" /> Of Mice and Men Quotes by John Steinbeck - with Analysis

Of Mice and Men Quotes

Of Mice and Men quote about Salinas River In River

A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. Opening words of novella introduce a mood of peacefulness. The words paint an idyllic scene, establishing from the beginning the importance of land and nature to the story. But Soledad is also spanish for ‘lonely’ or ‘solitude’ and this foreshadows the key theme of isolation and loneliness throughout the novella.

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.

“Where we goin’, George?”
The little man jerked down the brim of his hat and scowled over at Lennie. “So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I? Jesus Christ, you’re a crazy bastard!”
“I forgot,” Lennie said softly.

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George loses patience with and verbally abuses Lennie for asking the same question over and over again. This highlights the lack of understanding people had for those with a mentality disability like Lennie.

“That ranch we’re goin’ to is right down there about a quarter mile. We’re gonna go in an’ see the boss. Now, look – I’ll give him the work tickets, but you ain’t gonna say a word. You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we’re set.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George tells Lennie not to speak to the boss. For he knows that if the boss learns of Lennie’s disability, neither of them will get jobs.

“O.K.,” said George. “An’ you ain’t gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed, neither.”
Lennie looked puzzled. “Like I done in Weed?”
“Oh, so ya forgot that too, did ya? Well, I ain’t gonna remind ya, fear ya do it again.”
A light of understanding broke on Lennie’s face.
“They run us outa Weed,” he exploded triumphantly.
“Run us out, hell,” said George disgustedly. “We run. They was lookin’ for us, but they didn’t catch us.”
Lennie giggled happily. “I didn’t forget that, you bet.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. Lennis has no concept of consequences. He doesn’t even remember the wrong he did in Weed, where he was accused of raping a girl after feeling her dress and not letting go. But should George, who keeps dragging Lennie around with him, have taken some action before the big guy wound up killing someone?

“God, you’re a lot of trouble,” said George. “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.”
For a moment Lennie lay quiet, and then he said hopefully, “We gonna work on a ranch, George.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George repeatedly rants about how his life would be better without Lennie, he might even have a girl. He would never actually leave him, but his rants about wanting a life of his own symbolize his feelings of isolation.

“George – why ain’t we goin’ on to the ranch and get some supper? They got supper at the ranch.”
George rolled on his side. “No reason at all for you. I like it here. Tomorra we’re gonna go to work. I seen thrashin’ machines on the way down. That means we’ll be bucking grain bags, bustin’ a gut. Tonight I’m gonna lay right here and look up. I like it.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. The two friends are lying in a field by the river looking up at the stars. In this serene setting they enjoy freedom and peace, in stark contrast to the brutality of life on the ranch. But this beautiful place is also full of foreshadowing, as the river is where the story will end with the peace being shattered by a gunshot.

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.

“Well, we ain’t got any,” George exploded. “Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble…An’ whatta I got,” George went on furiously. “I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George to Lennie. George is furious with Lennie for asking for ketchup. He says he could have an easier life if his friend weren’t around. George often gets annoyed at Lennie, as he has to always look after him and doesn’t really get any time on his own.

“I wisht I could put you in a cage with about a million mice an’ let you have fun.” His anger left him suddenly. He looked across the fire at Lennie’s anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames.

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George threatens to lock Lennie up inside a cage. George often gets angry with Lennie because the physically very strong Lennie cannot control himself. But his anger always fades when he realizes Lennie is handicapped and his compassion for Lennie overtakes him.
I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you - John Steinbeck quote In Friendship

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place…With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.”
Lennie broke in. “But not us! An’ why? Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”

– John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, Chapter 1. George extols the virtues of friendship to Lenny, explaining that they are not like everyone else that work in their profession because they travel together. He reassures him of their special relationship and that they will look after each other no matter what happens. In the novella Steinbeck romanticizes and idealizes male friendships.

“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.
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