Why risk everything for a friend who’s nothing but trouble, or pet soft things until they break?
Explore the desperate ache of loneliness and the fierce, fragile bonds forged in hardship through these 53 defining quotes from Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
This collection captures the soul of George and Lennie’s doomed dream, organized by chapter with page numbers, guiding you straight to the heart of the novella’s power.
Walk alongside Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife as their words reveal the crushing weight of isolation and the dangerous, sometimes fatal, need for connection.
*Heads up! Check the note at the end about where these quotes came from and why your page numbers might wander.*
Chapter 1: Dreams Take Root by the Salinas River
Steinbeck sets the scene, introducing the central duo and the powerful dream that fuels their journey south.
“A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down the river.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator, Chapter 1, Page 2, Theme: Setting, Nature)
“Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator, Chapter 1, Page 2, Theme: Setting, Nature, Foreshadowing?)
“You never oughta drink water when it ain’t runnin’.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 3)
Get deeper into George’s practical mindset with these lines: 25 George Milton Quotes From Of Mice and Men
“You never had none, you crazy bastard. I got both of ’em here. Think I’d let you carry your own work card?”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 5, Theme: Responsibility, Foreshadowing)
“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.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 7, Theme: Burden, Dreams, Conflict)
“Trouble with mice is you always kill ’em.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 13, Theme: Foreshadowing, Lennie’s Nature)
“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, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Pages 13-14, Theme: Loneliness, Migrant Life)
“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, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 14, Theme: Friendship, Dreams, Hope, Exceptionalism)
“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, (Character: Lennie Small, Chapter 1, Page 14, Theme: Friendship, Dependence, Reciprocity)
“we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 1, Page 14, Theme: The Dream, Hope, Simplicity)
The pair arrives at the ranch, stepping into a world of new faces and potential dangers.
Chapter 2: Welcome to the Ranch – New Faces, Old Fears
Meet the inhabitants of the bunkhouse – Candy, the Boss, the volatile Curley, his lonely wife, and the respected Slim.
“At about ten o’clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator, Chapter 2, Page 18, Theme: Setting, Atmosphere)
“A little stocky man stood in the open doorway. He wore blue jean trousers, a flannel shirt, a black, unbuttoned vest and a black coat. His thumbs were stuck in his belt, on each side of a square steel buckle. On his head was a soiled brown Stetson hat, and he wore high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a laboring man.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator about The Boss, Chapter 2, Page 20, Theme: Character Introduction, Status, Authority)
“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, (Character: The Boss, Chapter 2, Page 22, Theme: Suspicion, Loneliness, Rarity of Friendship)
“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.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Candy, Chapter 2, Page 26, Theme: Insecurity, Aggression, Prejudice)
Learn more about the aging ranch hand’s observations: read Candy’s poignant words.
“Never did seem right to me. S’pose Curley jumps a big guy an’ licks him. Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says the big guy oughtta pick somebody his own size, and maybe they gang up on the big guy. Seems like Curley ain’t givin’ nobody a chance.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Candy, Chapter 2, Pages 26-27, Theme: Injustice, Bullying, Power Dynamics)
Understand the ranch boss’s son better through quotes defining his actions: see quotes revealing Curley’s aggression.
“This was Slim, the jerkline skinner. His hatchet face was ageless. He might have been thirty-five or fifty. His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought. His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator about Slim, Chapter 2, Pages 33-34, Theme: Character Introduction, Wisdom, Respect, Natural Authority)
“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, (Character: Slim, Chapter 2, Page 35, Theme: Loneliness, Fear, Observation)
“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Slim, Chapter 2, Page 35, Theme: Loneliness, Fear)
“Lennie rolled off the bunk and stood up, and the two of them started for the door. Just as they reached it, Curley bounced in. “You seen a girl around here?” he demanded angrily. George said coldly, “‘Bout half an hour ago maybe.” “Well, what the hell was she doin’?” George stood still, watching the angry little man. He said insultingly, “She said–she was lookin’ for you.” Curley seemed really to see George for the first time. His eyes flashed over George, took in his height, measured his reach, looked at his trim middle. “Well, which way’d she go?” he demanded at last. “I dunno,” said George. “I didn’t watch her go.” Curley scowled at him, and turning, hurried out the door. George said, “Ya know, Lennie, I’m scared I’m gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts. […] Come on. There won’t be a damn thing left to eat.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Characters: Curley and George, Chapter 2, Pages 36-37, Theme: Conflict, Tension, Foreshadowing, Masculinity)
Life in the bunkhouse unfolds, revealing deeper truths about the men and their world.
Chapter 3: Fragile Hopes and Harsh Realities
George opens up to Slim, Candy faces a painful loss, and the dream suddenly seems within reach before violence erupts.
“He ain’t no cuckoo,” said George. “He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy. An’ I ain’t so bright neither, or I wouldn’t be buckin’ barley for my fifty and found. If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ’stead of doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outta the ground.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 3, Page 39, Theme: Intelligence vs. Wisdom, The Dream, Dissatisfaction)
“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, (Character: Slim, Chapter 3, Page 40, Theme: Kindness, Intelligence, Judgment)
“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, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 3, Page 41, Theme: Loneliness, Friendship, Burden, Companionship)
“I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I got old an’ a cripple.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Slim reflecting on Candy’s dog, Chapter 3, Page 45, Theme: Mercy, Age, Usefulness, Fear)
“George sighed. “You give me a good whore house every time,” he said. “A guy can go in an’ get drunk and get ever’thing outta his system all at once, an’ no messes. And he knows how much it’s gonna set him back. These here jail baits is just set on the trigger of the hoosegow.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton about women like Curley’s wife, Chapter 3, Page 56, Theme: Misogyny, Danger, Objectification)
“We could live offa the fatta the lan’.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Lennie Small, Chapter 3, Page 57, Theme: The Dream, Hope, Repetition)
Hear the simple hope that defines Lennie’s existence: explore quotes capturing Lennie’s character.
“You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Candy, Chapter 3, Page 60, Theme: Age, Fear, Uselessness, Parallelism)
“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Candy, Chapter 3, Page 61, Theme: Regret, Responsibility, Powerlessness)
“I can still tend the rabbits, George? I didn’t mean no harm, George.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Lennie Small after crushing Curley’s hand, Chapter 3, Page 65, Theme: Innocence, Fear, The Dream, Consequences)
A Saturday night finds Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife converging in the isolated room of Crooks, the stable buck.
Chapter 4: Crooks’ Room – Where Loneliness Speaks Truth
The crushing weight of isolation, prejudice, and the seductive danger of hope are laid bare.
“Lennie said quietly, “It ain’t no lie. We’re gonna do it. Gonna get a little place an’ live on the fatta the lan’.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Lennie Small to Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 69, Theme: The Dream, Belief, Innocence)
“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, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 71, Theme: Companionship, Loneliness, Communication)
Gain insight into the cynical yet lonely stable buck: read Crooks’ thoughts on isolation.
“Nobody can’t tell what a guy’ll do…”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 71, Theme: Unpredictability, Human Nature)
“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, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Pages 72-73, Theme: Loneliness, Need for Connection, Mental Health)
“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, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 73, Theme: Isolation, Perception, Reality, Lack of Validation)
“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 here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land. It’s just in their head.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 74, Theme: Broken Dreams, Cynicism, Realism, Futility)
“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.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 74, Theme: Broken Dreams, Futility, Cycle of Migrant Life)
“In town in a whorehouse. That’s where your money’s goin’…. I seen it happen too many times. I seen too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under their hand.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks, Chapter 4, Page 76, Theme: Cynicism, Broken Dreams, Temptation)
“Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much. Jus’ som’thin’ that was his. Som’thin’ he could live on and there couldn’t nobody throw him off of it.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks echoing Candy, Chapter 4, Page 76, Theme: The Dream, Security, Belonging, Universality)
“I seen too many you guys. If you had two bits in the worl’, why you’d be in gettin’ two shots of corn with it and suckin’ the bottom of the glass.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Curley’s wife, Chapter 4, Page 79, Theme: Cynicism, Class, Judgment)
Understand the complex viewpoint of the only woman on the ranch: explore Curley’s wife’s perspective.
“We know what we got, and we don’t care whether you know it or not.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Candy defending the dream, Chapter 4, Page 79, Theme: Hope, Defiance, Shared Dream)
“Crooks stood up from his bunk and faced her. “I had enough,” he said coldly. “You got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus’ get out, an’ get out quick. If you don’t, I’m gonna ast the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more.” She turned on him in scorn. “Listen, n****,” she said. “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” Crooks stared helplessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. She closed on him. “You know what I could do?” Crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. “Yes, ma’am.” “Well, you keep your place then…. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego–nothing to arouse either like or dislike. He said, “Yes, ma’am,” and his voice was toneless. For a moment she stood over him as though waiting for him to move so that she could whip at him again; but Crooks sat perfectly still, his eyes averted, everything that might be hurt drawn in. She turned at last to the other two.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Characters: Crooks and Curley’s wife, Chapter 4, Pages 80-81, Theme: Racism, Power Dynamics, Cruelty, Fear, Dehumanization)
“If you ain’t sure, you better take the safe way.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks advising Candy, Chapter 4, Page 81, Theme: Caution, Fear, Survival)
“Crooks avoided the whole subject now. “Maybe you guys better go,” he said. “I ain’t sure I want you in here no more. A colored man got to have some rights even if he don’t like ’em.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Crooks retreating, Chapter 4, Page 82, Theme: Defeat, Isolation, Rights, Resignation)
A quiet Sunday afternoon in the barn turns catastrophic.
Chapter 5: Tragedy in the Barn – The Dream Unravels
Lennie’s innocent mistake with his puppy escalates into the novella’s devastating climax.
“Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Lennie Small to his dead puppy, Chapter 5, Page 85, Theme: Lack of Understanding, Foreshadowing, Violence, Scale)
“Curley’s wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay. And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Now her rouged cheeks and reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly. The curls, tiny little sausages, were spread on the hay behind her head and her lips were parted”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator describing Curley’s wife in death, Chapter 5, Pages 92-93, Theme: Death, Lost Potential, Appearance vs. Reality, Peace?)
“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator after Candy finds the body, Chapter 5, Page 93, Theme: Climax, Stillness, Significance, Turning Point)
“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, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 5, Page 98, Theme: Protection, Defense, Understanding, Desperation)
The final act plays out back where it all began, by the tranquil yet predatory Salinas River.
Chapter 6: By the River Again – A Final, Bitter Mercy
George finds Lennie, retelling the dream one last time before making an impossible choice.
“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 shadows. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: The narrator, Chapter 6, Page 99, Theme: Nature’s Indifference, Predation, Foreshadowing, Cycle of Life/Death)
“I tried and tried. I couldn’ help it.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: Lennie Small, Chapter 6, Page 102, Theme: Remorse, Lack of Control, Childlikeness)
“Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Character: George Milton echoing Chapter 1, Chapter 6, Page 104, Theme: Lost Hope, Loneliness, Resignation)
“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, (Character: George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 104, Theme: Compassion, Mercy, Friendship, Forgiveness?)
“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, (Characters: Lennie Small and George Milton, Chapter 6, Page 105, Theme: The Dream, Final Moments, Mercy, Inevitability)
“But George sat stiffly on the bank and looked at his right hand that had thrown the gun away. The group burst into the clearing, and Curley was ahead. He saw Lennie lying on the sand. “Got him, by God.” He went over and looked down at Lennie, and then he looked back at George. “Right in the back of the head,” he said softly. Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him. “Never you mind,” said Slim. “A guy got to sometimes.” But Carlson was standing over George. “How’d you do it?” he asked. “I just done it,” George said tiredly.”
~ John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, (Characters: Slim, Carlson, and George, Chapter 6, Page 107, Theme: Aftermath, Grief, Understanding vs. Indifference, Trauma)
“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, (Character: Carlson, final line, Chapter 6, Page 107, Theme: Lack of Empathy, Indifference, Misunderstanding)
Reflect on the chilling indifference shown by some characters: find quotes illustrating Carlson’s viewpoint.
Why Steinbeck’s Tale Still Haunts Us
Decades later, Of Mice and Men remains a gut-wrenching exploration of the human condition. These 53 quotes offer a crucial window into its power, showcasing Steinbeck’s mastery of dialogue and his unflinching look at dreams deferred, the profound need for connection, and the devastating consequences of prejudice and misunderstanding in a world that offers little mercy.
A Note on Page Numbers (Handle With Care!):
We carefully sourced these quotes from the **Penguin Books Mass Market Paperback edition (Sept. 1, 1993), ISBN-13: 978-0140177398**. Just know that page numbers, like those dream rabbits Lennie wants to tend, can sometimes hop around in different book printings! Always double-check against your own copy for essays or citations – you want your points clear, not lost somewhere down the rabbit hole.
Cite This Page (MLA):
Mortis, Jeremy. “53 Of Mice and Men Quotes With Page Numbers.” Ageless Investing, 10 Apr. 2025, agelessinvesting.com/of-mice-and-men-quotes/.
Cite This Page (APA):
Mortis, J. (2025, April 10). *53 Of Mice and Men quotes with page numbers*. Ageless Investing. Retrieved [Date You Accessed], from https://agelessinvesting.com/of-mice-and-men-quotes/
Jeremy Mortis, founder of Ageless Investing, applies a rigorous analytical approach (the SPARK framework) to distill timeless wisdom and contextualized quotes from classic literature, saving you time while deepening understanding. Learn more about Jeremy’s unique background and methodology on his author bio page.