Chapter 1 – Chapter 3

Chapter 4 – Chapter 6

Chapter 1

The chapter opens with a vivid description of a deep pool within the Salinas River, south of Soledad, California, and the myriad of lifeforms for whom it is a place of refreshment and respite. Lizards, rabbits and deer as well as boys from local ranches and tramps from the highway have all left evidence of their presence here, which is antithetical to Steinbeck’s description of the place as ‘lifeless’ before the two main characters enter the scene.

George is presented as small and quick with ‘restless eyes’, and in contrast to his companion, Lennie, who is huge and walks heavily, ‘dragging his feet … the way a bear drags his paws’. Lennie runs for the pool and immediately begins gulping water. George scolds him, reminding him he had been sick from doing the same thing the previous night. This interaction establishes George as Lennie’s protector, always having to look out for Lennie’s safety. Lennie insists the water is fine and urges George to try some. George tastes the water and confirms the water is drinkable but tells Lennie, in a schooling manner, that he should only drink water that is running, and not stagnant.

George vents frustration at the bus driver who dropped them four miles short of their destination and complains of the heat they had to walk in. When Lennie asks where they are heading, George’s frustration boils over and he scolds him for having forgotten their plans so soon. It seems Lennie is always forgetting what George tells him so that George has the constant burden of having to remind him. George reminds Lennie how they secured work cards and Lennie, looking in his pockets, thinks he has lost his. Lennie’s dependence on George is reinforced when George reminds him that he has both their cards. George becomes suspicious of something Lennie has pulled out of his pocket and insists Lennie tell him what he has. Lennie is reluctant but eventually tells George it’s a dead mouse, immediately confessing that he did not kill it but had kept it only so that he could pet its fur. George takes the mouse from Lennie’s hand and throws it to the other side of the pool.

George reminds Lennie they are going to work on a ranch like they did up north and rehearses with him what they will do when they get to the ranch: George is to do all the talking with the boss and Lennie is to not say a word. It seems Lennie is a good worker and George wants the boss to see this before he hears him speak. As George has Lennie rehearse their plans so that he won’t forget, he alludes to certain ‘bad things’ Lennie did at the last place in Weeds and George wants Lennie to agree he won’t do that again. Lennie has already forgotten what he had done and George decides not to remind him, only to say that they were run out of town. Lennie giggles on remembering that part and imitates George’s posture, as he frequently does. George laments having to look out for Lennie and how it is keeping him from an easier life and romantic attachments.

George decides they will have one more night of freedom out under the stars before heading to the ranch tomorrow, knowing the work will be hard. Lennie is concerned they will miss dinner at the ranch, but George has three cans of beans and directs Lennie to prepare a fire. When George hears water splashing, he knows Lennie has gone to retrieve the mouse. Lennie feigns innocence and contemplates running away but eventually hands the mouse over to George who again throws it far into the brush. Lennie starts crying and George teases him for being a baby before he puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and reassures him that he’s only taking the mouse away because it’s not ‘fresh’ from Lennie’s stroking it too hard. George says if Lennie finds another ‘fresh’ mouse, a euphemism for an alive mouse, maybe he will be able to keep it for a time. Through this interaction, Steinbeck further establishes the relationship between George and Lennie in that, despite George’s verbal outbursts when his frustrations boil over from having to look out for the simple and innocent Lennie, he has a genuine love and affection for his friend. Lennie, conversely, is the child-like ‘gentle giant’ who looks up to George like a big brother, and is thoroughly devoted to him, and reliant on his compassion.

With the introduction of Aunt Clara, who used to give Lennie mice to play with, the reader learns that George and Lennie have been together for a long time and that Lennie’s love of petting soft things has resulted in him accidentally killing many mice. George’s protection of Lennie extends beyond social situations to having to protect Lennie from his own actions, since he is unaware of his own strength. George’s reframing of Lennie having ‘broke’ the mice rather than killed them suggests that George at times protects Lennie from the full knowledge of the consequences of his unintended, yet harmful, actions, perhaps because he feels Lennie cannot comprehend them mentally or out of concern should Lennie’s comprehension of the consequences cause a heightening in his behaviour.

When Lennie asks for ketchup to go with the beans, George lets go of his frustrations again and brings up the matter that resulted in them having to leave Weeds. Lennie had touched a girl’s dress, wanting to feel the soft material, and the men assumed he had assaulted her. The pair had to hide in a ditch all day until it was safe to leave the area. George feels ashamed for having lashed out in anger again. Steinbeck demonstrates that there is some level of understanding on Lennie’s behalf as to the burden George perceives him to be when Lennie offers to leave George. This sets in motion an apology from George, who believes that Lennie would not survive without him, and he reinforces to Lennie that he wants him to stay with him. Steinbeck imbues Lennie with some agency when he describes Lennie has having ‘sensed his advantage’ and ‘craftily’ asking to hear his favourite story again.

The story, told many times, starts with the realities of life for ranch-hands like George and Lennie, lonely, without family or place to belong, losing their earnings as soon as they make them then searching around for more work. However, life for Lennie and George is going to be different to other ranch-hands because they have each other to look out for and a future. The pair’s dream is to earn enough money to buy their own farm, where they’ll grow their own food and raise livestock, and where Lennie will tend the rabbits. Lennie finishes off the story using the idiom, ‘an’ live off the fatta the lan’ (in standard English being ‘to live off the fat of the land’) to refer to the idealised life he and George will enjoy when they are living off the produce of their own efforts. The familiar story, which Lennie knows verbatim, cheers them up as they eat their beans.

Before they sleep, George asks Lennie to remember the place where they’re spending the night and tells him to return here and wait for him if he gets into any trouble at the farm. This anticipation on George’s behalf brings a sense of foreboding to the narrative that contrasts with the peace and serenity portrayed at the deep pool in the chapter’s opening.

Chapter 1 Quotes

The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. (George) Chapter 1

Behind him [George] walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely. (Lennie) Chapter 1

‘O.K.- O.K. I’ll tell ya again. I ain’t got nothing to do. Might jus’ as well spen’ all my time tellin’ you things and then you forget ’em, and I tell you again.’ (George to Lennie) Chapter 1

‘I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along,’ said Lennie. (to George about the dead mouse) Chapter 1

‘…You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we’re set. Ya got that?’ (George to Lennie about the new boss) Chapter 1

‘God, you’re a lot of trouble,’ said George. ‘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.’ (to Lenny) Chapter 1

George looked quickly and searchingly at him. ‘I been mean, ain’t I?’ (to Lenny) Chapter 1

George said, ‘I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me …’ (George) Chapter 1

‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. … With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.’ (George to Lennie) Chapter 1

‘… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you …’ (Lennie to George) Chapter 1

‘An’ live off the fatta the lan’,’ Lennie shouted. Chapter 1

‘Look, Lennie. I want you to look around here. You can remember this place, can’t you? The ranch is about a quarter mile up that way. Just follow the river?’ (about the deep pool that features at the start and end of the text) Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The following day, George and Lennie head to the ranch and are met by Candy, an old swamper (general handyman who does odd jobs around a place) who has lost his right hand. He shows them into the bunkhouse which is simple and bare except for eight bunks, a stove, and a table with boxes around it for sitting. The mattresses are coarse cloth filled with straw and above each bed there is an apple box nailed to the wall to keep the few possessions of the bunk occupant. George is distraught to see a can of lice powder in his box shelf, but Candy assures him that the previous occupant of the bunk was extremely clean and didn’t have graybacks (lice) and used to put the stuff around just to be safe. As George and Lennie place their items into their box shelves, Candy reports that the boss was angry when George and Lennie didn’t arrive the previous night as expected and that he gave the stable buck (farmhand responsible for looking after the horses) ‘hell’. Apparently, the stable hand, who keeps to himself and reads books, and who has a ‘crooked back’ due to being kicked by a horse long ago, is frequently subjected to the boss’ rage. Candy’s use of the derogatory ‘nigger’ and ‘stable buck’ while offensive today provide a commentary on the overt racism that was prevalent in America before the advent of the civil rights movement. George asks about the Boss and learns ‘he’s a pretty nice fella’ but ‘gets pretty mad sometimes’. When Candy tells him the boss bought the ranch-hands a gallon of whiskey for Christmas, George is impressed, no doubt hoping he’ll be a reasonable man.

The Boss arrives, wearing a Stetson hat, high-heeled boots and spurs ‘to prove he was not a laboring man’ and asks to see Lennie and George’s work slips. He lets the men know he’s not impressed that they weren’t ready to start this morning and that he had to send the crew out two ‘buckers’ (men who carry, shovel or load farm produce) short and that George and Lennie won’t be needed now till after dinner. George tells the Boss about the bus driver leaving them short on the highway. The Boss writes the men’s names in his time book, then asks them about their skills and employment history. George does the talking for himself and Lennie. When Lennie forgets and accidentally speaks, the Boss becomes suspicious and wants to know why George is so concerned about Lennie and continues to speak for him, supposing that George is in some way taking advantage of Lennie to get his pay. George explains that Lennie is his cousin and that he was hit in the head by a horse as a child and ‘just ain’t bright’. The Boss remains sceptical of George and tells him not to try and ‘put nothing over, ‘cause you can’t get away with nothing’ then tells the men that they’ll head out to pick up barley with the grain team of a man named Slim after dinner.

After the Boss leaves, George criticises Lennie for having opened his mouth and tells him he’s glad they are not actually related. Candy overhears the conversation and George berates Candy for being nosey but Candy assures George that he doesn’t involve himself in other people’s business or ask questions. A blind, old dog, whom Candy has had since he was a pup and used to be a fine sheepdog, accompanies Candy.

The Boss’ son Curley arrives, looking for his father. Like his father, he wears high-heeled boots but also a work glove. Curley sizes up the men and provokes a situation with Lennie, making a show of his dominance over him. Lennie looks to George who intervenes and smooths the situation but not before Curley puts the men in their place telling Lennie: ‘Well, nex’ time you answer when you’re spoke to’. After Curley leaves, Candy explains Curley was a boxer and ‘hates big guys’, inferring Curley has an inferiority complex relating to his short height. George responds by telling Candy that Lennie might not be a fighter but he’s strong and knows no rules so Curley better back off him. Lennie’s singling out by Curley, much like the stable hand is singled out for his race and physical disability, shows that being different is perceived as a weakness in the harsh farm setting, and speaks to the themes of prejudice and power.

George and Candy sit down to a game of cards and Candy shares that Curley has become ‘cockier’n ever’ since he got married a few weeks ago. Candy thinks Curley might be showing off for his wife or compensating for her flirtatious manner. Apparently, she has been flirting with Slim and another ranch worker, Carlson. Candy gets up to leave and ready the wash basins for the returning workers, swearing George to secrecy about what he told him about Curley before he leaves, closely followed by his worn-out dog.

Foreshadowing an incident with Curley, George talks to Lennie about being careful and staying out of Curley’s way, physically distancing himself whenever he is around. Lennie commits to staying out of Curley’s way and George reminds him of their plan that Lennie heads to the river where they stayed last night if he gets in any trouble.

Curley’s wife, wearing heavy make-up, a dress, and red shoes, saunters into the bunkhouse looking for Curley. George says Curley left a short time ago, after which Curley’s wife leans against the doorframe, jutting out her body in a manner suggesting Candy’s estimation of her flirtatious motives was correct. Lennie is enchanted by Curley’s wife, and continues to stare at her body. She turns her head on hearing footsteps behind her and leaves the bunkhouse to talk with Slim, outside. Lennie says several times ‘she’ purty’ and George perceives trouble, reminding Lennie to stay out of her way and not even look at her.

The incident seems to spook both Lennie and George, and no doubt George is reminded of what happened with Lennie and the girl at the last ranch. Lennie says the place is ‘mean’ and begs George to let them both leave but George says they need to earn just a few dollars and then they’ll head off to pan gold.

Slim enters the bunkhouse and asks George and Lennie if they’re the new guys. Slim is the lead mule driver (skinner) who is described as having an ‘ageless face’ and an obvious authority about him. Slim appears congenial and tells the men he hopes they are assigned to his team in place of a pair of guys who apparently knew nothing of bucking barley (throwing heavy sacks of grain onto the truck). Slim seems impressed that George and Lennie travel around together and ponders whether the scarcity of guys travelling around together is because ‘the whole damn world is scared of each other’.

Carlson, a large-stomached man, enters the bunkhouse and Slim introduces the new guys. Carlson points out the irony in Lennie’s surname being Small. He asks after Slim’s dog who had just given birth to pups. Slim explains he had to drown four of the nine pups since the mother wouldn’t have been able to feed them all. Carlson suggests Slim convince Candy to shoot his ailing old dog and give him one of the pups to raise. The conversation is interrupted by the dinner bell and the men head out.

Not to George’s surprise, Lennie is ecstatic upon learning about the puppies and George agrees to request a brown and white puppy for him from Slim. Before George and Lennie exit the bunkhouse, Curley arrives, angrily looking for his wife, and George calmly tells him she was there earlier looking for Curley. Curley scowls at him and leaves. George increasingly feels he will have some sort of altercation with Curley. George and Lennie head to dinner.

Chapter 2 Quotes

‘The boss gives him hell when he’s mad. But the stable buck don’t give a damn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room.’ (Candy about Crooks) Chapter 2

On his head was a soiled brown Stetson hat, and he wore high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a laboring man. (the Boss) Chapter 2

‘All right. But don’t try to put nothing over, ’cause you can’t get away with nothing. I seen wise guys before.’ (the boss to George and Lennie) Chapter 2

‘Yeah. I had ’im ever since he was a pup. God, he was a good sheep dog when he was younger.’ (Candy’s sheepdog) Chapter 2

‘Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at ’em because he ain’t a big guy.’ (Candy to George) Chapter 2

‘Well, he better watch out for Lennie. Lennie ain’t no fighter, but Lennie’s strong and quick, and Lennie don’t know no rules.’ (George to Candy about Curley) Chapter 2

She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. (Curley’s wife) Chapter 2

‘Well, you keep away from her, ’cause she’s a rattrap if I ever seen one.’ (George to Lennie about Curley’s wife) Chapter 2

He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule. (Slim) Chapter 2

There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. (Slim) Chapter 2

Chapter 3

George and Slim are in the bunkhouse, having returned from bucking barley after dinner. The other guys can be heard playing a game of horseshoe outside. George thanks Slim for giving a pup to Lennie and anticipates that Lennie will probably sleep with the pup in the barn rather than be separated from it overnight. Slim is impressed by how hard a worker Lennie is and that no other worker could keep up with him.

George divulges to Slim more of the backstory between him and Lennie, Slim’s easy and receptive manner inviting George’s confidence. George defends Lennie being called ‘cuckoo’ by Slim and admits to not being much brighter than Lennie if all he’s doing is bucking barley instead of working his own farm. George shares how Lennie would do anything for him and ashamedly shares of having used this to his advantage on occasion by playing pranks on him, nearly causing Lennie’s death once. Slim theorises that being smart doesn’t always equal being nice and that mostly, it’s the other way around. He senses that Lennie has no meanness in him. Before he realises it, George is sharing about what happened with Lennie in Weed and how the girl whose dress he touched cried to the authorities that Lennie had raped her. George defends Lennie’s innocence to Slim when he asks and Slim reiterates that he knows meanness when he sees it and Lennie isn’t mean.

Lennie returns to the bunkhouse to go to sleep and George suspects, rightly, that Lennie has smuggled in the pup. George insists the one-day-old pup needs to be with its mother and threatens to have Slim take the pup off Lennie if he doesn’t return the pup. Lennie takes the pup back to its mother and sleeps there. Slim sees how George has to protect Lennie from his own strength and remarks how Lennie is ‘jes’ like [a] kid’ in his innocence. George agrees, but adds ‘except he’s so strong’.

Candy returns with his old dog and, shortly later, so does Carlson. Carlson remarks about the foul smell of Candy’s dog and suggests it would be better that Candy euthanise him and put it out of his misery. Candy becomes uncomfortable at the suggestion and talks of having had the dog since he was pup and how good a sheep herder he once had been. Carlson continues with the idea, adding that if Candy were to shoot the dog in the back of the head, the dog would never see it happen, that Candy was being unkind for keeping the dog alive and in pain. Carlson suggests Slim might give Candy one of his dog’s pups, to which Slim agrees. It seems Candy’s dog’s fate is secured when Slim agrees with Carlson’s assessment by adding ‘I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I get old an’ a cripple’. Candy is outnumbered and succumbs to Carlson’s offer to shoot his dog when Carlson again role-plays how he will do it in the back of the head, so the dog feels no pain.

The exchange is interrupted by another worker, Whit, who enters the bunkhouse and gives Slim a magazine in which appears a letter to the editor written by a former worker, Bill, who had recently left the ranch. Whit talks about having enjoyed working with Bill and that ‘he was a hell of a nice fella’ which speaks to themes loneliness and companionship.

Carlson again pressures Candy about ending the dog’s life and offers to do it immediately with his gun. Candy hopes for an intervention from Slim and when there isn’t one, agrees, and, unable to look at his dog, lays back on his bed and stares at the ceiling. Carlson leads Candy’s dog out gently on a lead, taking a shovel with him. Slim and George try to change the topic to distract Candy from what is happening outside with his dog. The minutes seem to drag on until the shot sounds, and every head turns towards Candy, whose face is turned to the wall.

The black stable buck, Crooks, enters the bunkhouse to let Slim know he has warmed up some tar for the split hoof of one of his mules as requested. Crooks adds that ‘the big new guy’s messin’ around’ with Slim’s pups in the barn. Slim remarks that he won’t hurt them, and George tells Crooks to kick Lennie out if he’s giving him any trouble.

Whit raises the topic of Curley’s wife and her flirtatious behaviour. George learns that there’s been no issues with her yet but predicts trouble, remarking that a ranch is no place for a woman like Curley’s wife. Steinbeck is reinforcing the gender stereotypes of the day that if a woman such as Curley’s wife was not at home, where she was supposed to be, then she could only be up to no good. Whit invites George to come out to Susy’s parlour house (or cat house; a brothel) the following evening with the other guys. While Whit’s idea of fun, drinking and having girls mirrors the ideas George is frequently telling Lennie would be open to him if he didn’t always have Lennie to look out for, George tells Whit he may go with them but he won’t be spending the sort of money Whit spends. The dream farm George and Lennie are saving up for keeps George focused on saving his earnings.

Lennie and Carlson enter the bunkhouse, Lennie going to bed and Carlson cleaning his gun. Curley soon bursts into the bunkhouse again looking for his wife. He enquires threateningly after Slim, who is not in the bunkhouse, then goes off to the barn where George said he was headed. Whit and Carlson head to out see the potential action between Slim and Curley. George asks Lennie what’s on his mind and Lennie tells him that Slim suggested he not pet the pups too much as it was not good for them. George asks Lennie if he saw Curley’s wife in the barn with Slim and Lennie says he didn’t. He tells Lennie to stay out of any fighting he may see and to keep away from Curley’s wife, reinforcing his message by relaying the story of how one of their mutual school friends was now in jail ‘on account of a tart’.

Lennie asks George how long it will be until they have their own farm and begs him to again tell the story of the farm that they will one day have, including all the crops they’ll grow and the livestock they’ll raise. George gets entranced in his own story, which expands with ideas of catching their own salmon, tinning tomatoes and trading eggs or milk for whiskey, of working the land six or seven hours a day and not the eleven they were currently doing on the ranches. Lennie again gets fixated on the rabbits and talks about raising and caring for them. Lennie and George are shaken from their shared retelling of their future when Candy, who had been listening to them, enquires as to whether such a place exists. George is reserved about telling Candy anything, then eventually says he can get such a place for six hundred dollars. Candy tells the men of $300 he was given from his injury on the farm, wanting to go in with Lennie and George on the farm. Candy says he could cook and tend the chickens and help out in the garden and further offers to leave his share by will to the men after his death. George figures that if he and Lennie worked a month, they might have enough together with Candy’s stake to purchase the farm. The men sit silent and amazed as it dawns on them that their dream could become a reality far sooner than they had expected, Candy’s having come in on the deal making the plans more concrete. Candy ponders how when he gets too old to be useful, he won’t even get the luxury of the fate of his dog but will be left homeless and unable to work. Candy’s reality that his physical injury makes him a liability in a world where livelihoods are made through physical labour provides insight into life for migrant workers in the Depression era. The three men speak hopefully about their future before swearing each other to secrecy as the sounds of the other men approaching the bunkhouse are heard. With the introduction of hopeful new beginnings for Candy, his thoughts turn remorsefully to his dog as he regrets not having been the one to put his dog out of his pain.

Slim, Curley, Carlson and Whit enter the bunkhouse, Curley and Slim in an argument about Curley’s constant pestering of Slim about the whereabout of his wife. Slim warns him to lay off and is backed up by Carlson who predicts trouble for Curley if he doesn’t get his wife under control. Curley tries to provoke Carlson into a fight but Carlson tells him: ‘You’re yella as a frog belly. I don’t care if you’re the best welter in the country. You come for me, an’ I’ll kick your God damn head off.’ (yella is short for yellow belly, which refers to cowardice)

Lennie is still smiling at the thought of the ranch and, on seeing this, Curley’s frustrations well up and he sets his attention on Lennie, challenging him to a fight. As Curley lays punches into Lennie, Lennie keeps his hands by his side and calls for George to make Curley stop, not willing to defend himself. Slim tries to intervene but George stops him and beckons Lennie to fight Curley. On George’s direction he does so, crushing Curley’s hand and leaving him ‘flopping like a fish on a line’. George eventually intervenes when he can see that Curley’s hand is completely crushed and he tells Lennie to stop. Slim states that they need to get Curley to the doctor while Lennie repeats that he only did it because George told him to. Carlson reassures Lennie that it wasn’t his fault and that Curley had it coming.

George is concerned that he and Lennie will lose their jobs. Slim tells Curley how the story about his hand is going to be told, that he got it caught in a machine, and that if he gets George and Lennie fired, everyone will learn the embarrassing truth of how his hand got injured. Carlson takes Curley off to the doctor. George tells Lennie it wasn’t his fault and to wash his face. When Lennie asks, George assures him he’ll still be able to tend the rabbits. This exchange demonstrates just how deeply connected Lennie is to George and that he takes all his cues on how to behave from him.

Chapter 3 Quotes

‘Maybe he ain’t bright, but I never seen such a worker.’ (Slim about Lennie, to George) Chapter 3

‘Jus’ tell Lennie what to do an’ he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring. He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders.’ (George to Slim) Chapter 3

‘He’s a nice fella,’ said Slim. ‘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.’ (Slim to George about Lennie) Chapter 3

‘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. They get wantin’ to fight all the time.’
‘Yeah, they get mean,’ Slim agreed. ‘They get so they don’t want to talk to nobody.’ (George to Slim) Chapter 3

‘He ain’t mean,’ said Slim. ‘I can tell a mean guy a mile off.’ (to George about Lennie) Chapter 3

George said, ‘You get right up an’ take this pup back to the nest. He’s gotta sleep with his mother. You want to kill him? Just born last night an’ you take him out of the nest. You take him back or I’ll tell Slim not to let you have him.’ (to Lennie) Chapter 3

‘Jesus,’ he said. ‘He’s jes’ like kid, ain’t he.’ (Slim to George about Lennie) Chapter 3

‘Bill and me worked in that patch of field peas. Run cultivators, both of us. Bill was a hell of a nice fella.’ (Whit) Chapter 3

‘Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her.’ (George to Whit about Curley’s wife) Chapter 3

‘Sure,’ said George. ‘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. There wouldn’t be no more runnin’ round the country and gettin’ fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we’d have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunt house.’ (George to Lennie about their dream farm) Chapter 3

‘You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.’ (Candy to George) Chapter 3

Slim said, ‘Well, you been askin’ me too often. I’m gettin’ God damn sick of it. If you can’t look after your own God damn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me.’ (when Curley asks if he’s seen his wife) Chapter 3

Carlson laughed. ‘You God damn punk,’ he said. ‘You tried to throw a scare into Slim, an’ you couldn’t make it stick. Slim throwed a scare inta you. You’re yella as a frog belly. I don’t care if you’re the best welter in the country. You come for me, an’ I’ll kick your God damn head off.’ (Carlson to Curley) Chapter 3

‘I didn’t want no trouble’ … (Lennie, after hurting Curley) Chapter 3

‘I can still tend the rabbits, George?’ (Lennie to George) Chapter 3