Jesus Christ, Lennie! . You do bad things and I got to get you out., Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. The characters in Of Mice and Meneven, to some extent, George and Lenniefeel they are constantly in a fight for survival with one another.

Gonna get a little place an live on the fatta the lan. Lennie, 8. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. If I was a relative of yours, Id shoot myself., 4. We know what we got, and we dont care whether you know it or not. Candy, 5. I turns to Lennie and says, Jump in. An he jumps. I got you! Struggling with distance learning? I wouldnt eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me., George: If it was here, you could have some., Lennie: But I wouldnt eat none, George. I wasn't drunk. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. .]

He wouldnt even quiver., S'pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing." We make discovering books entertaining, informative, and socially engaging. He can't tell. Id put the gun right there. He pointed with his toe. Showing even a shred of physical, intellectual, or emotional weakness is a liability that many cant afford even in a normally-function society. -Graham S. Below you will find the important quotes in, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. A couple might be hurtful, but all are said with love. I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you. Lennie 3. They got no family. [] With us it ain't like that. An he was so damn nice to me for pullin him out. They don't belong no place. Clean forgot I told him to jump in. I shouldn't oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog., A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that. I don't know why. The cruel, almost inhuman ways in which the characters on the ranch speak to one another and constantly attempt to intimidate each other in a struggle to assert their own dominance shows Steinbecks contempt for social systems which value strengthand which force people to prey upon one another in order to scrape by. Becausebecause I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why. You get in trouble. He got nothing to measure by. Were gonna do it. In the midst of the Great Depression, when work and resources are scarce, this desire to afford looking or acting weak intensifies even more. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. Though George and Lennie, for a time, seem to prove that such distinctions and struggles for power are not only unnecessary but cruel, even their relationship dynamic falls prey to the battle between the weak and the strong. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. It aint no lie. With us it aint like that. You cant remember nothing that happens, but you remember ever word I say. George, 2. Lennie: You said I . Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other., Carl's right, Candy. People like Candy and Crooksphysically-disabled individuals who survive only at the mercy of othershave developed cynical worldviews, social anxieties, and an aloof detachment in cultivated attempts to cling to a different kind of strength. I read plenty of books out here. ", Instant downloads of all 1614 LitChart PDFs He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.. George is constantly boasting about his companions strength, resilience, and ability to undertake any physical task required of him. A couple might be hurtful, but all are said with love. Id leave it all for you. Which Disneyland Ride are you Based on Your Book Preferences? An why? At the same time, however, Lennie is weak on the inside. You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Bridgerton Season 3 Teaser Cast Spotlight is Out!

Image via Amazon 1. "A guy got to sometimes. Becausebecause I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why., Ain't many guys travel around together, he mused. Get a Book Recommendation Based on Your Ideal Vacation, Learn High Valyrian With Duolingos Newly Expanded Course, 9 Ambient Sound YouTube Videos Perfect For Escapism, Why You Shouldnt Be Embarrassed to Love Books, 5 Adaptations To Watch If You Couldnt Get Through Persuasion, Mysteries, Thrillers, and Pride, oh my! 1. Individuals like Carlson and Curley, who detest weakness and seem to have a pathological desire to prey upon it, attempt to puff themselves up often by inciting physical violence. I dont want no ketchup. Teachers and parents! Steinbeck thus demonstrates how the desire to crush any form of weakness warps peoples very souls, causing them to act cruelly toward others and even devalue life itself. Crooks, for example, puts down George and Lennies dream of buying their own farm to cover up his own disappointments, while Candy allows Carlson to shoot his dog in order to appear detached and emotionally strong in the face of death. I dont mind takin care of him., Carlson said, The way Id shoot him, he wouldnt feel nothing. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." LitCharts Teacher Editions. Just like heaven. . They dont belong no place.

Thank you for the ultimate literary bromance, John Steinbeck. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an' then it would be all right. Couldnt swim a stroke. Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. Jus' milk the cow and sling some grain to the chickens an' go to her., I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. Lennie, as a character, encapsulates through his own inner struggle the constant battle between strength and weakness. A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically. The way the content is organized, Minorities, Marginalization, and Scapegoating, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme, The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of The Weak and the Strong appears in each chapter of. If you want to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, please fill out the form below. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., But not us!

Well, we ain't got any, George exploded. (including.

I think I knowed from the very first. Lennie loves soft, small things like puppies, mice, and rabbits, and is driven by a compulsion to stroke any soft texture he comes across.

I ain't mad. But not us! Lennie is physically imposinga huge, hulking man whose frame is compared in size to that of a bear. George begins to realize that Lennie is a burden which weakens his chances of survival. "We'd just go to her," George said. I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you. Lennie, 3. In honor of the classic novellas publication anniversary, the following Of Mice and Men quotes should help you celebrate your greatest friendships. Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. We dont have to sit in no bar room blowin in our jack jus because we got no place else to go. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. I think I knowed we'd never do her. Screwed, A College Romance Between Best Friends, Weird and Wacky Game of Thrones Merchandise for Every Die-Hard Fan, 5 Times Library-Loving Cats Made the News, Erika L. Snchez Shares The Unpredictable Life As A Writer And Former Self-described Misfit In Memoir Crying in the Bathroom, What I Would Buy Henry David Thoreau For His Birthday, Friends, Romans, Countrymen: Julius Caesar, The Play, Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer Comic Series Released as Graphic Novel. That dog ain't no good to himself. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. George: That was a lie. Though many characters inOf Mice and Menlong for friendship and compassion, they live in fear of each other. When push comes to shove, he knows he must kill Lennie if he himself is to continue eking out an existence, however miserable, in the unforgiving landscape of the Depression-gripped American West. 5 Different Colored Eyed TV & Book Characters You Didnt Know, Ghost On The Roof, an Opera Phantom Story, To the Stars and Back, When Grumpy Meets Sunshine. Course Lennies a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin around with a guy an you cant get rid of him. George, 7. George and Lennie have held the title of greatest bromance in literature since 1937. I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple., Maybe itd hurt him, [Candy] suggested. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. An' that ain't the worst. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. AsCarlson'sunsentimental shooting ofCandy'sdog early on in the novella makes clear, during the Great Depression the useless, old, or weak were inevitably destroyed as the strong and useful fought for survival. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.. Sometimes he gets thinkin', an' he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. How Well Do You Remember A Dance With Dragons? That's a thing I want ya to know., "Never you mind," said Slim. Thats a thing I want ya to know. George, 10. I don't know if I was asleep. A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; and it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows. His strength, though, means that he kills the small animals he tries to loveand gets himself to trouble in other ways, such as when his solid grip on the soft hem of a young womans beautiful dress leads her to report Lennie for attempted rape. . "We wouldn't ask nobody if we could. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble.An' whatta I got, George went on furiously. Jus' say, 'We'll go to her,' an' we would.

Jesus Christ, Lennie! We got a future. Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her. I seen things out here. Bookstagrammer of the Week, R.U. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. No, Lennie, I aint mad. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. George and Lennie have held the title of greatest bromance in literature since 1937. Bookstr connects books with people. Mentally-disabled with a poor memory and an intensely nave, childlike disposition, Lennie needs a companion to help him navigate the rough, unforgiving world around him. Everyone on the ranch in Soledad where George and Lennie go to find work is trying to look strongeven (and especially when) they feel weak.

Even those lowest on the totem pole of power on the ranch, like Curleys wife, attempt to resist looking weak or vulnerableCurleys wife threatens to have Crooks lynched because he is the one person on the ranch over whom she has power, and she has been conditioned to learn that power over another person, even in the depths of ones own subjugation, is the only way to survive. Right back of the head. You cant remember nothing that happens, but you remember ever word I say. George 2. Lennie: You said I was your cousin! And most importantly, we believe that the best recommendations come from people you know and trust. I never been mad, and I ain now. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. But I jus' don't know., 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 [. Well, I aint done nothing like that no more. George, 9. No, Lennie. Suspicion, mistrust, and chronic one-upmanship are so commonplace in broader society that these dynamics trickle down and impact people on an individual level. In honor of the classic novellas publication anniversary, the following Of Mice and Men quotes should help you celebrate your greatest friendships. Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again. We got a future., [] Lennie broke in. Lennies strength is a gift in Georges eyes, but a curse when seen through Lennies own. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. Lennies strength and weakness are constantly at war with one anotherand thus Lennie, in many ways, comes to represent the struggle within all human souls. . every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. Vulnerability was particularly dangerous to admit to during the Great Depression, when weakness meant ostracization and even danger. He damn near drowned before we could get him. This constant struggle between the weak and the strong is one of the novellas defining conflicts, and Steinbeck seeks to subvert traditional notions of strength and weakness as he argues that a society which values only strength, as American society did during the Depression, is doomed to fail. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldnt touch none of it., 6. But not us. George. Lennie: I was only foolin, George. BIPOC Mental Health Focus: James Baldwin And His Suicide Attempts, Ernest Hemingway: Revisiting His Most Influential Works, Beyond Words: A Look At Virginia Woolfs On Being Ill, Stranger Things Noah Schnapp Confirms Will Is Gay. An why?