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Pulp Fiction Essay

Decent Essays

Ethical Values in Pulp Fiction

Pulp fiction is a movie filled with drugs, violence, gambling, and pop iconography, describing how real-life society is going towards the “death of god” era; a life without morals. A lot of movie critics would say that Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) possess no ethical values, no sense of morality. They also say that the movie does not convey a message. The movie does convey a message; Quentin Tarantino just masks it behind the street-savvy talk and murdering of persons who “wronged the boss.” Pulp Fiction is about a world where cold-blooded murder and greed are socially acceptable. Virtues as Aristotle states are mainly based off of habits, these men’s habits are killing and …show more content…

Of course with greed being a main theme and Butch’s “survival of the fittest” attitude he gets a guy to bet on himself with as many bookies as he could and wins the match, he also kills the opponent he faced and shows absolutely no remorse which goes with the norm and theme in the movie; murder. Later on Butch is driving back from getting his watch and sees Marsellus walking across the street which leads to a chase scene into a pawn shop. This is where Tarantino does an interesting thing, he introduces a greater threat, Zed and his brother, to fix the dispute between Marsellus and Butch, this is also when Butch has his redemption/escape moment. Marsellus is the first one to be taken to the back room while Butch is tied up in the chair. Butch breaks free and can run away but decides to rescue Marsellus; this is when Butch has his change of heart. He grabs the best weapon he can find (a katana sword) to save Marsellus. Although Butch doesn’t have a monologue or anything about it, you realize he has escaped the morally wrong world as well.
Vincent never makes the transformation that either of the characters previously discussed made. In fact he completely denies the fact that those missed shots were a “divine intervention,” he considers it a “freak occurrence.” Vincent like Butch was in the beginning is filled with greed but Vincent also seems a little paranoid he thinks killing is the only profession he would be able to do to make money. When Jules

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