Money, Drugs, Violence, and Redemption in 1990s America

Question for Discussion: See Pulp Fiction (1994).
What are the underlying religious themes in
Pulp Fiction ? Is this movie really about sinning
and redemption?

Critical Reviews of Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction Web Sites

"The film tells interlocking stories, which unfold out of chronological order, so that the movie's ending hooks up with the beginning, most of its middle happens after the ending, and a major character is onscreen after he has been shot dead. Why is the movie told in this way? For three reasons, perhaps: (1) Because Q.T., as his fans call him, is tired of linear plots that slog wearily from A to Z; (2) to make the script reveal itself like "hypertext," in which "buttons" like the gold watch or "foot massage" lead to payoffs like Butch's story or Vincent's date from hell; and (3) because each of the main stories ends with some form of redemption. The key redemption -- the decision by Jules(Samuel L. Jackson) to retire from crime after his life is saved by a "miracle" -- is properly placed at the end of the film even though it doesn't happen at the end of the story."
Roger Ebert

[Ezekiel 25:17 among others]
Jules: The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Jules:: That was...divine intervention. You know what divine intervention is?
Vincent: Yeah, I think so. That means God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.
Jules: Yeah, man, that's what is means. That's exactly what it means! God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.
Vincent: I think we should be going now.
Jules: Don't do that! Don't you fuckin' do that! Don't blow
this shit off! What just happened was a fuckin' miracle!

Vincent: How long do you intend to walk the earth?

Jules: Until God puts me where he want me to be.

Vincent: What if he never does?

Jules: If it takes forever, I'll wait forever.

Vincent: So you decided to be a bum?

Jules: I'll just be Jules, Vincent -- no more, no less.

1. Do you agree with Roger Ebert's analysis of why Pulp Fiction is broken up into stories that are told out of chronological order and seems to jump from story to story without really finishing any one story-line:

"The film tells interlocking stories, which unfold out of chronological order, so that the movie's ending hooks up with the beginning, most of its middle happens after the ending, and a major character is onscreen after he has been shot dead....because each of the main stories ends with some form of redemption. The key redemption -- the decision by Jules(Samuel L. Jackson) to retire from crime after his life is saved by a "miracle" -- is properly placed at the end of the film even though it doesn't happen at the end of the story."

2. What do you think Jules means when he tells his victims before he kills them:

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

3. Is the Director, Quentin Tarantino, just paying with the viewer's mind by having a hired killer quote from the Bible, or does this quote explain the larger story and moral dilemma at the heart of Pulp Fiction?

4. What do you make of Jules and Vincent's discussion of the morality of throwing "Antoine" out of a twelve-story window for giving Marsellus Wallace's wife, Mia, a foot massage? Is there somehow a code of conduct for these killers that they're working out by talking about this brutal act? Do these killers operate on the basis of a set of moral guidelines?

5. What do you think is the significance of the briefcase that Jules and Vincent kill the boys over? What do you think is in the briefcase?

6. Why is Butch's father's watch so important to him? Why does he risk his life trying to recover the watch?

7. Why do you think Butch saves Marsellus Wallace from the two redneck rapists? Afterall, Wallace wanted to kill Butch, so what does Butch owe to Wallace? Does Butch's act redeem his character, or is he just a small-time hood that has killed two people?

8. Do you agree with Roger Ebert's argument that several people are "saved" in Pulp Fiction:

"Against this body count, there are several people who are saved in the movie. Mia (Uma Thurman) is brought back from the dead after an overdose; Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) is saved by Butch in the basement; and many potential victims in the coffee shop are saved after Jules talks Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) and Pumpkin (Tim Roth) into calling off their stickup. And, of course, the lives of Jules and Vincent are saved, when a volley of shots in the apartment misses them. Jules chooses to call this a miracle, a sign from God, and retires from crime. Vincent shrugs it off, and pays the price."

9. Does Pulp Fiction really imply that Honey Bunny (Yolanda) and Pumpkin (Ringo) are saved by Jules after their failed restaurant robbery? Do you think Yolanda and Ringo will understand the "opportunity" that Jules has given them, or will they like Vincent continue on their old way and pay the price with their lives?

10. What does Jules mean when he gives Ringo $1500 out of his wallet and tells him that "I am buying your life"? Is Jules trying to make Ringo understand that he has been given a gift--his life--that he shouldn't squander?

Jules Winnfield: Wanna know what I'm buyin' Ringo?

Pumpkin: What?

Jules Winnfield: Your life. I'm givin' you that money so I don't hafta kill your ass. You read the Bible?

11. What do you make of the argument between Jules and Vincent over whether it was a miracle that they weren't killed by the six shots fired at them point-blank by the boy?

12. What does Jules mean when he says that "I felt the touch of God. God got involved"? Does Jules believe that the miracle of his surviving the six shots is some kind of warning to him?

13. As a result of surviving the shooting, Jules says, "I had a moment of clarity." Do you think some of the other characters in Pulp Fiction has similar "moments of clarity"?

14. What do we make of Wolf's character? Can there really be an honorable criminal? Why do Jules and Vincent respect Wolf so much. What does Wolf mean when he says, "Respect for one's elders shows character"?

15. What does Jules mean when he tells Ringo, "Either you are the evil man and I am the righteous, or you are the weak and I am the tyranny of evil men. But I am trying real hard to be the shepherd"?

16. Does Pulp Fiction, a movie about brutal killers and brutal violence, really shed light on "grace," morality, second-chances, character, and one's duty in life? Does the brutal violence and the brutal nature of these men weaken or enhance the larger film's message about grace and redemption?

17. Compare the larger messages of Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump. Do these two movies share similar themes and moral dilemmas? How can movies about an idiot and brutal killers tell us anything about morality, character, and the moral dilemmas of the 1980s and 1990s?

18. Do Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump leave us with hope for American society in the 1990s and the early 2000s? What is the source of that hope and optimism?