”The Candlestick” is an interview with a sixty-year-old American called George Malley. George is being interviewed about his opinion on the American Dream – the dream of going to America, and being able to accomplish your dreams, to let them come true.
George has lived a life without welfare, but he states that most of his life he has “been content, well-adjusted, active – successful”, (P. 51, l. 4) even though his family did not have a lot of money, and he have been working or studying the most of his entire life. He does not really see a bright American dream anymore, just “a dream without lustre” as he says it. But he still finds it hard to find an attractive place anywhere else than America to fulfill ones dreams.
He tells about an episode from his childhood where his mother had been polishing a brass candlestick, which had been forgotten for years, and of course suffered because of the lack of maintenance – it was black and pale to look at. His mom got it shined up, and now it looked beautiful. But now there is a dilemma. Should they coat it with some protecting stuff from a tin and let it lose its shine, or just polish it once every week? They decide to let it be, and polish it once a week, instead of letting it go dull to the eye.
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