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I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.
This quote is a crucial line in Of Mice and Men, as it foreshadows George’s decision at the end of the novel. Candy regrets allowing Carlson to put down his dog rather than doing it himself, recognizing that, as the dog’s lifetime companion and caretaker, the loving and honorable thing to do would have been to take on the responsibility of ending the dog’s life himself. Instead, he allowed an uncaring stranger to do it. George learns a vital lesson from Candy – in the harsh world of the ranch, where Lennie is fated to die, it is better for it to be at the hands of someone who loves him rather than those who want to see him suffer. When George kills Lennie, it is a mercy blow – George can be seen as completing an act of compassion and morality, despite the fact that he is ending Lennie’s life.
Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much. Jus’ som’thin’ that was his. Som’thin’ he could live on and there couldn’t nobody throw him off of it. I never had none.
Candy states the universal wish of the working men in Of Mice and Men – to have a small piece of property that they own, which will allow them to live a simple life where they have control of their own land, work, and schedule. This wish may seem humble, but it is one that most Great Depression-era migrant ranch workers will never achieve. Both Candy and George must eventually come face-to-face with the painful truth that they will never be free from the cyclical grind of migratory hard labor. Through the stories of the most vulnerable people on the ranch, the novel critiques the empty promise of the American dream of class mobility, which may seem temptingly within reach but in reality, will never be achieved by the vast majority of the American people.
“Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart.” He sniveled, and his voice shook. “I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.”
After Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife, Candy, perhaps unfairly, blames Curley’s wife for the destruction of their plans to buy a farm together. Curley’s wife sought conversations and attention from the ranch workers because she was ultimately just as lonely as the rest of them, but due to gender biases, Candy sees her as a loose woman hoping to stir up trouble in the form of temptation. He can’t understand that she, just like him, is also a victim of difficult circumstances. Sadly, the most marginalized characters in the novel – Crooks, Candy, Lennie, and Curley’s wife – do not all band together in solidarity over their shared grievances. Instead, they ignore each other’s pain, further isolate themselves, or turn to threats and meanness in an attempt to get a miniscule taste of power.
