Of Mice and Men Animal Quotes

The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. While George and Lennie dressed the same, that’s where the similarities end. George was small, Lennie on the other hand was huge. They may be friends, but we know they are not equal, as one walks behind the other, like a follower behind a leader. Lennie, the follower, is compared to an animal, a bear – a massive and sometimes violent creature.

George’s hand remained outstretched imperiously. Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again. George snapped his fingers sharply and Lennie laid the mouse in his hand. “I wasn’t doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ strokin’ it.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. This shows the relationship between George and Lennie. George has taken on the role of father to the simple, childlike Lennie who likes to catch mice and pet them. But because he can’t control his own strength, Lennie accidentally kills the pet mice that he hides from George inside his pockets.

He heard Lennie’s whimpering cry and wheeled about. “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you!” Lennie’s lip quivered and tears started in his eyes. “Aw, Lennie!” George put his hand on Lennie’s shoulder. “I ain’t takin’ it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. Though a big man, Lennie is like a child. But he doesn’t know his own strength and when he pets mice usually ends up killing them. George really cares for him and there is a strong bond between them. But the relationship is a bit like a master and his dog, with George sometimes being very mean to Lennie, and then again very sympathetic.

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. I wish’t we’d get the rabbits pretty soon, George. They ain’t so little.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. Lennie explains to George about the killing of the mice. Many creatures do not survive Lennie’s grasp. This foreshadows what will eventually happen to Curley’s wife.

“An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” Lennie shouted. “An’ have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that George.”
“Why’n’t you do it yourself? You know all of it.”
“No…you tell it. It ain’t the same if I tell it. Go on…George. How I get to tend the rabbits.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. Lennie asks George to tell him about their dream farm, as they spend a night in the open air in the woods by the river before starting work at the ranch.
We'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens - John Steinbeck quote In Rain

“We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof – nuts!

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George talks to Lennie about his version of the American Dream, a place they can call their own where they have the freedom to work or not and come and go as they please. It is a dream that will never come to pass.

The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heels there walked a dragfooted sheep dog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat. The swamper watched him until he was settled. “I wasn’t listenin’. I was jus’ standin’ in he shad a minute scratchin’ my dog.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 2. Candy has a very close relationship with the old dog, a bit like George’s friendship with Lennie.
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