John Steinbeck understood and liked people, but he was not sentimental about them. In Of Mice and Men he shows that most of the characters, like human beings in general, have good and bad, kind and cruel, generous and selfish sides to their natures. Candy is not an exception, but he has to keep his darker side hidden because he is old and weak. He can’t afford to antagonize anyone. He is holding on to his precarious position at the ranch in constant fear of being cast out into the cold, cruel world, with no hope of finding another job.