Patrick McEvoy-Halston

writ 312
Brian Hendricks
23 August 2004

"Me Casa,Su Casa"

Suburbancollegiateyoung men (hereafterSCMs) have a very good reasonto find pulp

fiction attractive. Having spentthe majority of their life under their parents' rule, it must be a

pleasurefor them to engrossthemselvesin an imaginary world wherein people much different

from their parentsreign. But however much they admire their heroes,they must wonder from

time to time what thesenatural denizensof the urbanjungle, theseprofessionalkillers, would

think of them if they were somehowto meet. I will be looking at Pulp Fiction as if it were an

SCM's daydream,a daydreamin which such an encounteris stagedas part of an attemptto

conceiveof a "space" wherein both he and his pulp fiction heroesmight respectfully,amiably,

and plausibly be imagined as co-existingwith one another.

When we first encounterVincent and Jules,they are engagingin a conversationwhich is

easyto imagine as being both familiar and appealingto an SCM. SCMs can easily identify with

Vincent as he recountshis first Europeanexperienceto Jules. They can easily be imaginedas

being fascinatedby Amsterdam drug culture, and as enjoying hearing how the QuarterPounder's

namewas alteredso that it would more readily acceptedin France. But though SCMs are likely

to find much of the conversationrecognizable-it isn't much different that what you'd encounter

in a college dorm---clearlythesetwo men are not to be found in a "dorm near you." They are the

urbanjungle's warriors, its professionalkillers, and it is appropriatethat we hearthe song

"Jungle Fever" just before we meet them, and that it continuesto play in the background as we

listen in on their conversation.They are the sort of formidable,undomesticatedmen whom

SCMs would like-at leastin somerespects-to resemble. They the sort of men SCMs w_ould

love to be able to call friends.

We soon find out that a group of associatesof Vincent and Jules'sboss-Marsellus

Wallace-have betrayedhim, ffid that Vincent and Juleshavebeendispatchedby Marsellusto

deal with them. When the two enter the traitorous group's apartment,wo encounterthe first

insertionof the SCM reader(s)into the film. Becauseboth Vincent and Julesagreedthat they

shouldhavebeen equippedwith shotgunsfor this assignment,his appearancesurprisesus: we

certainlywere not expectingto discoverthat the ostensibleassociatesof Marsellus's are, as Jules

labelsthem, "kids": Vincent and Julescome acrossas simply to competentto warrantbeing

concernedby a group of collegeboys. Though neither of them show any sign that they were

expectingto encountersomeoneother than thesekids, Julesindirectly calls attentionto how

poorly they passas associatesof Marsellus's. He repeatedlyasksBrett what country he is

from-a questionBrett has trouble answeritrg. He also noticesthat thesekids, by dining on

hamburgers,are not eatingwhat they shouldbe eatingfor breakfast. SinceVincent and Jules

werejust discussingburgers,very likely the reasonthey are shown eatingrburgersis that it links
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them to their heroes. That is, the inclusion of burgersin the scen rrdrifests the SCM's hope that
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his own familiarity with jnttk food and pop culture would suffice to make his largely

unadulteratedreal life identity congruentwith that of his pulp fiction heroes.'(His desireto

imaginehimself as a possiblefriend of the likes of Julesand Vincent may also be reflectedin the

fact that,just after Vincent and Juleswere discussingthe fate of a Samoancolleague,Brett is

shown eating a Big Kahuna burger.)

But eventhough Pulp Fiction is the SCM's daydream,the insecure,inexperiencedSCM

simply cannotconvincehimself that he might matter to Vincent and Jules,who up to this point

are shown as unflappablycool, suave,and professional. The SCM has trespassedinto a situation

he doesnot belong in, into a world he clearly doesn't belong to. It is equally imp tarrydtethathe
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would be an associateof gangsterbossesas it is that he would possessa briefcasewhich radiates

as if it containsall the world's riches. Though the kids have gottenhold of somethingthey
shouldn't have,the SCM's inability to credit this scenarioas a plausibleone ensuresthat they

don't get awaywith it. Julespretendsto executebiblical justice, but as he humiliatesand

efficaciouslydisposesof the kids, what he really executesis poeticjustice. And after being

punishedfor his trespass,the SCM pulp fiction readermakessureto shapehis daydreamso that

it now reflectspulp fiction normalcy: with the insertionof Butch, the aging boxer, the next

scenemanifestssomeonea gangsterbossin a pulp fiction story might actually dlpusiness with.

The SCM's first reactionto the humiliation is to stagea retreat,but th{experience makes

him craverevenge. He thereforeis eventuallydrawn to restagethe encounterin sucha way that

Vincent and Julesare the oneswho arepunishedfor trespassinginto a world which they clearly

don't belong to. After Vincent accidentallyshootsthe young black man, Marvin, Julescalls his

friend, Jimmy, in hopesof finding "sanctuary." Jimmy is a young man who lives in a well kept

suburbanhome, and who, despitebeing called a "partner" of Jules's,certainly gives every

appearance
of being someonewho works at a"dayjob" (ashe says,"storin deadniggersain't

[his] t. . .] business").Jimmie's world is one of soccermoms,not gangstermobs.And just as

Juleswas the one who called attentionto the SCM's incongruentappearancein the pulp fiction

universe,the SCM daydreamermakeshim articulateand acknowledgehis own tresgz6'into the

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suburbanworld when he says,"This is the Valley, Vincent. Marsellusdon't got no friendly

placesin the Valley."

Before their encounterwith Jimmie, Julesis shown tryrng to persuadeVincent how

important it is that they use tact and delicacywhen dealing with him. The fact that these

professionalbullies feel they will needto rely on diplomacy ratherthan guns to handlethe

upcoming situationforewarnsus that they are lesslikely to succeedhere than they *"r9,6for"
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with Brett. Julesfearsthat he might be the one who might suffer most in the upcoming

encounterwith Jimmie. And rig[tly so, for sinceit was Juleswho humiliated the initial
manifestationof an SCM into the story, he will be the one upon whom, in particular,the SCM

executeshis revenge.

After washing their handsand doing their best to appear"respectable"(a miserable

failure: they standbefore Jimmie as two kids who gone and ruined their best Sundayclothes),

they are ready to talk to Jimmie. Julestries to sootheJimmie's anger,to "hand)t him. He

complimentshis coffee,just like Brett had oncetried to pacify JulesAVpo(t1asking for his

name. But in neither situationdoeseither one of them, as Juleswould say, "talk their way out of

this shit." Brett was punishedfor an inexcusabletrespass;the samewill occur hereto Jules. kl

this facsimile of the suburbanparentalhome, Jimmie, not Jules,rules (later, he will actually end

up respondingto Jules'scomplaintsby saying,"My house,my rules"): the SCM understands

from his childhood experienceof suburbiathat thereinthosewho are more firmly connectedto a

bourgeois,respectable,decentway of life, are thosewho are righteousand right (so no bible

quoting from Julesin this scene).

In this SCM daydream,it is thereforeappropriatein this situationthat Jimmie denies

Julesthe chanceto dominatethe scene. He curtly tells Julesto "not Jimmie" him..'and won't

allow Julesto intemrpt him (he snarls,"I'm talkin," when Julestries to do so/Ue then asserts
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that Jules'sunwantedtrespasscould well terminateJimmie's marriage. Just as Jules'sshooting

of Brett's friend servedto terminateBrett's "argument" and initiated Jules'sfiery "retort," here

Jimmie's accusationstopsJules'sattemptsto handleJimmie and initiateshis own verbal

harangueupon Jules. While before Julesbullied Brett by repeatedlyaskinghim, "what does

Marselluslook like? Does he look like a bitch?," Jimmie now bullies Julesby repeatedlyasking

him if he "noticefd] a sign out front that said, 'dead nigger storage?"' Just as Juleshad.forced
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Brett into becomingquiescent,into muttering only monosyllabicanswersto his qdstions, Jules
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is now forced into the samehumiliating position. And though neitherVincent nor Julesend up
 )

being shot, clearly a facsimile of Brett's executionis replayedin this scene-but this time with

Julesand Vincent endingup the victims. Though Wolf, a gangsterconstructedso as to plausibly

be conceivedof existing in both domesticand pulp fiction worlds, is actually the one who sprays

Julesand Vincent with the water nozzlelpn, Jimmie standsat his side,helps direct his spray,

and evidently delightsin their discomfort.

Jimmie is no college student,but he is an SCM as he might imagine himgefibecoming in

severalyearstime. Sincehis potencyin this scenedependsupon his adoptionand respectfor

domestic,parentalmores-that is, the samemoreswhoseinfluence SCMs are trying to escape

from when they readpulp fiction-he is not however someonethe SCM really hopesto end up

like: becominglike Jimmie would amountto neverhaving managedto leavetheir parent's

moral universe. The SCM neitherwants to be Brett, nor to be Jimmie. He neitherwants to

conceiveof himself as someonewho would readily be bullied by, or as someonewho might

bully his pulp fiction heroes. He wants them as friends. But clearly, convincing himself that he
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might be the sort of personhis pulp fiction hero might like to hang out with willytduire some

imaginativefiddling on his part. He will have to imagine and createa characterwhoseidentity is

significantly different from his own, but who still remainsrecognizablyan SCM. That is, as was

requiredfor the QuarterPounderto be incorporatedwithin Frenchculture, to be crediblein the

pulp fiction universehe must make significant alterationsto his image.

His comesup with Lance,the suburbandrug dealer. Though in someways Lance is very

much like Jimmie-they both appearto be about the same age, andboth of them are married and

live in suburbanneighbourhoods-drugs and thugs go together much better than ao$ua

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niggers" and an uptight suburbanite.That is, Lance'sprofessionpermits him to sharethe same

spaceas Vincent, without either of them seemingconspicuouslyout of place. He is a sort of

criminal the typical SCM probablybelievesexistsin suburbia,the sort of criminal who might
well have schoolas well as streetsmarts. Though more recognrzableas a real personthan Wolf

is, he too is someonewho is proficient in dealingwith both suburbanand streetdenizens. The

SCM stagesan encounterbetweenLance and Vincent, ratherthan betweenLance and Jules,

becauseVincent is portrayedas the lessthreatening,the less authoritative,and the more

vulnerableof the pair. Unlike Jules(but like SCMs), Vincent can be careless,eveninept. After

Jules'smasterfulhandling of the kids, for example,Julesshowsa lack of control and self-

commandby accidentallyshootingMarvin (part of the SCM's punishmentof Julesis that Jules

is the one who endsup having to pick up all the piecesof brain). In sum, Vincent is selected

becausehe is the pulp fiction hero who most closely resemblesthe SCM. ,/

They encountereachother amiably, as friends,in Lance's suburbanhome. There is an

attempton Vincent's behalf to manoeuvreLance into lowering his prices, and while Lance's

response,"you're in my home," resemblesJimmie's responseto one of Jules'scomplaints,no

one is made to feel subordinateor humiliated in this scene. For the first time in the daydream,

we find an encounterbetweenan SCM and a pulp fiction hero where we witness successful

attemptsto use "possessions"to facilitate friendly relationsbetweentwo disparateparties. While

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neitherJules'ssharingof Brett's burger,nor Julesand Vincent's partaking of Jimmfe's gourmet

coffee helpednurture camaraderiebetweenthem, when Lance suggeststo Vincent that they get

high togetherand double-date(Lance essentiallyoffers Trudy to Vincent), Vincent is shown as

pleasedenoughwith the suggestionthat he might well have taken Lance up on his offer had he

not alreadyagreedto show his bosses'wife "a good time."

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When Vincent returnsto Lance's home, we seetheir friendshiptested. ThefifM wants
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to stagean event which will help him gaugejust how strong and true a friendship might exist

betweenan SCM and a pulp fiction gangster. Just as Julescalls upon Jimmie, hereVincent calls

upon his own suburbanfriend to help preventMia from dyrng. There are somesimilarities
 7

betweenhow Lancereactsto Vincent's requestand how Jimmie reactedto Jules's. For instance,

just as Jimmie points out therewas no "sign saying deadnigger storage"on his lawn, here Lance

saysthat Vincent can't "bring somefucked up pooh-buttto my house." But the personwho sold

Vincent the drugswhich causedthe overdosecannotpoint to suburbanpropriety without

appearingcomic. Vincent easily convincesLance to assisthim in bringing Mia into Lance's

home, and the result is that the sceneJimmie fearedwould end his marriageactually occurs

here-a wife watchesa body being draggedabouther suburbanhome. But while walking in on

sucha scenemight well have motivatedJimmie's wife, a prim nurse,to file for divorce,we

know that the humanpin-cushionJodie is more accustomedto sharppunctuationsof her.pivate

space. / ,/

Jodie yells at her husband,but shealso endsup assistingVincent and Lance in helping

"nurse" Mia back to consciousness.And though we have a near-corpseand a violent stabbingin

this scene,it endsharmoniously,not disastrously. That is, a scenepretty closeto what we mind

find in a pulp fiction novel occurshere within Lance's suburbanhome, and it provesto be more

a wild "trip" than a disaster. As Mia recovers,and as they all breathea collective sigh of relief,

they reahzethat they have sharedan encounterwith one anotherwhich brought them-disparate

as they still are-+loser togetheras friends (yes, I know, a conventionalHollywood plot

development).When Mia respondsto Lance's requestthat she"say something"by saying

"something,"we also have here a scenewhere a character'srepetitionof another'swords lessons

rather than heightensanxiety.r

Within his daydream,and in this disorderly suburbanhome, the SCM has successfully

managedto createwhat postcolonialcritics call a "hybrid space,"that is, an "in-betweenspace,"

I
Both when Jules saysto Brett, "say 'what' one more time," and when Jimmie saysto Jules,"don't fuckin' Jimmie
me, man," repetition of another'swords clearly heightenedthe tensionin a scene.
 8

a creativespacewherein a "releasefrom [traditional] singularidentities" (Macey 192)becomes

possible. He has fabricateda situationwhere an SCM useswhat he always imaginedhe had

over his pulp fiction heroes,book smarts(though he never finds the black medical book, he does

guide Vincent through the procedure),2to assisthim in directing Vincent's brawn (Vincent is the

one who poundsa needlethough Mia's breastplate),so as to make them seema congruent,

logical, harmoniouspair. Indeed,this scenemight serveto help the SCM imagine Lance as a

more appropriatefriend of Vincent's than Julesis. Perhapsthe fact that the SCM daydreamer

essentiallydivorcesthe latter pair by having Julesbecomea biblical characterand by having

Vincent remain a pulp fiction character,seryesas evidencethat he has grown to think of himself

as someonewhom his pulp fiction hero might prefer to spendtime with. It must be noted,

though,that by the end of the daydreamVincent no longer seemsas clearly identifiable as a pulp

fiction hero as he had at the daydream'scommencement.Sincehe owes his demiseto his

interestin a pulp fiction novel, Vincent might himself havebecomea hybrid-part pulp fiction

hero,part SCM---character. Maybe in his daydreamthe SCM had a premonition of his reality

TV future, and decidedthat it wasn't impossiblethat one day he mightn2{tom being a fan of

pulp fiction to becominga pulp fiction hero himself.

,t
Works Cited
"o1^o / //
Macey, David. ThePenguinDictionary of Critical Theory. Toronto: PenguinBooks,2000.

Tarantino,Quentin. Pulp Fiction. 1994.

'
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name had to be changed.

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,'nf
*sses the reasonthe Quarter Pounder could not be called a Quarter Pounder in
France, Jules,to some extent, is impressedwith Brett's "brains": Jules wasn't able to figure out the reasonthat the
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