Gym Candy

Strength and weakness appear in many forms in Gym Candy. On the football field, physical strength and speed are Mick’s greatest assets. The willingness to grind through exhaustion during a tough game involves mental strength. Physical weakness, and mental fragility, are liabilities to a football player. Weakness manifests in the novel in more ways than strength does. Mick’s father lies to Mick about his NFL past because he is embarrassed and does not want his son to learn the truth before he has to. Mick gives in to the temptation to use steroids out of an insecurity that he will never be good enough to be a star running back. The steroids then lead him to episodes where is out of control—another type of weakness. As the novel ends, it is clear that Mick still has struggles ahead of him; he knows he will be tempted to use steroids again, and will be in a situation where he will have to choose between the physical strength the drugs imbue or the emotional strength of resisting.