Pulp Fiction

Narrative structurePulp Fiction's narrative is told out of chronological order and follows three main interrelated stories that each have a different protagonist: Vincent Vega, a hitman; Butch Coolidge, a prizefighter; and Jules Winnfield, Vincent's business partner.[10] The film begins with a diner hold-up staged by a couple, then begins to shift from one storyline to another before returning to the diner for the conclusion. There are seven narrative sequences; the three primary storylines are preceded by intertitles: "Prologue – The Diner" (i) Prelude to "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife" "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife" Prelude to "The Gold Watch" (a – flashback, b – present) "The Gold Watch" "The Bonnie Situation" "Epilogue – The Diner" (ii)If the seven sequences were ordered chronologically, they would run: 4a, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 4b, 5. Sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view, as do sequences 2 and 6. According to Philip Parker, the structural form is "an episodic narrative with circular events adding a beginning and end and allowing references to elements of each separate episode to be made throughout the narrative".[11] Other analysts describe the structure as a "circular narrative".[12] SummaryHitmen Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega arrive at an apartment to retrieve a briefcase for their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace, from a business partner, Brett. After Vincent checks the contents of the briefcase, Jules shoots one of Brett's associates. He declaims a passage from the Bible, and he and Vincent kill Brett for trying to double-cross Marsellus. Another man bursts out of the bathroom and fires at them, but every shot misses; after briefly checking themselves for wounds, Jules and Vincent shoot him dead. While driving away with Brett's associate Marvin, Jules professes that their survival was a miracle, which Vincent disputes. Vincent accidentally shoots Marvin in the face, killing him, and covering Vincent, Jules, and the car interior in blood in broad daylight. They hide the car at the home of Jules's friend Jimmie, who demands they deal with the problem before his wife, Bonnie, comes home. Marsellus sends a cleaner, Winston Wolfe, who directs Jules and Vincent to clean the car, hide the body in the trunk, dispose of their bloody clothes, and take the car to a junkyard. At a diner, Jules tells Vincent that he plans to retire from his life of crime, convinced that their "miraculous" survival at the apartment was a sign of divine intervention. While Vincent is in the bathroom, a couple, "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny", hold up the restaurant and demand Marsellus's briefcase. Jules distracts Pumpkin with its contents, and then overpowers him and holds him at gunpoint; Honey Bunny becomes hysterical and points her gun at Jules. Vincent returns with his gun aimed at her, but Jules defuses the situation. He recites the biblical passage, expresses ambivalence about his life of crime, and allows the robbers to take his cash and leave. Jules and Vincent leave the diner with the briefcase in hand. They take the briefcase to Marsellus and wait while he bribes boxer Butch Coolidge to take a dive in his upcoming match. The next day, Vincent purchases heroin from his drug dealer, Lance. He shoots up and drives to meet Marsellus's wife, Mia, having agreed to escort her while Marsellus is out of town. They eat at Jack Rabbit Slim's, a 1950s-themed restaurant, and participate in a twist contest, then return home. While Vincent is in the bathroom, Mia finds his heroin and snorts it, mistaking it for cocaine. She suffers an overdose; Vincent rushes her to Lance's house, where they revive her with an injection of adrenaline into her heart. Vincent drops Mia off at her home, and the two agree never to tell Marsellus about the incident. Butch bets the bribe money on himself and double-crosses Marsellus, winning the bout but accidentally killing his opponent as well. Knowing that Marsellus will send hitmen after him, he prepares to flee with his girlfriend, Fabienne, but discovers she has forgotten to pack a gold watch passed down to him through his family. Returning to his apartment to retrieve it, he notices a gun on the kitchen counter and hears the toilet flush. When Vincent exits the bathroom, Butch shoots him dead and departs. When Marsellus spots Butch stopped at a traffic light, Butch rams his car into him, then gets hit by an oncoming vehicle, leaving both of them injured and dazed. Once Marsellus regains consciousness, he shoots at Butch, chasing him into a pawnshop. Butch gains the upper hand and is about to shoot Marsellus, but the shop owner, Maynard, captures them at gunpoint and binds and gags them in the basement. Maynard and his accomplice Zed take Marsellus into another room and begin to rape him, leaving the "gimp" – a silent figure in a bondage suit – to watch over Butch. Butch breaks loose and knocks the gimp unconscious. Instead of fleeing, he decides to save Marsellus, and arms himself with a katana from the pawnshop. He kills Maynard and frees Marsellus, who shoots Zed in the crotch with Maynard's shotgun. Marsellus informs Butch that they are even, and to tell no one about the rape and to depart Los Angeles forever. Butch picks up Fabienne on Zed's motorcycle, and they ride away.

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Source : Pulp Fiction