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Of Mice and Men - Dialogue

Study how Steinbeck’s dialogue reveals character, power and loneliness in Of Mice and Men, from George and Lennie’s friendship to the sharp, tense exchanges in the bunkhouse.

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Fascinating Fact:

Crooks’s guarded, bitter speech, especially when he says “A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody,” exposes the psychological impact of racism and isolation.

In GCSE English Literature, you study how Steinbeck uses dialogue in Of Mice and Men to show status, prejudice and hope. The characters’ voices reveal tension, dreams and deep loneliness on the ranch.

Key Terms

Dialogue: The spoken words between characters that reveal personality, relationships and conflict.
Colloquial language: Everyday, informal speech that makes characters sound realistic for their time and place.
Subtext: The hidden feelings or ideas suggested by what characters say and how they say it.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How does Steinbeck use dialogue in Of Mice and Men?

Steinbeck uses dialogue to show who holds power, who feels excluded and how close or distant characters are. Short, sharp lines often create tension, while repeated phrases highlight important dreams.

Why is the ranch workers’ slang important in Of Mice and Men?

The ranch workers’ slang makes the setting feel authentic to 1930s California. It also shows class and education differences, helping readers understand why some characters feel small or powerless.

How can I revise dialogue for my Of Mice and Men GCSE essay?

Choose a few key conversations, learn short quotations and link them to themes like loneliness, dreams or power. In essays, always explain what the words suggest about character and context.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it."

Lennie

Candy

Crooks

George

Lennie's desire to hear over and over again the dream about owning land and rabbits is reminiscent of a child wishing to hear a bedtime story. The dream is equally important to the more serious-minded George, however

2 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Ain't many guys travel around together. I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other."

George

Candy

Slim

Curley's wife

Slim is fascinated by Lennie and George's unlikely-seeming friendship and muses thoughtfully on George's explanation for it

3 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Well, a show come through, an' I met one of the actors. He says I could go with the show. But my ol' lady wouldn' let me. She says because I was on'y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I'd went, I wouldn't be livin' like this, you bet."

Crooks

Carlson

Curley

Curley's wife

Curley's wife feels as trapped in her life as the men on the ranch do in theirs

4 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"I'm jus' tryin' to tell you I didn't mean nothing. I jus' though you might of saw her."

Lennie

Curley

George

Slim

Curley is nearly always seen looking for his wife. Although he usually demands aggressively to know where she is, here he is talking to Slim in a placating manner because the quiet authority of the other man knocks the bluster out of him

5 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"You wasn't big enough. They tol' me and tol' me you wasn't."

Lennie

Curley's wife

Candy

Carlson

Like a young child, Lennie often does what he wants, ignoring the warnings of others. Here he is full of regret because he has accidentally killed the puppy he loved. Even though he remembers times in the past when he has done something similar, he is unable to control his impulses

6 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody — to be near him."

Crooks

Candy

Lennie

Curley

The other men exclude Crooks from their company because he is black. As a consequence he is angry as well as lonely

7 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"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."

Crooks

Curley

Lennie

Candy

Candy's likely fate represents the end of the itinerant labourer's working life. They each know that disability, old age and loss of strength will eventually cause them to be cast aside

8 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"If I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an' not have no mess."

Crooks

George

Lennie

Candy

George says these lines "woodenly". Life without Lennie would be easier because he would have fewer worries, but it would also be an exceptionally lonely life. George knows that this lonely life will be his in the future because he cannot save Lennie from the consequences of killing Curley's wife

9 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"If you want me to, I'll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with. Ain't nothing left for him."

Slim

George

Carlson

Curley

Carlson talks as if he takes pity on Candy's old, decrepit dog, but it is also true that he can't bear its presence in the bunkhouse and he volunteers eagerly to put an end to its suffering with his Luger

10 .

Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Sure, we'd have a little house an' a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an' in the winter we'd keep a fire goin' in it. It ain't enough land so we'd have to work too hard."

Lennie

George

Candy

Slim

George enjoys elaborating upon the shared dream of owning land as much as Lennie enjoys listening to him

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Of Mice and Men

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)