Quote 1
"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." (1.113)
It's hard out there for a ranchhand. Steinbeck seems to be saying that the loneliness is even worse than the poverty: like Lennie and George, you can bear a lot more if you have a friend.
Quote 2
"We travel together," said George coldly.
"Oh, so it's that way."
George was tense and motionless. "Yea, it's that way." (2.80-82)
By saying "Oh, so it's that way," Curley is essentially accusing Lennie and George of being gay. But George doesn't take the bait. It just shows how pathetic Curley is that he can't understand the men's friendship.
Quote 3
"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." (3.12)
Aw. We can't think of a better description of friends than people who "got kinda used to each other."
Quote 4
"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. 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. Why, I could stay in a cathouse all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An' I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool." Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennie's face was drawn in with terror. "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." (1.89)
During this little temper tantrum George basically says that he wishes he were alone so he could go to as many whorehouses as he wanted. You know, just like we sometimes wished we lived alone so we could eat chocolate cake at 2AM without anyone judging us.
Quote 5
"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." (3.17)
The first rule of Ranch Fight Club is don't talk about Ranch Fight Club. Actually, talking is exactly what they need to do, otherwise all human interactions will just be combative, which will make them more lonely and more combative and more lonely and...you get the idea.
Quote 6
George half-closed his eyes. "I gotta think about that. We was always gonna do it by ourselves." Candy interrupted him, "I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives or nothing…" (3.218-219)
Candy is so isolated that he doesn't even have relatives to leave his money to.
Quote 7
George looked sharply at him. "What'd you take outa that pocket?"
"Ain't a thing in my pocket," Lennie said cleverly.
"I know there ain't. You got it in your hand…" (1.25-27)
We hope you had a good chuckle, because Lennie isn't actually being "clever" at all. He's like a toddler playing hide and seek who puts a bowl over his head: if he can't see you, you can't see him. Precious moments, right?
Quote 8
Slim sat in silence for a moment. "Didn't hurt the girl none, huh?" he asked finally.
"Hello no. He just scared her. I'd be scared too, if he grabbed me. But he never hurt her. He jus' wanted to touch that red dress, like he wants to pet them pups all the time."
"He ain't mean," said Slim. "I can tell a mean guy from a mile off." (3.28-30)
Slim is our Wise Old Master, so if he says Lennie isn't "mean," then it must be true. He's just dumb. (Fun etymology Brain Snack: "in-nocent" essentially means "free of harm," since "nocere" means "to harm" in Latin. The more you know!)
Quote 9
Slim had not moved. His calm eyes followed Lennie out of the door. "Jesus," he said. "He's jes' like a kid, ain't he."
"Sure, he's jes like a kid. There ain't no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he's so strong." (3.44-45)
Uh, we don't know what middle school Slim and George went to, but where we're from, kids can be plenty mean—and mean plenty of harm.
Quote 10
"I wish 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. (1.89)
Confess: this is a wee bit creepy, because George is essentially saying that he'd like to lock Lennie up. But, with a million mice to pet, would Lennie really experience it as confinement? Or would it be the best type of freedom—the freedom to do exactly what he wants all day?
Quote 11
"For two bits I'd shove out of here. If we can get jus' a few dollars in the poke we'll shove off and go up the American River and pan gold. We can make maybe a couple of dollars a day there, and we might hit a pocket."
Lennie leaned eagerly toward him. "Le's go, George. Le's get outta here. It's mean here."
"We gotta stay," George said shortly. "Shut up now. The guys'll be comin' in." (2.166-168)
George might have fantasies of panning for gold, but he's a realist. The freedom to starve while chasing a fool's dream is not the kind of freedom he wants.
Quote 12
"And it'd be our own, an' nobody could can us. If we don't like a guy we can say, 'Get the hell out,' and by God he's got to do it. An' if a fren' come along, why we'd have an extra bunk, an' we'd say, 'Why don't you spen' the night?' An' by God he would." (3.209)
For Lennie and George, a key part of the dream farm is the freedom to let their friends stay with them. Wonder if they'll get those little guest soaps and matching towel sets?
Quote 13
George said wonderingly, "S'pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing." Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. "We'd just go to her," George said. "We wouldn't ask nobody if we could. Jus' say, "We'll go to her,' an' we would. Jus' milk the cow and sling some grain to the chickens an' go to her." (3.224)
Check out the "wonderingly": when he's actually starting to believe that the farm might happen, George is most overwhelmed by the idea that they could do anything they wanted whenever they wanted. You know, kind of like going to college and ordering pizza at 2AM—except you have to milk the cow first.
Quote 14
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." (6.87-88)
Lennie's biggest fear isn't being locked up: it's being locked out. To him, being on George's bad side would be about worse than anything. Apparently freedom and confinement don't have to include locks.
Quote 15
"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." (1.50-55)
Lennie obviously has no concept of consequences, since he can't even remember the wrong that he did. So we have to ask: is it just for George to keep dragging Lennie around with him? Or should George have taken action before Lennie ended up killing someone?
Quote 16
[George] 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." (1.76)
George is just trying to be nice to Lennie by offering him another mouse—but what kind of justice is offering up innocent mice as sacrificial petting victims?
Quote 17
"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 till I come for you." (1.130)
We're starting to suspect that George doesn't have much sense of justice. He knows that Lennie doesn't mean any harm, but the fact is that he does harm: he kills mice; he terrifies women; and he's going to end up killing someone. We have to say it: maybe George shouldn't be protecting Lennie.
Quote 18
"Don't let him pull you in—but—if the son-of-a-b**** socks you—let 'im have it." (2.131)
The 9th rule of Ranch Fight Club is that, if someone challenges you, you must fight.
Quote 19
George said, "Slim, will we get canned now? We need the stake. Will Curley's old man can us now?"
Slim smiled wryly. He knelt down beside Curley. "You got your senses in hand enough to listen?" he asked. Curley nodded. "Well then listen," Slim went on. "I think you got your han' caught in a machine. If you don't tell nobody what happened, we ain't going to. But you jus' tell an' try to get this guy canned and we'll tell ever'body, an' then will you get the laugh. (3.259-260)
Slim is the ranch's judge, jury, and jailor: he assess the situation, decides who needs to be punished, and then carries out that punishment. It works okay if a guy like Slim is in charge, but what happens if a guy like Curley managed to gain control? Or is Steinbeck saying that only a man like Slim could earn the necessary respect?
Quote 20
"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." (1.113)
Whatever the American Dream is, this isn't it: a bunch of lonely, itinerant farmworkers that George describes as being without family or hope. Steinbeck seems to be saying that you can't build a nation on these men—and we're inclined to agree.