Explore the ways a writer develops Candy in Of Mice and MenThis task requires you to write an essay, of around 1500 words, exploring the character of Candy in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. In this essay you need to show that you:

Know the novel in detail Are able to select quotations imaginatively Can explore Steinbeck’s choices of language, form and structure Can explore how Steinbeck uses the character of Candy to comment on

American society in the 1930s. Can explore what Candy’s character adds to the effect of the novel as a whole.

Assessment FocusesIn order to achieve a Band 5, your essay needs to demonstrate the follow qualities:

‘Sophisticated interpretation of texts’:o To achieve this, look at Candy in a range of ways; as

well as exploring his character, analyse what effects Steinbeck creates with him. You will not achieve this if you simply retell the story.

‘Sophisticated engagement with writers’ ideas and attitudes’o A good way to achieve this is to explore how Steinbeck

uses Candy to comment on society in America, and on the American Dream

‘Sophisticated interpretations using imaginatively selected supporting textual detail.’

o You can achieve this by using a wide range of short quotations. The best candidates will find really interesting points of comparison between quotations from different parts of the text. These quotations will be ‘embedded’ into your writing.

Sophisticated analysis of aspects of language and structure.o You will look for patterns in how Steinbeck uses

language, and be able to comment on why he has chosen to use language in a specific way.

Essay Structure:

1. Introduce Candy, his role in the novel - give quick overview: what does he represent ?

2. Analyse first meeting & shooting doga. First meeting: mysterious, nameless character

i. Gothic - lost hand (becomes important motif in the novel)

ii. Avoids conflict - interaction with Georgeb. Shoot the dog:

i. Compare him with how Carlson is presentedii. Note his defence of his dog - weak, but we are sympathetic to

him.1. Destruction of dog is important for themes in the novel:

a. Value (only something that can work is valuable)

b. Justicec. Friendship can cause sufferingd. Fate is beyond our control

3. Planning the farm:a. Note that this scene is arguably the emotional high-point of the novelb. Explore characterisation of Candy

i. Takes the two by surprise - note adjectives - ‘excitedly’, confidence to interrupt George

c. Explore monologue on p66i. Value and workii. Fear of being put ‘on the county’iii. Note the climax of the scene in Candy’s statement that he

shouldn’t have let George shoot his dog: consider its how it foreshadows Lennie’s death

d. Think about how in this scene the three men enter into the American Dream (which has been hinted at several times, such as in the magazines the men read)

e. Remember the point that was made about the ‘symphony of loneliness’: this is the most powerful evocation of friendship in the novel.

4. In Crooks’ cabin:a. In this scene, Candy seems at last to have found some confidence

and strengthi. Look at his monologue on pp 83-84: ‘they wasn’t my crops... it

wasn’t my harvest’: importance of self-sufficiency and pride: independence

ii. This is also significant in that it allows an insight into the life of an itinerant labourer who has spent his life working in California

b. Explore how he has the confidence to face up to Curley’s wife (although you might think this is simply him lashing out at a character who is weaker than he) - look in particular at 87

c. In the structure of the novel this scene is important: firstly, it marks the final episode before the tragic climax of the novel, but it ends on a sour note as Crooks retracts his offer of help on the new farm.

5. With Curley’s Wife in the barna. This final episode at the farm is significant because it is our last

meeting with Candy.i. Look at how he speaks to George - the confidence of the

preceding chapter has evaporatedii. His final monologue (p104) brings him full-circle: his dreams

are shattered1. Note the choice of descriptive epithets:

a. ‘Old Candy’b. the reminder of his stump

c. This marks the importance of fate in the book: Candy’s tragedy is the result of forces beyond anything he can control.

d. He has reverted to the old, hopeless character who began the novel.

6. In concluding your essay, explore what Candy brings to the novel as a whole, especially in how he allows Steinbeck to explore the American Dream.