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Similes
Part 4
Explanation and Analysis:
In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck emphasizes both strong emotions and sociopolitical context in order to underscore the human costs of social problems such as poverty and inequality. His style, then, is both personal and political. In conversation with Crooks, Candy speaks passionately about his dream of living on property that he owns alongside George and Lennie:
"Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much. Jus’ som’thin’ that was his. Somethin’ he could live on and there couldn’t nobody throw him off of it. I never had none. I planted crops for damn near ever’body in this state, but they wasn’t my crops, and when I harvested ’em, it wasn’t none of my harvest. But we gonna do it now, and don’t make no mistake about that [...] We’re gonna have a dog an’ rabbits an’ chickens. We’re gonna have green corn an’ maybe a cow or a goat.” He stopped, overwhelmed with his picture.
Candy’s passionate speech reflects Steinbeck’s longstanding interest in social and political themes. Though Candy has worked hard for much of his life, he notes that he has never owned any land that was truly his, which “couldn’t nobody throw him off of it.” He has “planted crops” for almost “ever’body in this state,” but he acknowledges that they were never his own crops, but rather crops owned by others.
Many men like Candy, Steinbeck suggests, are hard-working but lack the opportunity to own property or find stability. As he gets older, Candy grows increasingly anxious that he will be abandoned by his employers when he can no longer work. Here, and throughout the novella, Steinbeck’s style highlights the effects of political policies and social issues on disadvantaged individuals.
Related Themes:
