How does Steinbeck communicate the tension felt by the men as they wait for Candy’s dog to be shot? (OMAM)

Steinbeck uses lots of different methods to create tension and suspense between the men as they wait for the sound of the shot.

At the beginning of this extract, Carlson enters the bunk house and then makes the first comment about Candy’s dog, saying that Candy has to ‘get him outta here’ because there’s ‘nothing that stinks as bad as an old dog’ Candy is apologetic and Carlson continues to insult the old dog whilst the reader empathises towards Candy and the dog for being attacked like this. Candy tries to explain that he’s had him so long and he ‘never noticed how he stinks’ but Carlson is relentless in his argument and he brings forth the option of having the dog shot for the first time.

The preposition of the dogs’ death makes Candy feel uncomfortable and although he tries to put up a fight against the idea of the dogs death, he is immediately shut down again by Carlson, who tries to get Candy to see his point of view by saying that the dog ‘suffers hisself all the time’ and at this point, Carlson actually physically shows Candy where he would shoot the dog so that Candy is assured that it would suffer no pain. When Candy next speaks, Steinbeck uses the word ‘softly’ as an adjective to describe the way he explains that he has ‘had ‘im too long’ and he’s ‘so used to him’ as if to suggest that he knows he will not win the argument and his actions betray his nervousness about the situation.

Carlson continues trying to persuade Candy to agree with him by saying that he ‘ain’t bein’ kind keepin’ him alive,’ and even offers him one of Slim’s pups as a replacement. At this point, Slim joins the argument, taking a much more relaxed approach, but backs Carlson’s idea of killing the dog. Steinbeck writes how ‘Slim’s opinions were law’ which shows how much authority Slim must have over the men, causing Candy to look helplessly around and feebly try to state his argument once more, knowing for sure now, that the argument was lost. He tries to gain sympathy from the other men by voicing his worry that shooting the dog might cause it pain, but Carlson once again assures him that ‘the way he’d shoot him, he wouldn’t feel nothing’. This makes Candy feel even more helpless.

Before the argument can continue, a new character, Whit, is introduced and this brings a sense of relief into the situation as the subject is changed from that of Candy’s dog to the magazine in his hand and as Whit makes Slim read something aloud from the magazine, it takes both Slim and Candy’s mind away from the debate.

After Slim had read the extract from the magazine, and after some slight confusion, Whit brought their attention to the author of the extract and Steinbeck writes that ‘Whit did not surrender his hold on it’ indicating that he is holding onto the memory of the person as if he usually does not have many good memories.

 

As the conversation about the magazine dies out, Carlson, who ‘had refused to be drawn in’ by this story had been noticed by Candy as he was watching Carlson ‘uneasily’ giving the impression that he was reluctant to start up the argument again, however, Carlson does, by suggesting that he shoots the dog again. After a few more unsuccessful attempts at arguing back, Candy finally says ‘‘Awright – take ‘im.’ Steinbeck writes this sentence cleverly, in my opinion, because the careful use of punctuation allows the reader to hear Candy saying it with reluctance and bitterness at finally being defeated. As soon as he says this the tension starts to build as he lies down on his bed, facing the ceiling in silence.

As Carlson takes the dog, you can feel that the atmosphere has changed between the men as Carlson is suddenly ‘apologetic’ and promising that the dog ‘won’t even feel it’ as if trying to console Candy, even though he was the one to upset him. Candy remains silent as the dog is lead from the room, and although it is not written, this silence expresses Candy’s emotion perfectly. To make the situation worse, Slim reminds Carlson to ‘take a shovel’ making the situation more realistic. At these words, the tension is thickened as Carlson leaves the room.

Steinbeck then goes on to personify the silence by saying it ‘came into the room and lasted’.  George tries to change the subject to Lennie and his new pup and, trying to consolidate Candy, Slim once again offers Candy a new pup. Again, Candy remains silent and the other men ‘trail off’ as if they knew that no one was actually listening. This time, Steinbeck writes that ‘the silence came out of the night and invaded the room’ which describes the silence as something evil and unwanted. George, trying to break this new, denser silence suggests they ‘play a little euchre’ and although Whit agrees to this suggestion, they never get around to playing, as it is apparent that they are all waiting for the sound of the shot.

After a while a small gnawing sound can be heard from under the floor and it is written that they ‘looked down towards it gratefully.’ I think Steinbeck has used the word ‘gratefully’ because it was an excuse to take their mind away from the ‘invading’ silence, thick tension and awkward atmosphere. Just then, Whit remembered that they were supposed to be playing euchre and he reveals his edginess by saying ‘What the hell’s takin’ him so long? Lay out some cards, why don’t you?’ This outburst shows that his nerves are on edge and he cannot take the tension much longer, so he wants to do something to take his mind off of the situation.

Finally, after what seems an age of silence, there is a shot in the distance and, as if they are all expecting a reaction from Candy, their heads turn in unison to face him, but all Candy does it turn to face the wall, still in silence. Although Candy does not say anything, his action symbolizes the sadness he feels about losing his only companion, as the old dog was all he had left in the world and as Candy faces the wall, the tension in the room breaks and everyone returns to normality, although the reader feels sympathy towards Candy as he is now alone.

I think that the ways that Steinbeck communicates the tension in the situation is extremely effective, because as the reader goes through the extract, it is possible to vividly visualize what is happening and hear the way characters are saying things, allowing the reader to share the tension and awkwardness felt by the other men.