How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Unforgiven.
Quote #1
QUICK MIKE: Brand you like a damn steer, b****!
Mike's comment to Delilah is one of the first audible sentences we hear in the film, and foreshadows the violence that will appear throughout the film. Bill will "brand" gun-toting guys like English Bob and Will with his justice, for example, and Dave will get killed while branding a steer.
Quote #2
THE KID: Uncle Pete says you was the meanest goddamn son of a b**** alive, and if I ever wanted a partner for a killing, you were the worst one, meaning the best, on account as you're as cold as the snow, you don't have no weak nerve nor fear.
Violence, it seems, came naturally to Will, who never had any "weak nerve nor fear" and was the "meanest goddamn son of a b**** alive." We learn more about this as the film progresses, but Will is unique in that he is capable of violence without really being bothered it. He is "cold as the snow." He might regret things, but he doesn't show true remorse.
Quote #3
THE KID: I'm a damn killer myself, except I aint killed as many as you because of my youth.
This is the first of many boasts from the Kid, who talks a big game and acts like he's a violent killer. Ned and Will don't believe him, and the Kid learns a tough lesson later: being a "damn killer" is not a good life, and it wreaks havoc on one's conscience.