John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men was released in 1937.
It chronicles George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, as they handle life in Salinas, California.
Let’s go through some of the top quotes from Of Mice and Men novel for you.
Table of Contents
Of Mice and Men Quotes by John Steinbeck
“You never oughta drink water when it ain’t running.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“The shade climbed up the hills towards the top.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“We know what we got, and we don’t care whether you know it or not.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“I can do anything when my will is clean and straight. Anything.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“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).
“We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hoot in hell about us.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
Other Books Quotes: The Princess Bride Quotes by William Goldman and The Perks of Being a Wallflower Quotes by Stephen Chbosky
Quotes from Of Mice and Men
“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“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).
“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).
“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).
“A guy needs somebody—to be near him.” He whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“At about 10 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).
“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).
“Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
Famous Of Mice and Men Quotes
“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 gets no land. It’s just in their head. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s jus’ in their head.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“Slim smiled wryly. He knelt down beside Curley. “You got your senses in hand enough to listen?” he asked. Curley nodded.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“We could live offa the fatta the lan’.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“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).
“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).
“If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“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).
“I can still tend the rabbits, George? I didn’t mean no harm, George.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
Best Of Mice and Men Quotes
“The damp flats are covered with the night tracks of ’coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“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).
“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).
“His ear heard more than what was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“You never oughta drink water when it ain’t runnin’.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“You can’t hate men if you know them.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
Powerful Of Mice and Men Quotes
“Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“Jesus, 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).
“Plays are hard to read so this will make both a novel and play as it stands.” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“Trouble with mice is you always kill ’em. ” ~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men).
“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).
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