All John Steinbeck Quotes
- In literary criticism the critic has no choice but to make over the victim of his attention into something the size and shape of himself. Attention
- He was born in fury and he lived in lightning. Tom came headlong into life. He was a giant in joy and enthusiasms. He didn't… Book
- He learned that when people are very poor they still have something to give and the impulse to give it. Give
- Maybe-- maybe love makes you suspicious and doubting. Is it true that when you love a woman you are never sure-- never sure of her… Doubt
- [He] fell right into the oldest conviction in the world-- that the girl you are in love with can't possibly be anything but true and… Conviction
- Maybe we all have in us a secret pond where evil and ugly things germinate and grow strong. But this culture is fences, and the… Absurd
- There are no ugly questions except those clothed in condescension. Clothed
- When a man says he does not want to speak of something he usually means he can think of nothing else. Doe
- Well, every little boy thinks he invented sin. Virtue we think we learn, because we are told about it. But sin is our own designing. Boy
- I am sifting my memories, the way men pan the dirt under a barroom floor for the bits of gold dust that fall between the… Adam
- But 'Thou mayest!'! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his… Brother
- The ways of sin are curious . . . I guess if a man had to shuck off everything he had, inside and out, he'd… Curious
- You're getting well,' Samuel said. 'Some people think it's an insult to the glory of their sickness to get well. But the time poultice is… Everyone
- A book is like a man - clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page… Beautiful
- At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You… Adam
- Do you take pride in your hurt?' Samuel asked. 'Does it make you seem large and tragic? . . . Maybe you're playing a part… Afford
- And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his… Ate
- And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good. Encouragement
- It’s a hard thing to leave any deeply routine life, even if you hate it. Any
- Men all do about the same thing when they wake up. All
- New York is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal, its politics are used to frighten children, its traffic is madness,… Children
- They're a dark people with a gift for suffering way past their deserving. It's said that without whiskey to soak and soften the world, they'd… Dark
- When you're a child you're the center of everything. Everything happens for you. Other people? They're only ghosts furnished for you to talk to. Center
- Riches seem to come to the poor in spirit, the poor in interest and joy. To put it straight - the very rich are a… Bastards
- He had said, "I am a man," and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and half god. It… Broke