SYMBOLS

Lennie’s Puppy
Lennie’s puppy is one of several symbols that represent the victory of the strong over the weak.
Lennie kills the puppy accidentally, as he has killed many mice before, by virtue of his failure to recognize his own strength.
Candy’s Dog

The farm that George constantly describes to Lennie, those few acres of land on which they will grow their own food and tend their own livestock, is one of the most powerful symbols in the book.
Candy is immediately drawn in by the dream, and even the cynical Crooks hopes that Lennie and George will let him live there too.

Candy’s dog represents anyone who has outlived his or her purpose. Candy’s attachment to the animal—his plea that Carlson let the dog live for no other reason than that Candy raised it from a puppy—means nothing at all on the ranch. Although Carlson promises to kill the dog painlessly, his insistence that the old animal must die supports a cruel natural law that the strong will dispose of the weak. Candy internalizes this lesson, for he fears that he himself is nearing an age when he will no longer be useful at the ranch, and therefore no longer welcom