Of Mice and Men Annalysis

Of Mice and Men Reading Prompt In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Carlson’s reasons for and Candy’s reasons against shooting Candy’s dog are similar to George’s shooting of Lennie because both reasons are sensible and compassionate. At first, Carlson’s reasons for shooting Candy’s dog are shallow, but as the scene progresses, deeper reason’s can be found, those of logic and mercy. These reasons can be found in a line of Carlson’s when he says “He ain’t no good to you Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself.” (Pg. 44) The first sentence of this line is the ‘logical’ part, when he says the dog isn’t good for Candy anymore. The dog was slowing Candy down in its old age, and becoming an inconvenience, no matter that Candy didn’t mind it. The obvious solution would be to put the dog down. Carlson’s second sentence would be the reason born of mercy. “An’ he ain’t no good to himself.” This line gives the reader a sense of how bad off the dog is, and how Carlson shooting it would really be putting it out of its misery. Candy’s reasons against shooting his dog are rather obvious. He’d become used to the dog; it had become an old friend of his. Candy’s dismay and reluctance are similar to George’s because neither of them wanted to lose a friend that they’d become so attached. However, like George, Candy eventually gives in as he realizes death as the much kinder action. This leads in to how Carlson’s reasons for shooting the dog are similar to George’s for shooting Lennie. Lennie’s immense strength coupled with his childish mind was a major conflict in the story and the cause of most of the problems he and George dealt with. George had sort of taken on the responsibility of Lennie’s keeper and as a result, was forced to travel and move from place to place very often, running from Lennie’s mistakes. Lennie was not good for George, no matter how much George loved him. Shooting Lennie was the logical thing for him to do, as well as merciful, especially considering what was waiting for Lennie if he was found by anyone else. Lennie wither would’ve been locked up or shot by Curley painfully. Besides, after allowing his dog to be put down by Carlson, Candy told George about how he should’ve shot his own dog himself, and he shouldn’t have let a stranger do it. For these reasons, Carlson’s reason for and Candy’s reasons against shooting Candy’s dog are similar to George’s shooting of Lennie.