Pulp Fiction Analysis
...of the film, and the second time he says it, he realizes its meaning. When he says it at the coffee shop near at the end of the film, he gives three possible explanations. The three explanations explain his evolution as a person over the course of the film. The first explanation is that Jules himself is the righteous man and whoever opposes him is the evil man. This is symbolic of Jules at the beginning of the film, when he has no concept of god or religion, and he is just saying the quote because it sounds cool. The second interpretation is that Jules is the Shepard and he is protecting the robber of the coffee shop from the evil world. This shows Jules after he believes that divine intervention prevented him from getting shot by the man in the bathroom when the film flashes back to the apartment. This is a Jules that believes in the existence of a Supreme Being. The third interpretation is when Jules finally discovers the meaning of the quote. He realizes the he is the tyranny of evil man and his victims are merely the weak. Jules discovers that there is no god and religion, it is just a quote, and he is nothing more than a hit man. Vincent, Jules’ partner has no regard for all his biblical stuff. In fact, whenever Jules discusses anything pertaining to god and religion, Vincent is quick to dismiss it as something else. For example, when Jules claims that they were saved by divine intervention, Vincent plays it off saying that the guy was just a bad shot. When Jules has his epiphany, Vincent is in the bathroom because he didn’t want to listen to Jules preaching anymore. These two men are the prime examples that Tarantino uses to claim that god and religion are nothing more than pulp fiction. The other character that illustrates this point is Bruce, although Tarantino uses him more subtly. Bruce’s character rejects theology by neglecting his American culture. Americans believe in god, religion and the bible, and by shrugging off his American heritage, he is shrugging of American theology. For example, when the cab driver asks him what his name means, he replies that he is American and therefore his name means nothing. In addition, his watch is a symbol of this American culture. The reason is stored up human rectum for five years symbolizes that the watch is exactly that—feces. Bruce’s attachment to that watch almost gets him killed twice. The first is his flashback to when he received the watch from his father’s friend in the army. This flashback prompts him to not throw the fight and put his life in jeopardy with the gangsters. Also, when he leaves his apartment the next morning to retrieve the watch, he is almost killed by Vincent, had it not been for his impeccable timing, and it almost gets him raped by the hillbillies. The last example of this rejection of culture is when he chooses his weapon to help out Marcellus. His reason for choosing the samurai sword is twofold. First, the sword is the only tool that was designed to be a weapon, not the hammer, baseball bat, or chainsaw. Also, the other three are symbols of American culture, with the samurai sword being the exception. Bruce is the third character that is used to show the fictional existence of god and religion. There are also symbols that appear throughout the movie that support the notion that there is no god. First off, there are no police in the film, despite all of the illegal activities that go on over the course of the film. This lack of authority symbolizes the lack of higher authority known as religion or god. The only quasi-exception is Zed, the hillbilly dressed as a cop who r...