Quotes Flashcards
George cares about Lennie’s feelings
‘He looked across the fire at Lennie’s anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames’
Lennies shows awareness that George does need him
‘Lennie avoided the bait. He had sensed his advantage’
The power the American dream holds over them
‘George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before’
George deludes himself about a better life
‘god a’mighty, if i was alone i could live so easy’
Bunkhouse being a place of pain and hardship
‘And there were medicines on the shelves, and little vials…’
Their ultimate dream
“An’ live off the fatta the lan”
Lennie and George as parent and child
‘Good boy! That’s fine, Lennie!’ ‘Lennie choked with pride.’
Bunkhouse having no care put into it
‘Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted.’
Bunkhouse resembling a prison
‘At about ten o’clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.’
Candy having a disability
‘He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand.’
Never actually believed in the American Dream (initially)
‘This thing they had never really believed in was coming true.’
The ruthless utilitarian nature of the ranch
‘You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else.’
Curley may have power but he has no respect from the other men
‘You God dam punk, ‘You come for me, an I’ll kick your God dam head off.’
Crooks’ lodgings symbolizing the segregation at the time
‘a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn.’
The items in the harness room symbolising how Crooks has been similarly abused by authority and discarded
‘On pegs were also pieces of harness, a split collar with the horsehair stuffing sticking out, a broken hame, and a trace chain with its leather covering split.’
Crooks relying on education to navigate racist society
‘a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905.’
Crooks being denied a voice in society
‘pain-tightened lips’
The stymieing effects of racism shown through the fact that Crooks returns to the liniment
‘Now and then he poured a few drops of liniment.’
The brutal reality that racism is the sole reason for why Crooks isn’t wanted
‘Cause I’m black.’
Crooks not naturally aloof
‘Crooks scowled, but Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him’
The isolation of black people
‘There wasn’t another coloured family for miles around. And now there ain’t a coloured man on this ranch an’ there’s jus’ one family in Soledad.’
What would happen to Lennie without George to protect him
‘They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog.’
The importance of companionship
‘A guy needs somebody to be- to be near him.” he whined, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.’
Futility of the American Dream
‘Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every dam one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God dam one of ‘em ever gets it.’
Reminder that women were above black people in society
‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down at the bunk and drew into himself.’
