After Lennie and George arrrive at the bunkhouse in
Chapter 2 of Of Mice and Men, they encounter an old man who has
been sweeping the floors. He is rather gruff with
them,
"The
boss was expectin' you last night,....He was sore as hell when you wasn't here to go out
this morning....You can have them two bunks near the
stove."
When George objects
to the bunk because he finds a can of bug spray, the old swamper hedges in his answer
saying repeatedly, "Tell you what" and pauses in between phrases. As George inquires
why one man quit, the old man says,
"Why...he...just quit, the way a guy
will."
He is reluctant to
divulge any information and is cautious George and Lennie. But, finally, he warms to
their company and is happy to have someone with whom to talk, relating information about
the boss. However, when the boss arrives, the old swamper, Candy, looks quickly at him,
and then "shuffled to the door rubbing his whiskers with his knuckles as he went." He
tells the stocky little man that the men have just
arrived.
Much like his old dog, Candy, the old swamper is
kept around because he is old and cannot work anywhere else. He stays and cleans while
the other men go out during the day. As quickly as he warms to George, Candy is
probably rather lonely. Still, he is careful not to divulge any information which could
get him in trouble with the boss, an action that indicates his insecurity although his
telling about Crooks suggests that Candy does feel superior to
someone.
The awkward dialogue among the men in Chapter 2
illustrates the alienation of the migratory worker who must be cautious around
strangers.
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