Set during the Great Depression, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, migrant farm workers in California's Salinas Valley who share the dream of someday owning a small patch of land to call home. George looks out for Lennie, a physically imposing man with the intellectual capacity of a child. Through George and Lennie's journey, Steinbeck portrays the vital need for companionship, the fleeting nature of hopes and dreams, and the harsh realities of life. First published in 1937, this novella explores social injustices, ingrained prejudices, the toll of loneliness, and the importance of empathy–themes that continue to resonate with listeners.

Here are 30+ quotes from Of Mice and Men that capture the essence of Steinbeck's powerful and timeless work.

The best quotes from Of Mice and Men on friendship and loyalty

1. "But you get used to goin' around with a guy an' you can't get rid of him."

2. "I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy."

3. "No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now."

4. "It's a lot nicer to go around with a guy you know, than with a guy you don't know."

5. "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."

6. "I wish somebody'd shoot me when I ain't no good no more."

7. "Sure, we'd have a little house an' a room to ourself."

8. "Tonight I'm gonna lay right here and look up. I like it."

9. "You ain't gonna leave me, are ya, George? I know you ain't."

10. "I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."

11. "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog."

12. "It ain't no lie. We're gonna do it. Gonna get a little place an' live on the fatta the lan'."

The best quotes from Of Mice and Men on loneliness and solitude

1. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world."

2. "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."

3. "I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."

4. "I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely."

5. "God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy."

6. "Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody—to be near him."

7. "Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other."

8. "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody."

The best quotes from Of Mice and Men on perception and discrimination

1. "A guy on a ranch don't never listen nor he don't ast no questions."

2. "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that?"

3. "You know how the hands are, they just come in and get their bunk and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone."

4. "We know what we got, and we don't care whether you know it or not."

5. "Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to."

6. "Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head."

The best quotes from Of Mice and Men on empathy and hope

1. "His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought."

2. "They fell into a silence. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true."

3. "All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of 'em mean."

4. "We got a future."

5. "Le's do it now. Le's get that place now."