The novella “Of Mice and Men” is set in 1930’2 America during the Great Depression, a time when many people lost everything including homes and jobs and consequently forces to live an itinerant lifestyle, moving from place to place. People were lonely, isolated and without security: Unable to build a life for themselves. The American Dream has died with them – it’s a myth. Crooks and Candy are two characters who are symbols of the victims of the Great Depression – they are both lonely and discriminated against by not only those on the ranch but by others in the society they lived in.
Crooks and Candy are practically charity cases. Candy lost one hand in farm machine and Crooks had his spine badly injured by a horse. At the time in which the events of the story occur, employers had no legal liability for work injuries. (Since then there has been considerable legislation mandating workman's compensation insurance, and there are other federal measures protecting people who are no longer capable of supporting themselves.) The owner of the ranch must have felt some moral responsibility for the work accidents, because he kept these two men on and gave them jobs to do. But both of them feel terribly insecure. They are well aware of the fact that once they are unable to perform their simple chores they will be discharged. That is why Candy is so anxious to become a partner with George and Lennie in their project to buy a small farm and be self-sufficient. It also explains why Crooks wants to get in on the project himself once he hears about it. Neither of them has any other viable options. It is only a matter of time before they will become useless to the hard-hearted, practical-minded boss, who shows himself for what he is when he first meets George and Lennie in Chapter 2.
These men's handicaps have affected their characters. They have to be humble, courteous, industrious, accommodating, and inconspicuous. Crooks has learned to stay by himself and entertain himself because all the men are automatically prejudiced against him for being black. However, he has an advantage over Candy. Crooks is quite capable of working with horses. This is understandable and rather touching. He has to make friends with the horses because he has no human friends. Not only that, but Crooks can save the owner money by repairing all the equipment used for working with horses. Candy is white and is accepted in the bunkhouse, although he obviously has a lower status than the other men; but his physical handicap is very serious. He is supposed to do sweeping, mopping, and scrubbing--and how can he do such tasks with only one hand?
Candy is speaking for all working men who get injured on the job when he tells George:
"I got hurt four years ago. They'll can me purty soon. Jus' as soon as I can't swamp out no bunkhouses they'll put me on the county. . . . You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs."
The ranch owner gave him $250 as a token compensation when he lost his hand. Crooks probably got nothing at all, and he may not receive any salary but is expected to be grateful to have a roof over his head and regular grub.
Both of these men have