Of Mice and Men Quotes
"Well--hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him."
An important theme in the story is FRIENDSHIP, and Candy and his dog is a perfect example of this theme. MAN'S BEST FRIEND In the time of the migrant workers, it is important to have a friend (in this case Candy's dog) so that one does not become too lonely.UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Candy's words are significant to the story because it FORESHADOWS an event in the end, which is George killing Lennie. It was hard for him to do it, but he had to do it out of caring. GEORGE LEARNT FROM CANDY'S MISTAKES
"The swamper considered.... 'Well... tell you what. 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. You seen little guys like that, ain't you? Always scrappy?" (26)
CANDY SAYS TO GEORGE the swamper is the one who says this quote and this FORESHADOWS conflict with Curley later in the story which involves Lenny. Finally, its related to the theme of a perfect paradise ruined because Curley's is the one who ruins the paradise by forcing George to kill Lenny because Curley wanted desperately to kill Lenny. Also, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEIGHT HANDICAP
"You go on get outta my room. I ain't wanted in the bunk house, and you ain't wanted in my room." (67)
CROOKS SAID TO LENNIE WHEN LENNIE CAME INTO CROOK'S ROOM because Lennie saw a light. Crooks said this because he feels that if he is not welcome in the bunkhouse, why should he welcome Lennie into his room. This fits into the themes of LONELINESS AND ISOLATION. Because Crooks is alone in his room all the time, he doesn't know how to act when people come into his room. His first reaction is to kick Lennie out because no one from the bunkhouse but Slim has ever come to his room before. This is important because it shows how BLACK people were treated at ranches. Crooks was a nice guy but he was not welcome in the bunkhouse, and was never really acknowledged until this point and he didn't know how to react. RACIAL
"You're nuts." Crooks was scornful. "I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their backs and the same damn thing in their heads." (72)
CROOKS SAYS TO LENNIE IN CROOKS' ROOM after hearing Lennie's description of his land with rabbits. Crooks states that so many men have had this DREAM, but none of other actually achieve their goal. This statement FORESHADOWS future events for Lennie and George and goes with the theme of the AMERICAN DREAM. This is important because George describes the land to Lennie to look forward to some place as they work, but when Crooks tells Lennie that the dream will never be accomplished, Lennie is confused and hints of oncoming events to follow.
"I get lonely," she said. "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley." (Steinbeck 84)
CURLEY'S WIFE SAYS TO LENNIE At the time, GEORGE SAID DON'T TALK TO HER; she is indignant, telling him that she gets lonely too. Curley's wife is looking for some company, and she knows that Lennie is the most likely to listen, even if he doesn't comprehend a word she is saying. This is important because it illustrates the theme of LONELINESS that occurs throughout this book. Almost everyone in the book is lonely: Crooks, Curley's wife, the other migrant workers. Furthermore, this also shows the theme of HANDICAPS that all in this book have. Curley's wife is handicapped because of gender bias and "can't talk to nobody but Curley".
"God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want."
GEORGE SAYS TO LENNIE how easy his life would be without him. George wouldn't have to make sure Lennie stays out of trouble, and he would be able to make a much better living for himself. However George still acknowledges the fact Lennie is important to him because he keeps him company. COMPANIONSHIP AND 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. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to." (15)
GEORGE SAYS TO LENNIE. Lennie asks him if he can "tell him like he done before" and George agrees. Throughout the book, Lennie asks George to say the same story over and over again because he gets excited by the idea that him and George look out for each other and that he "gets to tend the rabbits". RITUAL This quote is the story of a MIGRANT WORKER HANDICAP. The importance of this quote is to show how lonely the life of a migrant worker is (in the book and in real life). The theme of LONELINESS occurs many time throughout the book. Also, the conflict of MIGRANT WORKERS VS. SOCIETY is shown.
"It's a lot nicer to go around with a guy you know" (Steinbeck 35)
GEORGE SAYS TO SLIM George says this quote in response to Slim. SLIM THOUGHT STRANGE 2 MIGRANT WORKERS TRAVEL TOGETHER Slim was musing about the strangeness of two migrant workers traveling together since the stereotype of migrant workers is that they are poor and lonely. This quote explains about the themes of FRIENDSHIP AND COMPANIONSHIP in the novel. George and Lennie demonstrate these two themes in this specific quote with their symbiotic relationship: George takes care of Lennie and Lennie provides companionship for George. This quote shows George defending himself, Lennie, and their relationship.
"Sure he's jes' like a kid. There ain't no more harmin him than a kid neither, execpt he's so strong. I bet he won't come in here to sleep tonight. He'd sleep right alongside that box in the barn." pg.43
GEORGE SAYS TO SLIM This was said by George when he was talking to Slim. At this scene, GEORGE TALKING ABOUT PAST TO SLIM. George had opened up to Slim and had told him about what had happened in Weed. At the moment after that LENNIE TRIED TO SNEAK IN PUPPY. This is important becasue it shows how Lennie is seen by all of the others. He is seen as a child because that is how he acts. The theme that this quote shows is RESPONSIBILITY. It shows how CHILDISH Lennie really is, and that the other workers see it to. It also shows how responsible George needs to be for Lennie, because he can not take care of himself.
"A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya," he cried, "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (71).
In Of Mice and Men, loneliness is an important theme. CROOKS TELLING LENNIE how lonely he is an how lucky Lennie is to have a companion to travel with. This also supports the theme of ISOLATION and the lack of civil rights. Crooks doesn't have a companion, because he is the only African American man on the ranch, and in that time, everything was segregated. He is isolated from everyone else because of the color of he skin, and he just wants someone to talk to. He opens up to Lennie and tries to show him what his lonely life is like by getting Lennie to imagine life without George. Crooks's comment display themes of LONELINESS, isolation, and the lack of civil rights RACIAL HANDICAP. MAN VS. SOCIETY
"We could live offa the fatta the lan'" (chapter 3, page 57).
LENNIE SAYS TO HIMSELF AND GEORGE I think this quote is relevant to the theme of the AMERICAN DREAM because as a migrant worker, Lennie and George do the most work and grow the food, but don't get the rewards of their hard work in return. They want to own the land and receive the rewards of their hard work. They don't have to follow anyone's orders or commands if they are the owners. SAFE PLACE WITH COMPANIONSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP
"A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tale waved frantically."
NARRATOR The opening paragraph of the book describes a small opening in the woods with a pond. The area is an oasis like the GARDEN OF EDEN, but when HUMANS ENTER, the nature changes and EVIL ENTERS. The humans, Lennie and George, disrupt the nature and peace,because they represent evil and sin. The area and nature described in the passage is the beginning and end setting of the book, like a circle.
"Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is."
OWNER OF RANCH SAYS TO GEORGE This quote is from the scene where the owner of the ranch INITIALLY MEETS George and Lennie. From first meeting, the owner observed the FRIENDSHIP and bond that Lennie and George have developed, proving that friendship is a corresponding theme. The owner asks why George always protects Lennie, George responds that Lennie is his cousin. The real reason that George protects Lennie is that they are each others companions. George provides protection and support to Lennie and Lennie provides companionship for George. COMPANIONSHIP is additionally a theme.
"You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me." on page 104 to 105
SLIM SAID TO GEORGE This quote could go anlong with many themes: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, RESPONSIBILITY, and FRIENDSHIP.This quote is important because it ensures George that he made a wise desicion on killing Lenny before the boys could get to him. Slim is heping to COMFORT him and this concludes the ending of the book. END OF DREAM AND END OF BOOK
Lennie said, "Tell about that place, George." "I jus' tol' you, jus' las' night." "Go on—tell again, George." "Well, it's ten acres," said George. "Got a little win'mill. Got a little shack on it, an' a chicken run. Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, apples, peaches, 'cots, nuts, got a few berries. They's a place for alfalfa and plenty water to flood it. They's a pig pen—" "An' rabbits, George." "No place for rabbits now, but I could easy build a few hutches and you could feed alfalfa to the rabbits."
This dialouge that goes on between GEORGE AND LENNIE is very important to the theme and motifs of the novel. This discussion goes on many times when Lennie is nervous, scared, or in need of reassurance. This paticular time occurs in the bunkhouse as Lennie and George are talking, and Candy overhears them. Anyhow, this quote is very vital to the theme of the want for the AMERICAN DREAM. As George describes Lennie and his dreamt-of-paridise, he also describes what most migrant workers wanted in that time period: a place, and a friend (COMPANIONSHIP), to call their own. The RABBITS that Lennie mentions are also a motif. These bunnies represent Lennie's innocence and need for something solid, something to always count on. In this way, these symbols describe one of the major themes of the book, the struggle for the American Dream.
"Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black"(68)
This explains the general role of civil rights in the story. This quote is SAID BY CROOKS,the stories black character, when he's explains TO LENNIE about RACISM and how Crooks is separated from everyone else and isn't allowed to associate with others because he is black. Crooks comes across a lot more LONELINESS than other migrant workers. RACIAL
"Lennie-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...Hide in the brush until I come for you."
This is related to the theme because the BRUSH SYMBOLIZES GARDEN OF EDEN which it is a MOTIF of being the "SAFE PLACE." The thicket also symbolizes the only time in life when you are completly innocent and have no responsibilities, the WOMB. Then again when you DIE. GEORGE SAYS TO LENNIE BEFORE THEY GET TO RANCH. It is important because Lennie is bound to get in trouble, even if he didn't mean it, and they need a safe spot. FORESHADOWS Also it is where George kills Lennie at the end of the story.
"No, Lennie. Look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the place."
This qoute is said by GEORGE TO LENNIE when he and Lennie are sitting near the river and everyone is hunting Lennie, George got to him first and was PREPARING TO SHOOT HIM BY RIVER. He tells Lennie to look out across the river and imagine the place they are going to live. The theme of this qoute is FRIENDSHIP. George believes that he must be the one to kill him to save him from a slower more painful death that the other people would give him, and he also wanted Lennie to die feeling comfortable and happy not knowing what happened to him. He wanted to protect Lennie from any hurt like a true friend.
"I seen the guys that go around on ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the time."
This quote directly points to the loneliness that plauges the migrant workers not only in the Great Depression, but in the present day and throughout history. GEORGE SAYS this in a CONVERSATION WITH SLIM about how it is uncommon for migrant workers to have companionship. LONELINESS is one of the handicaps or disabilities Steinbeck touches upon with this novel, and it's important because each of the characters battles with a handicap in this novel. Loneliness is the handicap that all of the characters share and this quote points out the obvious. Stereotype that migrant workers are LONELY. Being a migrant worker is a handicap.
"S'pose George don't come back no more. S'pose he took a powder and just ain't coming back. What'll you do then?" (69).
This quote was SAID BY CROOKS the Stable Buck TO LENNIE when the rest of the workers on the ranch LEFT FARM TO GO TO TOWN. Crooks wants Lennie to feel the same way he does everyday. Theme has to do with LONELINESS AND ISOLATION. Crooks is trying to show Lennie what it feels like to have NO COMPANIONSHIP.
