Of Mice and Men Quotes 2024

"Of Mice and Men" is a highly influential American novel that emphasizes the importance of friendship. The story of George and Lennie, two migrant ranch workers who travel across America in search of employment, is the source of the quotations from Of Mice and Men.

Amazing Quotations from the Novel Of Mice and Men (2024)

The novel "Of Mice and Men" uses nature to highlight internal character struggle and the ways in which the Great Depression impacted people's goals and aspirations. In other situations, Lennie has even been compared to a bear, a horse, and a terrier.

1. "I've never seen one guy go to such lengths for another. I'm curious about your intentions." - John Steinbeck

2. "Sometimes a man sits alone out here at night, maybe reading books or just lost in thought." - John Steinbeck

3. "He's so crippled with rheumatism. He's no use to you, Candy. And he's no use to himself. Why don't you put him out of his misery?" - Carlson

4. "You don't even remember who that lady was. She was your own Aunt Clara. And she stopped giving them to you. You always ended up killing them."

5. "Lennie dipped his large hand into the water, watching the ripples expand across the pool. 'Look, George. Look what I did.'"

6. "I was just joking, George. I don't want any ketchup. And I wouldn't eat any even if it were right here next to me."

7. "Perhaps everyone in the whole world is afraid of each other." - John Steinbeck

8. "Not many men travel together... I wonder why. Maybe everyone in the whole damn world is afraid of each other." - Slim

9. "I thought you were angry with me, George," Lennie said.

Funny Quotes

10. "God, you're such a handful," said George. "Life would be so easy and pleasant if I didn't have you trailing behind me. I could live comfortably and maybe even find a girlfriend."

11. "Well, we'll have a large vegetable patch, a rabbit hutch, and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say forget about work, and we'll build a fire in the stove and sit around it listening to the rain on the roof." - George

12. "Men like us, who work on ranches, are the loneliest men in the world. We have no family. We don't belong anywhere." - George

13. "Come on in and stay a while," Crooks said. "As long as you won't leave me alone, you might as well sit down."

14. "Although the evening light filtered through the bunkhouse windows, inside it was dim."

15. "And it would be our own place, where nobody could tell us what to do... And if a friend came by, we'd have an extra bunk, and we'd say, 'Why don't you spend the night?' And... he would." - John Steinbeck

16. "You said I was your cousin, George."

17. "He moved with a grace only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen. He was a lead mule skinner, the king of the ranch, capable of guiding ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line. And he could swat a fly on the lead mule's backside with a bullwhip without even touching the mule." - John Steinbeck

Dialogue Quotes

18. "I've seen the guys who work alone on the ranches. It's no good. They don't have any fun. After a while, they become mean. They start wanting to fight all the time." - John Steinbeck

19. "Men like us have nothing to look forward to." - John Steinbeck

20. "Well, I have a right to my own space. Get out of my room. I'm not welcome in the bunkhouse, and you're not welcome in my room." - Crooks

21. "The day was slipping away quickly now. Only the mountain peaks still glowed with the fading sunlight. A water snake slithered across the pool, its head peeking out like a tiny periscope. The reeds swayed gently in the current."

22. "We'll have a large vegetable patch, a rabbit hutch, and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just forget about work, build a fire in the stove, and sit around listening to the rain on the roof – crazy!" - John Steinbeck

George Quotes

23. "We have a future. We have someone to talk to who cares about us. And we don't have to spend our time in a bar just because we have nowhere else to go. If the other guys end up in jail, they can rot for all anyone cares. But not us." - George

24. "I've seen countless men come and go on the roads and ranches, carrying their belongings on their backs and that same dream in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, they leave, and each one of them has a little piece of land in his head. And not a single one of them ever gets it." - Crooks

25. "No," said George. "No, Lennie. I'm not angry. I've never been angry, and I'm not now. That's something I want you to know."

26. "If it were here, you could have some."

27. "If I encounter any man alone, I get along fine with him. But when two guys get together, there's no talking. Just anger. You're all afraid of each other, that's what it is. Each one of you is afraid the others will find something to use against you." - John Steinbeck

28. "But once you're used to being with someone, you can't get rid of them." - John Steinbeck

29. "That dog is no good to itself. I wish someone would put me out of my misery if I ever become old and crippled." - Slim

30. "She's going to cause trouble. There's going to be trouble because of her."

John Steinbeck Quotes

31. "I should've shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't have let a stranger do it." - John Steinbeck

32. "A man sits alone out here at night, perhaps reading books or thinking. Sometimes he gets lost in his thoughts, with nothing to tell him what's true and what's not." - Crooks

33. "And live off the fat of the land... And have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we're going to have in the garden, about the rabbits in the cages, about the winter rain and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it." - Lennie

34. "I've got you to take care of me, and you've got me to take care of you, and that's why." - Lennie

35. "In one month. Exactly one month. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to write to the owners of that place and say we'll take it. And Candy will send a hundred dollars to secure it." - George

36. "Everyone is going to be kind to you. There won't be any trouble. Nobody is going to harm anyone or steal from them." - George

37. "Let's do it now. Let's get that place now."

Deep and Depressing Quotes

38. "I've seen things out here. I wasn't drunk. I don't know if I was asleep. If there was someone with me, they could confirm if I was asleep, and then it would be alright. But I just don't know." - Crooks

39. "If I were smart, even a little bit, I'd have my own little place, and I'd be reaping my own crops, instead of doing all the work and not getting anything out of it." - George

40. "What do you want with a dead mouse anyway? 'I could pet it with my thumb while we walked,' said Lennie"

41. "Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody gets any land. It's all just in their heads. They talk about it all the time, but it's just in their heads." - Crooks

42. "Well, you stay in your place then, N-word. I could easily hang you from a tree, and it wouldn't even be funny." - John Steinbeck

43. "For a couple of dollars, I'd leave here. If we can gather a few dollars, we'll leave and go to the American River to pan for gold. We could make a couple of dollars a day there, and maybe hit a rich vein." - George

44. "Men don't often come into another man's room." - Crooks

45. "Then—is it all off?" Candy asked, sulking. George didn't answer. He said, "I'll work for a month, I'll take my fifty bucks, and I'll spend the night in some lousy brothel. Or I'll sit in some poolroom until everyone goes home. And then I'll come back and work for another month, and I'll have fifty bucks more." - John Steinbeck

Quotes from Lennie

46. "We're going to work on a ranch, George." - Lennie

47. "Don't worry about it," said Slim. "Sometimes a man has to be alone."

48. "There was a weightiness in his demeanor and a silence so profound that all chatter ceased when he spoke. His authority was unquestionable on any matter, be it politics or romance. This was Slim, the lead mule skinner."

49. "If it were here, you could have some." "But I wouldn't eat any, George. I'd save it all for you. You could cover your beans with it, and I wouldn't touch any of it."

50. "As sometimes occurs, a moment settled and lingered, lasting much longer than a mere moment. Sound ceased, and motion ceased for far more than a moment."

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