Pulp Fiction: The Theme of Perspective | Teen Ink

Pulp Fiction: The Theme of Perspective

July 2, 2020
By lkelley8 BRONZE, Brookville, Indiana
lkelley8 BRONZE, Brookville, Indiana
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

 After reading various film critic reviews on the underlying theme or reasoning for the movie, their answers usually connected to one central claim; the movie was about nothing. However, I disagree. When Jules Winnfield contemplates dropping the business of being a hitman again in the final scene, it highlights the theme of how the choices you make not only affect you but the people you are surrounded by. 

Pulp Fiction proves to be very humorous and intriguing as the plot unravels itself back to where it started--in the restaurant. Predictably violent, if the audience knows the director Quentin Tarantino, the film ventures into the lives of two ridiculous hitmen. While the story jumps, the perspective does too, creating an unbelievable experience as multiple characters contribute to the overall meaning of the movie.


Although Quentin Tarantino is known for his overuse of graphic fight scenes and cunning dialogue, he also frequently changes history as shown in Inglorious B****rds and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Tarantino enjoys putting audiences in the backseat of his stories and providing them a unique take on situations. With every detail, from the bandaid on Wallace’s neck to scripture Winnfield recites before he kills someone, Tarantino has purposely put in place these details for characterization. This close attention to detail furthers the plot at times and even reveals the importance of the film. 

In this film, we also see how the “bums” of society and the “bosses” are treated. Butch, a struggling wrestler, and Wallace, a dominant human being who casts a demanding shadow over his employees, are both seen in a tough situation when tied up in a store basement. Illustrating how the world doesn’t care where you are in the hierarchy, this scene furthers the plot and adds to the theme of change in perspective. 

The last scene is the most important as it connects the puzzle pieces. Beginning the movie with scripture and violence, yet ending it with scripture, but no violence symbolizes the change in the character. Through Winnfield’s moment of “what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity,” the theme of finding god and the ability to change your ways prevails. 

Ultimately, I believe Quentin Tarantino produced this film to reveal how people’s interpretations can change, influencing you and the people you surround. After nearly avoiding death, Vincent Vega rejected Winnifield’s claim about the miracle and his decision to quit the hitman job; in return, Vega died from Butch killing him with the gun he left on the kitchen countertop as he went to use the bathroom (can we please also note the humor in how often he had to use the restroom and how it saved him in the restaurant, yet in the was the cause of his death in Butch’s apartment--IRONY). What would’ve happened if Jules was there with him, searching through the house? Would he have been killed? What if Vincent also believed in the miracle? Would he have continued working the hitman job? If Jules didn’t have a different interpretation of the scripture in the final scene, a blood bath would’ve most likely happened in the restaurant. 

As people's interpretations change so do the roads they travel down. Without the change of Jules’s outlook on life and his conclusion that "god" saved him, the movie would’ve never taken the same twists and turns. Pulp Fiction is an amazing, original film with dialogue that perfectly captures an odd sense of humor; it easily has made my top ten list of best movies ever made.



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