Key Quotations/Ideas - Carlson Flashcards
Carlson’s plot function?
~He shoots Candy’s dog🐶
~He turns on Curley which leads to Lennie crushing his hand.
~He owns the German Luger (gun)🔫 which is used to kill Lennie.
~He has the final line of the novel.
A quote to describe Carlson’s appearance…
‘A powerful, big stomached man’.
Discourse function of Carlson?
~Represents the average, unskilled and unintelligent farm labourer in the 1930s.
~Voice the capitalist view that those who are no longer productive or a benefit to society are ready to die.
~Raises the utilitarian question of whether it is morally right to put living beings out of their misery (through shooting Candy’s dog)
~Through Carlson, we see Steinbeck’s disagreement with the fact that we are encouraged to believe that a life of obsession over economic productivity is the only possible life.
What does Carlson say to convince Candy to let him shoot his dog?
‘He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself.’
What is Carlson’s final line (the final line of the novel)?
‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’
What is the significance of Carlson’s final line?
It is the last line of the play, and it shows his great lack of emotional intelligence and inability to sympathise with other characters.
Steinbeck suggests that at the time in which the novel takes place, most men would react in such a way, as Carlson represents the typical ranch worker.
How do we know that Carlson is suspicious of George?
He says “an’ you got it away from him and you took it an’ you killed him?”
Because there is no reporting clause in this speech it implies that the line was probably said quickly and suspiciously.
What does Carlson’s line “Jesus, how that nigger can pitch shoes.” tell us how he feels?
It tells us that he doesn’t like that a black person is better than him or more useful.
