- Hank Aimes: My name is Hank Aimes and I've been a miner all my life. And I've never been ashamed of it until now. You know when we take our wives and daughters to the company barbecue, I don't hear any of them calling them those names like bitches and whores and worse. I don't see anyone grab them by their privates or drawing pictures of them on the bathroom walls, it's unspeakable. Unspeakable! So what's changed? She's still my daughter! It's a heck of a thing, to watch one of your own get treated that way. You're all supposed to be my friends, my brothers. Well, right now I don't have a friend in this room. In fact the only one I'm not ashamed of is my daughter.
- Bill White: What are you supposed to do when the ones with all the power are hurting those with none? Well for starters, you stand up. Stand up and tell the truth. You stand up for your friends. You stand up even when you're all alone. You stand up.
- Josey Aimes: You act like I'm stealing. I work damn hard every day, same as you.
- Hank Aimes: Oh, now you're the same as me.
- Josey Aimes: Oh no, there's a few differences. You don't go to work scared of what they write about you on the walls, or what kind of disgusting thing you might find in your locker. You don't gotta be scared that one of these days you'll come to work and get raped.
- [reading on Glory's behalf]
- Kyle: "My name is Glory Dodge and I'm not fucking dead yet. I stand with Josey."
- Sammy Aimes: [at the dinner table] Why do I have to eat when I'm not hungry?
- Karen Aimes: Because people are starving in China.
- Josey Aimes: [looks up] People are starving right here. Clean plates, both of you.
- Glory: [notices Josey's wedding ring] Married? Who's the lucky?
- Josey Aimes: [looks distressed, licks her finger and starts to remove the ring]
- Glory: Who's the unlucky?
- Josey Aimes: Me, I s'pose.
- Sammy Aimes: That's crap. I got a right.
- Kyle: Yeah, you got a lot of rights, starting with the right to be pissed off. If fact, you got a right to hate the whole world right now.
- Sammy Aimes: I don't hate the whole world. I just hate her.
- Kyle: It takes a lot of work to hate someone. You ready to put in that kind of time?
- Arlen Pavich: The doctor says you look darn good under those clothes - sense of humor ladies, rulo numero uno.
- Bill White: How old are you?
- Sherry: Nineteen. So you wanna dance?
- Bill White: I don't think you do. I'm wearing underwear older than that.
- Josey Aimes: I've heard of Lou Gehrig, I just never heard about the disease.
- Glory: I know. It's kind of like piece by piece your body just quits listening to you. Like a bullheaded teenager.
- [first lines]
- Josey Aimes: [testifying] Lady, you sit in your nice house, clean floors, your bottled water, your flowers on Valentine's Day, and you think you're tough? Wear my shoes. Tell me tough. Work a day in the pit, tell me tough.
- Lawyer: I'm sure we're all sufficiently impressed, Mrs. Aimes.
- Josey Aimes: There's no "Mrs." here.
- Hank Aimes: [to Josey upon announcing her desire to work at the mine] You wanna be a lesbian, now?
- Karen Aimes: [innocently] *I* wanna be a lesbian.
- Bill White: [looking at the copious amount of stuffed deer and elk head mounted on the walls of the bar] What is this? A pet cemetery?
- Kyle: You got a lot of pet elk in your house?