Of Mice and Men vividly portrays George and Lennie’s companionship amidst struggle.
Written during the Great Depression, this classic offers us profound insights into the intrinsic value of friendship in the face of adversity.
Of Mice and Men Quotes With Page Numbers
Of Mice and Men Friendship Theme Analysis
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck presents the theme of friendship in a rather in-depth and vibrant way through the main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small.
The bond between these two characters is highlighted from the start and examined from various angles throughout the story.
- George and Lennie’s outward appearance is mirrored, showcasing their immediate connection. This is exhibited in their way of dressing, where we observe that they are both “dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons” and carry “tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders,” as Steinbeck describes.
- George’s strong influence over Lennie’s behavior is evident in their actions, where Lennie often imitates George. In the opening chapter, Lennie strategically adjusts his hat over his eyes, copying George’s stance, further affirming their bond.
- George assumes Lennie’s guardian role, managing vital elements of their life together, such as keeping their work cards. This aspect of personalities brings out their friendship as one of dependence and responsibility.
- In instances of Lennie’s emotional outbursts, George’s response is initially harsh but swiftly followed by reassurances and caring gestures. This reinforces the deep-rooted friendship tinged with George’s parental role for Lennie.
- The strength of their bond is further illustrated when George assures Lennie that he wants him to stay, even after Lennie has suggested leaving. This dialogue presents their friendship as mutually beneficial; Lennie isn’t merely a responsibility for George but also a companion.
- George consistently vocalizes their loneliness, emphasizing how they are ‘different’ because they have each other’s company. This declaration of unity strengthens the theme of friendship in the novel.
- The dream they share of owning land is a cornerstone of their relationship. It showcases their desire for independence and belonging and highlights their reliance on each other. Throughout their dream, it’s not “I” but “we, ” solidifying the friendship theme.
- Even when Lennie prompts George to narrate their dream, George initially hesitates, reminding Lennie that he could remember it himself. Eventually, however, he relents, highlighting his tendency to indulge Lennie. This give-and-take showcases a dominant aspect of their companionship: George protects and guides, and Lennie, in his own innocent way, provides George with a purpose.
Overall, the friendship theme in Of Mice and Men is presented as an intricate, multifaceted relationship that, while punctuated.
Of Mice and Men Friendship Quotes Chapter 1
“They had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, The Narrator about George Milton and Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Page 2
“Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George’s hat was.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, The Narrator about George Milton and Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Page 4
“He said gently, “George…I ain’t got mine. I musta lost it.” He looked down at the ground in despair.
“You never had none, you crazy bastard. I got both of ’em here. Think I’d let you carry your own work card?”
Lennie grinned with relief.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 5
“He heard Lennie’s whimpering cry and wheeled about. “Blubberin’ like a baby!…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, George Milton and Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Page 11
“I was only foolin’, George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me.”
“If it was here, you could have some.”
“But I wouldn’t eat none, George. I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Lennie and George, Chapter 1, Page 12
“If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.”
“No – look! I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me.”~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Lennie and George, Chapter 1, Page 12
“George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. ‘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 the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 1, Pages 13, 14
“Lennie pleads “Come on, George. Tell me. Please, George. Like you done before.”
“You get a kick outta that, don’t you? Awright, I’ll tell you, and then we’ll eat our supper….”
George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before.
“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.”
Lennie was delighted. “That’s it – that’s it. Now tell how it is with us.”
George went on. “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’ 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.” He laughed delightedly. “Go on now, George!”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton and Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Pages 13, 14
“You got it by heart. You can do it yourself.”
“No, you. I forget some a’ the things. Tell about how it’s gonna be.”
“O.K. Someday – we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and -”
“An’ live off the fatta the lan’,”Lennie shouted. “An’ haverabbits. 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 an 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.”
“Well,” said George, “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!” He took out his pocket knife. “I ain’t got time for no more.” He drove his knife through the top of one of the bean cans, sawed out the top and passed the can to Lennie. Then he opened a second can. From his side pocket he brought out two spoons and passed one of them to Lennie.
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton and Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Pages 14-15
“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.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 14
“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, Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Page 14
“we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 14
“Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, The Boss about George and Lennie, Chapter 2, Page 22
Chapter 2 Quotes
“We travel together,” said George coldly.
“Oh, so it’s that way.”
George was tense and motionless. “Yea, it’s that way.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George and Curley, Chapter 2, Page 25
“Ain’t many guys travel around together,” he mused. “I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Slim, Chapter 2, Page 35
Chapter 3 Quotes
“It ain’t so funny, him an’ me goin’ aroun’ together,” George said at last. “Him and me was both born in Auburn. I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him when he was a baby and raised him up. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 3, Page 39
“Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice fella.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Slim, Chapter 3, Page 40
“I ain’t got no people. I seen the guys that go around on the 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. . . ‘Course Lennie’s a… nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 3, Page 41
“The old man squirmed uncomfortably. “Well – hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him.” He said proudly, “You wouldn’t think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Candy, Chapter 3, Page 45
Chapter 4 Quotes
“Crooks scowled, but Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him. “Come on in and set a while,”
Crooks said. “‘Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down.” His tone was a little more friendly.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Crooks and Lennie Small, Chapter 4, Page 69
“I seen it over an’ over—a guy talkin’ to another guy and it don’t make no difference if he don’t hear or understand. The thing is, they’re talkin’, or they’re settin’ still not talkin’. It don’t make no difference, no difference. […] George can tell you screwy things, and it don’t matter. It’s just the talking. It’s just bein’ with another guy. That’s all.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 71
“A guy needs somebody―to be near him. 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, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Chapter 4, Pages 72, 73
“A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can’t tell. He got nothing to measure by.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 73
“I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a … one of ‘em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out there. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land. It’s just in their head.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 74
“We know what we got, and we don’t care whether you know it or not.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Candy, Chapter 4, Page 79
Chapter 5 and 6 Quotes
“Yeah,” said George. “I’ll come. But listen, Curley. The poor bastard’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He di’n’t know what he was doin’.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 5, Page 98
“Lennie! You can’t remember nothing that happens, but you remember ever’ word I say.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 103
“Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 104
“No,” said George. “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’
I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 104
“Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.”
“Sure right now. I gotta. We gotta.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Lennie Small, Chapter 6, Page 105
“Lennie said, “I thought you was mad at me, George.”
“No,” said George. “No, Lennie, I ain’t mad. I never been mad, and I ain’ now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Lennie Small and George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 106
“Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.”
“Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.”
And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Lennie Small and George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 106
“Curley and Carlson looked after them. And Carlson said, “Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?”
~John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Carlson, Chapter 6, Page 107
What are some examples of friendship in Of Mice and Men?
In John Steinbeck’s iconic novella, ‘Of Mice and Men,’ friendship is a critically portrayed theme that shapes many characters’ experiences.
Several significant examples of friendship exist, most notably between George and Lennie. Despite their apparent emotionless exterior, their bond is profound, highlighted by their ongoing support for each other, especially in challenging times.
Despite occasionally finding Lennie bothersome, George never fails to demonstrate the attributes of a loyal and caring friend. Some other characters, such as Crooks, Curley’s wife, and George, experience intense loneliness, underlining the absence of friendship.
Therefore, Steinbeck uses these contrasting demonstrations of friendship and loneliness to underscore its vital role in people’s lives and the severe emotional impact of its absence.
Who has friendship in mice of men?
In John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men,’ the two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, share a profound friendship. These characters exhibit varying degrees of companionship, further highlighting the crucial role of friendship in coping with hardships and loneliness.