley's wife and Crooks through what Candy tells George.
- His relationship with his dog is very much like the bond between George and Lennie. The novel is full of lonely characters and is even set near Soledad. Candy's bond with his dog is a refuge from that. Don't underestimate how devastating the killing of the dog would have been.
- Contextually, Candy represents elderly people and the disabled. Even before the Crash of 1929, America was a place where pensions and welfare support for the elderly did not really exist. During the Depression, things got even worse. As an aging man with only one hand, his future looked incredibly bleak, That's why he was so quick to offer his life savings to strangers in Chapter 3.
Watch the video and make some notes.
In this video, Mr Bruff looks a bit more closely at Candy's name, focusing on how candid he is.
He discusses how Candy can be seen as a fairly undeveloped or 'flat' character, but he raises some interesting points about how he is also the novel's moral compass. If you look again at how he stands up for Crooks against Curley's wife in Chapter 4, this is very persuasive. Here was a disabled, elderly man ("a lousy ol' sheep") standing up against the daughter-in-law of his boss to protect a black man. It's incredibly brave. Give it a listen.
This video is useful because it takes you through some useful key quotes:
This one also has some good exploration of key quotes. Don't worry too much about the intro, as it's for students doing a different exam than you. Pick it up about 1 minute in.
Contextual materials
These two web pages have some very relevant and specific piece of information about how people like Candy would have struggled in the 1930s. They cover elderly people and disabled people.
http://www.oxnotes.com/of-mice-and-men-context-elderly-in-1930s-america-gcse.html
http://www.oxnotes.com/of-mice-and-men-context-disabled-in-1930s-america-gcse.html