We studied how Steinbeck combines the Naturalist genre and biblical allegory , focusing on the character of Slim. Joshua studied the textual descriptions of Slim as "authoritative , and having an understanding beyond knowledge and words" and aptly concluded that allegorically Slim was deistic emphasized by his refusal to intervene in the euthanizing of Candy's dog. We discussed how within the Naturalist genre the external forces that "kill" do so without sentiment or reason. Joshua continues to make incisive comparisons to " A Farewell to Arms" also a Naturalistic novel. We further explored how the euthanizing of Candy's aged dog represents society's discarding of the weak and the old after it has no further use for them.