Of Mice and Men Quotes
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Source: Of Mice and Men
Author: John Steinbeck
"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world"
"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to."
Context
It's hard out there for a ranchhand.
Steinbeck is setting us up for the rest of the lonely, lonely book that is Of Mice and Men. Sounds to us like the loneliness is even worse than the poverty. Maybe that's why George sticks by Lennie for so long.
Where you've heard it
Loneliness and the American Dream. Where have we seen that before?
Yeah, literature is full of this stuff.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Too sad to be pretentious.