Literature in Film #1: Pulp Fiction

(Decided to write about Pulp Fiction b/c I was absent)

Over this past weekend I watched Pulp Fiction for the very first time. The beginning of the film was super straightforward and started out pretty suspenseful. This beginning scene foreshadowed the very ending scene, using the same characters and the same exact actions. Throughout the whole movie, director Quentin Tarantino included many montages of a few different story lines. Each montage represented a puzzle piece in the movie that all came together at the end. Within this gangster, humorous, violent film, one of the main characters, Jules, plays a huge role. What really caught my attention was specific dialogue that Jules would say before he was about to kill his victim.The very first time in the movie when jules states this dialogue, it symbolizes power. Saying these lines from the Bible is a source of power in which Jules believes that this will save his good morals. Killing is a horrible thing and a cruel sin. Knowing this, by stating lines from the Bible, Jules believes that it will save him from the negative things that may happen to him. The most interesting meaning of these lines is created at the end. In the last scene when Jules is in a horrible position of death and getting ready to kill someone (Ringo) , he analysis the use of the Bible lines.

"'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by 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 thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is The Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."'

"'See now I'm thinkin', maybe it means you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9 Milimeter here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. Now, I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth."'

Jules realizes that he is the evil one. In the past, he has murdered so many people without even thinking about it. He has used the previous Bible lines to cover up his wrong doings. At this point in the movie, he knows that he must change for the better. Jules wants to believe that his victims are all evil, but it's actually the other way around. He has the power to kill anyone he wants, making him the most evil character. Jules transitions into a different mindset when he lets Ringo go with the money that he wanted to steal from the restaurant.

I love the ending because it is also the beginning of the movie. As viewers, we were left hanging in the beginning of the movie, only being showed two characters (Ringo and his girlfriend) who put a restaurant on lock-down in order to rob everyone. At the end, this scene comes together and we leave on a good note. The overall message to Pulp Fiction is established through this recurring scene, do what's right.