The most important scene that shows the unjust treatment of this weak character is the discussion of his old dog. The dog is the only living thing Candy trusts and he is also very proud of him "He said proudly, `You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen'-(Steinbeck 59). Candy would never think about killing him although the dog has outlived his usefulness. Carlson, another migrant worker, does not like the dog because it smells. The dog also does not mean anything to him and so, without talking to Candy first, he asks Slim, whose dog just had pups, if he could give one of them to Candy so that his old dog can be shot. This behavior shows the reader that Carlson does not have any respect for Candy or the dog. Of course Candy loves his dog and because the dog was so good once, Candy wants to take care of him until it dies. Carlson asks him repetitively why the dog cannot be shot. He also explains to him in detail how Candy should kill the dog "`If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of his head right -' he leaned over and pointed, `- right there, why he'd never know what hit him- (Steinbeck 60). In the end the reader is shown another thoughtless action, in going against Candy's wishes, Carlson takes the dog out and shoots him. When he comes back in he just sits down on the bed and starts cleaning his gun as if nothing happened.
By showing us how unsure and hopeless this character is, who does not even confide to say "no- to things he does not like, Steinbeck protests against unfair treatment of old people. He wants to tell the reader that old people are, just as all other human beings are worthy of our attention and our respect. So this is one very important theme of protest in the novel.
Another theme of protest in this novel is the subject of racism. Steinbeck created the character of Crooks, the stable buck, to show this injustice to blacks, which was quite normal at the time the action took place.