Of Mice and Men

by

John Steinbeck

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George Milton Character Analysis

George Milton is one of the protagonists in Of Mice and Men. A small, wiry, and wily hustler who’s quick on his feet and sharp to boot, George travels around the countryside with his childhood companion, Lennie, looking for work on ranches and migrant farms across California. George has cared for Lennie for years, and though he has increasingly come to see his lumbering, simple-minded companion as a burden, he finds himself incapable of abandoning Lennie and leaving him exposed to the cruelties of the world. At the start of the novella, George and Lennie are on the run after escaping a ranch in a town called Weed, where Lennie got them into trouble after grabbing the hem of a young woman’s dress because he wanted to touch its soft fabric. George is determined to make their next position their last—he wants to save up enough money to buy a spit of land all his own, farm it, and live there with Lennie free of the responsibilities and indignities of working for a different ranch boss each month. George is clearly weary and resentful of the way he’s been living, but doesn’t know how to seize his fate and change his circumstances. After arriving on the ranch in Soledad and meeting Candy—an old man who offers to use the settlement he received for an injury years ago to help George buy some land—George begins to believe that he and Lennie are at last going to be free from their rootless and directionless lifestyle. When Lennie kills the wife of the boss’s son, Curley, however, George is forced to admit that his dream of a free, plentiful life on his own farm was never going to be a reality. And, moreover, he must kill Lennie in order to save his companion from an undignified, torturous death (and himself from suspicion of having aided Lennie in the killing). Proud, crafty, and empathetic in spite of a decidedly selfish streak, George Milton is a portrait of a man at war with himself—desperate to appear strong, capable, and independent even as his love for Lennie, his hopes for a better future, and his frustration with the worst parts of himself threaten his ability to survive in a harsh world that is only getting harsher.

George Milton Quotes in Of Mice and Men

The Of Mice and Men quotes below are all either spoken by George Milton or refer to George Milton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Broken Plans Theme Icon
).
Part 1 Quotes

Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.

Related Characters: George Milton, Lennie Small
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:

“Well, we ain't got any,” George exploded. “Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble....An' whatta I got,” George went on furiously. “I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:

“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.”

[…] Lennie broke in. “But not us! An’ why? Because...because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small (speaker)
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm
Page Number: 13-14
Explanation and Analysis:

“Well,” said George, “we'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm
Page Number: 14-15
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2 Quotes

“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.”

Related Characters: Slim (speaker), George Milton, Lennie Small
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3 Quotes

“S'pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing." Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. "We'd just go to her," George said. "We wouldn't ask nobody if we could. Jus' say, 'We'll go to her,' an' we would. Jus' milk the cow and sling some grain to the chickens an' go to her.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Candy
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm
Page Number: 60-61
Explanation and Analysis:

“I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog.”

Related Characters: Candy (speaker), George Milton
Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5 Quotes

“I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm, Rabbits
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6 Quotes

“No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Page Number: 106
Explanation and Analysis:

"Never you mind," said Slim. "A guy got to sometimes."

Related Characters: Slim (speaker), George Milton, Lennie Small
Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog
Page Number: 107
Explanation and Analysis:
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George Milton Quotes in Of Mice and Men

The Of Mice and Men quotes below are all either spoken by George Milton or refer to George Milton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Broken Plans Theme Icon
).
Part 1 Quotes

Slowly, like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again.

Related Characters: George Milton, Lennie Small
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:

“Well, we ain't got any,” George exploded. “Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble....An' whatta I got,” George went on furiously. “I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:

“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.”

[…] Lennie broke in. “But not us! An’ why? Because...because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small (speaker)
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm
Page Number: 13-14
Explanation and Analysis:

“Well,” said George, “we'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm
Page Number: 14-15
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2 Quotes

“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.”

Related Characters: Slim (speaker), George Milton, Lennie Small
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3 Quotes

“S'pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing." Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. "We'd just go to her," George said. "We wouldn't ask nobody if we could. Jus' say, 'We'll go to her,' an' we would. Jus' milk the cow and sling some grain to the chickens an' go to her.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Candy
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm
Page Number: 60-61
Explanation and Analysis:

“I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog.”

Related Characters: Candy (speaker), George Milton
Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5 Quotes

“I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Related Symbols: George and Lennie’s Farm, Rabbits
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6 Quotes

“No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know.”

Related Characters: George Milton (speaker), Lennie Small
Page Number: 106
Explanation and Analysis:

"Never you mind," said Slim. "A guy got to sometimes."

Related Characters: Slim (speaker), George Milton, Lennie Small
Related Symbols: Candy’s Dog
Page Number: 107
Explanation and Analysis: