Pulp Fiction: 10 Best Quotes From Each Main Character

There are very few movies one can find that can be comparable to Pulp Fiction, which doesn’t rely on a big plot to appeal to the viewer. Instead, the main draw of the movie is through the script, featuring incredibly reflective quotes that have been interpreted in many ways.

Usually, people tend to focus on just one or two characters when bringing up these quotes, but the truth is that pretty much every character uttered at least one awesome one. Rather than bring up the most obvious ones, here are 10 great quotes from the characters that have a deep meaning attached to them.

10 Ringo: “The Days Of Me Forgetting Are Over, And The Days Of Me Remembering Have Just Begun.”

Some fans are still confused over what the motivation of the duo was to rob the diner they were in. Here, “Ringo,” as Jules called him, was the one who had the most intent to go through with it, and this quote actually sums up why.

The quote provides exposition that Ringo was unsure of what he wanted in life, yet, he tried to convince himself that he was some big shot. After Honey Bunny reminded him how many times he kept saying something and forgetting to follow through, Ringo was even more convinced that he had to pull off the robbery well in order to validate himself.

9 The Wolf: “Just Because You Are A Character Doesn’t Mean You Have Character.”

Easily one of the coolest characters ever, The Wolf dominated each scene he was in and every conversation he was a part of. By the end of his time in the film, one might wonder just what it was about him that made him so interesting.

Wolf provided the explanation for this in his interaction with Raquel, where he pointed out to her that being respected required having character. To go further into detail, he made this simple statement, making it an eye-opener how being a character is so much different having it.

8 Vincent Vega: “You Play With Matches, You Get Burned.”

Poor Vincent was a strange kind of guy. On one hand, he said stuff that would make one think he was smart, yet he did everything exactly the opposite, which ended up getting him killed. In the beginning of the movie, he had this quote to say to Jules.

Ironically, Jules did take his advice in a way by retiring, while Vincent should’ve listened to his own words and exited like Jules did. Throughout the film, he was figuratively playing with matches, such as almost getting busted, nearly causing Mia’s death, and eventually dying due to his own stupidity.

7 Butch Coolidge: “Sorry, Floyd…”

Butch was the closest thing to a protagonist that Pulp Fiction had, as he had some soft spots and had enough humanity to save Marcellus’ life. The indication to this comes much earlier than when most people would notice, though.

While talking to the strange death-obsessed cab driver, Butch pretended he didn’t care that he accidentally killed his opponent in the ring. However, he then muttered an apology to the man as well, proving that he did feel a measure of guilt for having gone too far.

6 Jimmie: “No Marriage Counselling, No Trial Separation. I’m Gonna Get Divorced. And I Don’t Wanna Get Divorced!”

The funniest fact about “The Bonnie Situation” segment is how none of the clean-up was done due to a fear of the cops, but the fear of Jimmie’s wife. When he laid in on Jules for bringing a dead guy to his house, Jimmie only had this problem in mind.

Rather than worry that he might get sent to jail for being in cahoots with a bunch of gangsters, Jimmie hilariously ranted about how his wife would divorce him. It really went to show where his priorities really were.

5 Marsellus Wallace: “Pride Only Hurts, It Never Helps.”

Although Mascellus had been trying to corrupt Butch into accepting his bribe, his long speech at the restaurant wasn’t exactly wrong. After all, the matter of pride was what caused Marsellus’ own problems later in the movie.

If he’d accepted the fact that he got swindled by Butch and let it go, then he would never have been caught and sexually assaulted later on. In the end, it really was pride that ended up getting Marsellus hurt. This applies in real life too, as many people have lost so much just because of hurt pride.

4 Honey Bunny: “I Love You Pumpkin…Any Of You Move And I’ll Execute Every Last One Of Ya’!”

The thing about the diner scene is how the viewer is made to wonder just what Honey Bunny and Ringo are up to until they spring into action. While Ringo seems to be the aggressive one of the two, Honey Bunny initially comes across as more rational.

However, this idea is put to bed when the next second it’s Honey Bunny who begins screaming this quote like bloody murder after just having softly professed her love for Ringo. It’s then that the viewer realizes that this is clearly something of a Joker/Harley Quinn situation, and Honey Bunny is willing to go insane for her man.

3 Mia Wallace: “Trying To Forget Anything As Intriguing As This Would Be An Exercise In Futility.”

On the outside, it appeared as if Mia Wallace had it all made. With a rich husband, power through the gang’s influence, and pretty much all she wanted, she seemed to be well set. However, her interaction with Vincent made it clear that she was inherently very lonely.

This is why, when she learned that she could get some juicy information out of Vincent, Mia couldn’t control her excitement. Among the many erratic things she said, this quote summarized best how Vincent had now firmly gotten Mia’s attention and that she was in no way about to let any of their conversations slip her memory.

2 Brett: “…What?”

While Brett was onscreen for only a few minutes, he’s considered as one of the main characters due to his death being a pivotal moment for Jules’ change. More importantly in this context, his curiosity while being threatened is one of the most popular quotes from the film.

This particular “What?” is the one he uttered right before he got shot, as Brett was genuinely dumbfounded when Jules randomly asked if Marcellus looked like a dog to him. The split second of inquisitiveness on his face, followed by him getting shot is a hilarious piece of dark comedy.

1 Jules Winnfield: “You Wanna Play Blind Man, Go Walk With The Shepherd. Me, My Eyes Are Wide Open.”

It’s Jules’ story that is worth following if one wants to learn something out of Pulp Fiction. Going from a heartless killer who saw the whole thing as a combination of sport and a job, Jules learned that he was supposed to “walk the Earth.” 

When the naive Vincent tried to come up with reasons why he and Jules survived what was a surefire death scenario, Jules dismissed him with this quote. The meaning behind it was that he realized that he didn’t need to follow a “shepherd” anymore, as his eyes were well and truly open. From then on, there were no excuses for Jules living the gangster life, and he left to make a real contribution to the world.

About The Author

Saim Cheeda
(1343 Articles Published)

Saim Cheeda is an entertainment writer covering all of Film, TV, Gaming and Books. He’s been a writer for Valnet since 2017, contributing 500+ articles for The Gamer, The Things, Game Rant, Comic Book Resources and Screen Rant. Apart from freelance writing, Saim is a lifestyle blogger, co-owning the blog 3 States Apart.

http://3statesapart.com

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