Biblical References in Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

Throughout the movie Pulp Fiction, directed by Quentin Tarantino, there are

many hidden references to religion and the Bible. The movie starts off,

introducing our two main characters, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, as two

cheap hitmen in search of a package belonging to their boss, Marcellus Wallace.

The package is retrieved, and they then began their job of returning it to their

boss. Along the way, they ran into difficulties, such as Vega's so-called

"date" with his boss' wife, Mia, during which she overdosed on heroin, and Vega

was forced to take her to the drug dealer's house to save her life, as well as

the robbers in the restaurant, who try to take the suitcase from Winnfield, but

were unsuccessful. The whole movie serves as a warning to all mankind to avoid

the temptations of the Devil, as well as a warning to not try to play God,

because the two boys who stole the suitcase play the role of the Devil, as do

the drugs, and they were almost the downfall of the whole attempt.

The movie wasted no time in introducing the first biblical reference

when the two men try to retrieve the suitcase containing Wallace's belongings.

When Vega opened the suitcase, he used the combination "666" to open the

suitcase, and when he opened it, the contents glowed a golden-orange color.

This was obviously an introductory attempt to show the audience that the

suitcase held Marcellus' soul. Perhaps Tarantino was trying to show that the

people that stole the suitcase were the devils pawns, and these two hitmen were

angels trying to retrieve stolen property.

After Vega and Winnfield had obtained their "treasure," Winnfield quoted

the Bible, specifically Ezekiel 25:17, the passage about destroying the evil

members of the society that try to harm others for no reason. Part of that

passage was "..and you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance

upon thee." This quote shows that Winnfield sees what he is doing as heroic, or

maybe angelic, and by carrying out his duties, he is following the word of the

Lord. As Winnfield shot the boy, Brett, an orange-golden glow enveloped the

screen, representing Brett's soul leaving his body. This whole part of the

movie is to warn the evil-doers of the world to cease their wrongdoings, because

there are people out there who will stop them.

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...od, sometimes what he does is not right,

and he is trying to be the one that always does the right thing: the shepherd.

This is another reason why Jules is not killed off. He realized that he cannot

play God, and therefore he is forgiven. Vincent, however, never fully realized

this, and he is punished at the end of the story by being killed by Butch.

Although cleverly hidden, the signs of biblical inference and the power

of God are extremely prevalent in the film. Elements of the plot such as the

realization of wrongdoing by Jules, the general feeling that the Wallaces are

trying to be all knowing and all powerful, the drug dealer being the downfall as

well as the savior for Mia, and the way that Jules and Vincent try to control

others lives and are punished for it all show us something. These signs show us

that we must do as we think we should, and not try to control anyone but

yourself, because if you are busy trying to control others, you may not be

tending to yourself, leaving yourself wide open to manipulation by others like

yourself. If we mind our own business and take care of ourselves, the world

would go a lot smoother, and have many fewer conflicts.