21 Quotes About Friendship From of Mice and Men

This classic novel taking place during the Great Depression is related to a parable about what it means to be human. These quotes about friendship from Mice and Men highlight some of the amazing qualities we get to experience from others during our lifetime.

“A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.”

“A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down the river.”

“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 shadows.”

“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment.”

“At about 10 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.”

“Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.”

“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.”

“Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.”

“His ear heard more than what was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought.”

“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”

“I seen it over an’ over—a guy talkin’ to another guy and it don’t make no difference if he don’t hear or understand. The thing is, they’re talkin’, or they’re settin’ still not talkin’.”

“In every bit of honest writing in the world, there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other.”

“Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.”

“Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head.”

“They fell into a silence. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true.”

“They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true.”

“Trouble with mice is you always kill ’em.”

“Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.”

“We know what we got, and we don’t care whether you know it or not.”

“Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is.”

“You never oughta drink water when it ain’t runnin’.”

The friendship taught in Steinback’s book highlights the amazing commonalities we share with others in life.