Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Quotes

George's appearence

"The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose."

Lennie's appearence

"Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders."

Animal imagery - Lennie

"He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws."

Animal imagery - Lennie

"Snorting into the water like a horse."

Animal imagery - Lennie

"Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water."

Lennie trying to impress George

"Look, George. Look what I done."

Lennie imitating Geogre

"Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly."

George getting angry at Lennie, Lennie forgetting

"So you forgot that awready did you? I gotta tell you again, do I?"

George being an authorotive figure to Lennie

"Think I'd let you carry your own work card?"

Lennie's innocence and his opinions on mice

"Uh-uh. Jus' a dead mouse, George. I didn' kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead."

George's advice to Lennie

"You just' stand there and don't say nothing."

George giving praise to Lennie and tells him how to remember things

"Good boy. That's swell. You say that over two, three times so you sure won't forget it."

George being angry and shows his life in the 30's

"I could get along so easy and nice if I didn't have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl."

Lennie's innocence

"But Lennie made an elaborate pantomime of innocence."

Animal imagery - Lennie

"Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master."

Description of Aunt Clara and Lennie's behaviour

"An' she stopped givin' 'em to ya. You always killed 'em."

Lennie being innocent and a description of how he kills the mice

"Lennie looked sadly up at him. 'They was so little,' he said, apologetically. 'I'd pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead - because they was so little."

George's feelings and opinions

"If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work an' no trouble. No mess at all."

George's anger and cruelty to Lennie

"You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all the time."

George feeling guilty for how he treated Lennie

"Then he looked ashamedly at the flames."

Lennie being manipulative

"Well, I could. I could go off in the hills there. Some place I'd find a cave."

George caring for Lennie and showing his fear of being lonely

"No - look! I was jus' foolin', Lennie. 'Cause I want you to stay with me."

Lennie want to hear George's story again

"Tell me - like you done before."

Loneliness of the men on the ranch

"Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world."

George and Lennie's relationship

"We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us."

George and Lennie's relationship and care for each other

"...Because I get you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."

George and Lennie's dream

"An' live off the fatta the lan'."

George's plan for Lennie if he gets into trouble

"If you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush."

George and Lennie's dream

"We're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs an - "

Description of Candy's

"The door opened and a tall, stoop-shouldered old man came in."

Candy's disability

"He pointed with his right arm, and out the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand."

Lennie immitating George

"Immediately, Lennie got up and did the same with his bed."

Racism towards Crooks

"Ya see the stable buck's a ******."

Crooks' disability

"Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him."

Racism towards Crooks

"The Boss gives him hell when he's mad."

Proof Crooks is an intellectual

"Got books in his room."

Description of The Boss

"Well, he's a pretty nice fella. Gets pretty mad sometimes, but he's pretty nice."

The men beating Crooks up

"They let the ****** come in that night. Little skinner name of Smitty took after the ******. Done pretty good, too."

The consequences of the fight

"So the ****** got him."

Racism towards Crooks

"Smitty says he woulda killed the ******."

The Boss's appearence

"A little stocky man stood in the open doorway."

Lennie's appearence

"No, he ain't, but he's sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull."

The Boss' reaction to George and Lennie's relationship

"I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin' his pay away from him?"

George's excuse about his relationship about George

"He's my ... cousin. I told his old lady I'd take care of him. He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid."

Slim's appearence

"Big tall skinner."

George's anger

" ' Be a damn good thing if you was.' George said viciously. 'Save ever'body a hell of a lot of trouble.' "

George's anger

"An' I'm damn glad it was. If I was a relative of yours I'd shoot myself."

Curley's appearence

"A young man came into the bunk house ; a thin, young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair."

Description of Curley

"He's a lightweight, and he's handy."

Curley's personality

"Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy."

George's opinion of what will happen if Curley messes around with Lennie

"But this Curley punk is gonna get hurt if he messes around with Lennie."

Curley is cruel

"Seems like Curley ain't givin' nobody a chance."

George's opinion of Curley

"This guy Curley sound like a son-of-a-bitch to me. I don't like mean little guys."

Curley's personality

"Seems like Curley is cockier'n ever since he got married."

Curley's Wife's actions and flirting

"Well - she got the eye."

Curley's Wife's actions and flirting

"I seen her give Slim the eye."

Description of Slim

"Slim's a jerkline skinner. Hell of a nice fella."

Curley's Wife's actions and flirting

"An' I seen her give Carlson the eye."

Candy's opinion of Curley's Wife

"Well, I think Curley's married ... a tart."

George's action

"George stared at his solitaire lay."

What Lennie says

"I don't want no trouble."

George's opinion of Curley

"I hate that kinda bastard."

Description of Curley's Wife

"She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers."

What Curley's Wife says

"Nobody can't blame a person for lookin' "

George's opinion of Curley's Wife

"Jesus, what a tramp."

Lennie's opinion of Curley's Wife

"She's purty."

George's opinion of Curley's Wife's actions

"Yeah, and she's sure hidin' it."

George warning Lennie about Curley's Wife

"Don't you even take a look at that bitch."

George warning Lennie about Curley's Wife

" 'Well, you keep away from her, 'cause she's a rattrap if I ever seen one.' "

Lennie's opinion on the ranch - forshadowing

"This ain't no good place. I wanna get outta here."

Description of Slim

"The prince of the ranch."

Description of Slim

"There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on and subject, be it politics or love."

Carlson's opinion on Candy's dog

"Why'n't you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up?"

Carlson's opinion on Candy's dog

"I can smell that dog a mile away."

Lennie's excitement

"Lennie was watching George excitedly."

George being authorotive

" 'Yeah!' George said, 'I heard him, Lennie, I'll ask him.' "