Well, it appears that I've been doing a Tarantino smorgasbord of sorts the past few weeks, with another on the way. Regardless, I have a real treat planned for this analysis. Today I'll be breaking down the last segment of Pulp Fiction, called "The Bonnie Situation." For those of you who don't know or remember this part of the film, allow me to summarize. It begins where the prologue with Vincent and Jules left off, with the death of Brett. But, instead of doing it form our intrepid henchmen's perspective, it begins in a bathroom, with a nervous man inside, holding what appears to be a sort of hand cannon. After Brett is turned into human Swiss cheese, the man bursts out and empties his hand cannon towards Vincent and Jules, but somehow misses every time. The two hitmen make quick work of him and take their contact, Marvin (Phil LaMarr) with them to their car. As Jules and Vincent argue about whether or not the fact they were saved from the hail of bullets was divine intervention (evoking Jules's Bible Passage) or just coincidence. To settle this argument, Vincent, in his eternal wisdom, turns around to ask Marvin for his opinion, and shoots him in the face. Naturally, this angers Jules, as Vincent has been shown in the film to be somewhat incompetent. In order to make sure they aren't caught the police, they arrive at Jimmie's (Quentin Tarantino) home. You can tell who Jimmie is as he is very angry about what his house is not, and he is very angry about what is currently in his garage. Marsellus then sends Winston Wolf (Harvey Keitel) to solve the problem, as Wolf knows how to solve problems. They get the blood and guts cleaned out of their vehicle and clean the windows, and change out of their suave suits into some less-than-flattering attire.
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| These costumes are still better than the ones chosen for Travolta's Battlefield Earth |
Meanwhile, they decide to rustle up some grub at a nearby diner. Coincidentally enough, it is the same bank that is about to be robbed by Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer). As the pair of thieves go around the diner collecting wallets, Jules decided to take Pumpkin aside and give him a stern talking-to, in a way that can only be done by Samuel L. Jackson. He speaks of his Bible passage, and even takes out the fabled briefcase when Pumpkin tries to steal it. This results in a Mexican Standoff between Vincent (he was in the facilities while all of this occurred), Honey Bunny, and Jules. No one dies, and Jules leaves Pumpkin with some resonant messages as he and Vincent leave. Now, here's where things get analytical. As Vincent and Jules ride in their car, Jules discusses how after the recent events of the day, he wishes to get out of the hitman business, considering the attempted murder in the apartment to be a sign from God himself. Post-Marvin killing, at the diner, as Pumpkin and Honey Bunny begin to mug the customers, Jules has his "heel realization." Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are the archetypal criminals, whose entire discussion in the prologue to the film is about why they should rob the diner they were in and why it was a better choice then robbing a bank or a liquor store. Only in the third act do we return, after Jules has had his realization. When Pumpkin attempts to steal his wallet, Jules forces him to sit down with the threat of shooting him. He recites his Bible passage, and he discovers that he is the tool of evil men, and he's "trying real hard to be the shepherd (through the valley of darkness)." By doing this, he hopes to save these two from a similar fate. Naturally, we can never tell if they followed his advice, but we do know Jules followed through, as he is not visible in the second act, which, chronologically, occurs after the third act. It also shows the contrast between Vincent and Jules. Vincent, despite being related to the sadistic Vic Vega (better known as Mr. Blonde [Michael Madsen] of Reservoir Dogs), sort of relies on Jules in the gangster business. He forces Jules into an awkward position when he killed Marvin by accident, and dies foolishly at the hands of Butch when he leaves his weapon outside of the bathroom, hoist by his own petard. It could even be said he uses Vic as a way to promote himself; obviously he was a respected criminal during his life, and maybe that carried over when Vincent joined Marsellus's entourage. Jules, on the other hand, has connections (Jimmie being an example) and has obviously been in "business" long enough with Marsellus that he can demand immediate help, and be granted such high caliber help as The Wolf. It's an Odd Couple-esque scenario: the fledgling fool, and the veteran. Realistically, Vince would still be much lower on the hierarchy had it not been for these two. However, he makes up for his lack of intelligence with loyalty, though to an almost rabid extent. His one-sided thinking and loyalty to his boss make him ignore the obvious miracle of their survival against the hand-cannon armed gentleman in the bathroom. However, this can alternatively be explained by the two's level on the scale of anti-heroes. Vincent is a Type V: a hero in name only. He all but exemplifies the stereotypical criminal by doing drugs, killing people for a living, and perhaps most offensively, wears his hair to his shoulders. Jules appears as a Type V at first, but is truly a Type III, a pragmatic anti-hero. He actually has some semblance of good in his soul, and this is only corroborated in the final act. In conclusion, if we use Pulp Fiction as an example of Tarantino's filmography as a whole, we can see how much time he invests in his screenplays and in making unique, multilayered characters that may appear one-dimensional, but only further their complexity, stories rife with symbolism and suspense, and of course the punchy, sharply-penned dialogue that we've grown so used to.
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