Of Mice and Men: Key Text Quotations (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)

Key Text Quotations

The exam asks you to support your ideas with evidence and references from the text. This means you can paraphrase quotations, reference single words, and refer to plot events in Of Mice and Men. 

Overall, you should aim for a secure knowledge of the text, rather than rehearse quotations. You can revise patterns of language, techniques within quotations, or comment on how characters generally speak and move, for example. A thorough understanding of Steinbeck’s novella will enable you to select references thoughtfully and effectively. 

The best way to revise quotations is to group them by character or theme. Below you will find definitions and analysis of key quotations, arranged by the following themes:

• Dreams 

• Loneliness 

• Discrimination  

• Power

Dreams

Of Mice and Men is a novella about the futility of the American Dream in the face of more powerful external forces. 

Paired quotations:

“All kin’s a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We’d jus’ live there. We’d belong there.” – George, Chapter 3

“I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an' on the ranches, [. .] every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it.” – Crooks, Chapter 4

Meaning and context

• Throughout the novella George recites the dream to Lennie to comfort and motivate him:

  • George seems similarly affected as he lists details as if to make it real

• However, soon after, Crooks pessimistically explains that he has seen many itinerant workers wish for their own land but he has never seen anyone achieve it
  

Analysis

• Steinbeck reflects the itinerant workers’ deep desires for freedom and self-sufficiency:

  • He highlights the simplicity of their dream (“little”, “few” and “some”)

  • George’s hopeful tone is conveyed in short sentences like “We’d belong there.” 

• Crooks, however, evidences the “hundreds” of workers who have dreamed of freedom: 

  • Hyperbolic language (“every” and “never”) and curses, create a cynical tone

  • This reflects Steinbeck’s ideas about the futility of the American Dream:

    • Crooks believes it is hopeless

“I coulda made somethin’ of myself.”– Curley’s wife, Chapter 5

Meaning and context

• Curley’s wife tells Lennie of her dreams to become a film star, that she waited for a letter inviting her to be in a show, but it never arrived so she married Curley instead

Analysis

• Steinbeck suggests that external forces of all kinds create obstacles for the characters:

  • It reflects the broader social and economic content of the Great Depression, where dreams were often shattered by harsh realities and systemic injustices  

• Here, the past-tense modal verb “coulda” suggests Curley’s wife’s dreams were possible, but that she has resigned herself to the fact they will never happen

Loneliness

Of Mice and Men explores the dangers of isolation and the significance of companionship and support, especially when desperate circumstances force individuals together. 

Paired quotations:

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place.” – George, Chapter 1

"Ain't many guys travel around together," he mused. "I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other." – Slim, Chapter 2 

Meaning and context

• Throughout the novella, George and Lennie repeatedly remind each other that they are not like the other lonely itinerant workers as they have each other:

  • In this scene, Lennie excitedly replies to George’s line, “But not us!”

• On the ranch, however, Slim draws attention to how unusual their relationship is:

  • He implies that everyone poses a threat and is therefore “scared of each other”

Analysis

• Steinbeck shows the significance of friendship to reflect the inherent loneliness of migratory 1930s America

• The friendship is viewed suspiciously, suggestive of an individualistic environment:

  • Slim’s hyperbolic phrasing (“everybody”) conveys the isolation of survival

  • The word “scared” highlights the culture of fear 
    

“A guy needs somebody—to be near him.” He whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.” – Crooks, Chapter 4 

Meaning and context

• Crooks, initially hesitant to let Lennie his “room”, asks him in because he is so lonely

• Here, Crooks says that everyone needs friendship for healthy mental wellbeing

Analysis

• Steinbeck conveys Crooks’ desperate loneliness through the juxtaposition of “somebody” and “nobody”, implying Crooks just wants “anyone”

• Steinbeck emphasises Crooks’ isolation with the alliterative “near”, “nuts” and “nobody” 

• Crooks’ pessimism reflects ideas about the damaging impact of loneliness

Discrimination

Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, can be seen as a work of social protest, as it portrays the embedded discrimination of 1930s America. The novella illustrates the damaging effects of racism, sexism and ableism, which disenfranchises and, often, destroys its characters.  

Paired quotations:

“Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her.” – Candy, Chapter 3 

“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.” – Narrator, Chapter 5 

Meaning and context

• In this scene Candy says Curley’s wife is a “tart” who will cause trouble for the men

• Later, Candy is arguably proven correct as Curley’s wife is killed by Lennie in the barn:

  • The barn is described as “very quiet”, all sound and movement has stopped

Analysis

• Steinbeck depicts the marginalisation of women like Curley’s wife in 1930s America

• Curley’s wife is displaced and treated as a threat because of her sexuality

• Sensory imagery symbolises tragedy, perhaps to connote to the silencing of characters  

“Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality,

no ego-nothing to arouse either like or dislike. He said, "Yes,

ma'am," and his voice was toneless.” – Narrator, Chapter 4

Meaning and context

• Here, Curley’s wife becomes bitter and threatens Crooks with her powerful husband 

• In response, Crooks cowers and calls Curley’s wife “ma’am” to show his subservience 

Analysis

• Steinbeck’s marginalised characters try to gain power over other vulnerable characters 

• Here, Curley’s wife uses her only power, her marriage, to threaten Crooks

• Crooks’ repetition of “no” and “nothing” imply the result of inherent, normalised prejudice:

  • Crooks appears to know he must relinquish his “ego” or power in order to survive

  • This conveys Steinbeck’s ideas about the dehumanising effects of racism

Power

In his novella, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explores the struggle to survive in harsh conditions. The title relates to the futility of making plans when facing invisible and powerful external forces.

Paired quotations:

“That dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple.” – Slim, Chapter 3

“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.” – Narrator, Chapter 6

Meaning and context

• In Chapter 3, when Candy is told that his dog needs to be shot because it is old and a “cripple”, Slim seems unaware he could be describing Candy

• In Chapter 6, Steinbeck returns to the brush, describing the Salinas river again

• Here, Steinbeck describes how an invisible heron pounces on a water snake:

  • This connotes to power: a “silent head” easily “plucked” the struggling “little” snake 

Analysis

• Steinbeck mirrors Candy’s dog with Candy, both old and physically impaired:

  • He highlights the lack of agency Candy has over his own life as Candy repeats to George later that he is useless

  • Steinbeck, however, illustrates Candy’s purposefulness when he offers George money to buy land

• By Chapter 6, Steinbeck has portrayed the limited autonomy of most of his characters: 

  • He uses nature to symbolise the struggle to survive in a brutal environment

  • Here, Steinbeck conveys ideas about strong invisible forces

  • The title refers to a poem, ‘To a Mouse’, which describes the fruitless plans of a mouse in the face of powerful farmers

“It don’t make no difference,” George said, and he fell silent again. – George, Chapter 6

Meaning and context

• By the end of the novella, George and Candy’s dream to own land is over

• In this scene, at the brush again, Lennie says, “I done another bad thing”:

  • George replies that his actions do not have any consequences anymore 

Analysis

• Steinbeck shows the resignation that comes to his vulnerable characters:

  • Steinbeck portrays George’s nihilistic attitude and sense of hopelessness as he realises he is unable to manage Lennie and succeed in their partnership

  • Steinbeck presents George’s cyclical journey to convey ideas about the limited power of itinerant workers