Quote Bank

Quote	Speaker	Significance
"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world."	George	Highlights the theme of loneliness and isolation among itinerant workers.
"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you."	Lennie	Emphasizes the central theme of friendship and mutual dependence between George and Lennie.
"Tell me about the rabbits, George."	Lennie	Symbolizes Lennie's dream and innocence; a recurring motif in the novel.
"A guy needs somebody – to be near him."	Crooks	Expresses the human need for companionship.
"We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us."	George	Contrasts George and Lennie's friendship with the typical loneliness of other ranch workers.
"I seen hundreds 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."	Crooks	Highlights the futility of the American Dream for many itinerant workers.
"Tell me about the dream, George."	Lennie	Reinforces Lennie's childlike innocence and hope.
"I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her."	George	Reflects George's realism and the hopelessness of their dream.
"Ain't many guys travel around together."	Slim	Acknowledges the rarity and significance of George and Lennie's friendship.
"I coulda been in the movies."	Curley's Wife	Reflects her unfulfilled dreams and the theme of broken aspirations.

| "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda." | Slim | Shows Slim's understanding and support of George's difficult decision. | | "We could live offa the fatta the lan'." | George | Represents the idyllic dream of self-sufficiency and freedom. | | "I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her." | George | Reflects the dangerous allure and the objectification of Curley's wife. | | "An' live off the fatta the lan'." | Lennie | Repeatedly symbolizes Lennie's dream and his simplistic view of happiness. | | "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." | George | Highlights George's internal conflict between caring for Lennie and desiring personal freedom. |

| "Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land." | Crooks | Cynically underscores the futility of dreams for the disenfranchised. | | "They left all the weak ones here." | Curley's Wife | Indicates her own recognition of being marginalized and her bitterness about it. | | "Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard." | Lennie | Shows Lennie's lack of control over his strength and foreshadows tragic events. | | "You ain't gonna leave me, are ya, George? I know you ain't." | Lennie | Demonstrates Lennie's dependency on George and fear of abandonment. | | "I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her." | George | Reflects George's pessimism and foreknowledge of their dream's improbability. |