The Writer's Journey

by Christopher Vogler

  "PROLOGUE" AN ORDINARY WORLD

  In Pulp Fiction's opening segment, tided "Prologue," two young people sit talking in a "normal Denny's, Spires-like coffee shop in Los Angeles." What could be more ordinary than this world? However, it turns out this young man (Pumpkin) and woman (Honey Bunny) are discussing the pros and cons of various forms of armed robbery. It's a different kind of ORDINARY WORLD, an underworld of low-level criminals, a world most of us would rather not think about. It's too horrifying to consider that all around us are legions of dull-witted crooks waiting for their chance to rob us or kill us, perhaps sitting right across from us in our favorite '50s coffee shop.

  Pumpkin's first words are characteristic of a REFUSAL — "No, forget it, it's too risky. I'm through doin' that shit." Apparendy Honey Bunny has just issued a CALL by proposing they rob another liquor store, their line of crime until now (their ORDINARY WORLD). While demeaning Asians and Jews who run liquor stores, the English-accented Pumpkin talks himself and Honey Bunny into robbing the restaurant, where there are no security guards or cameras, and where the employees have no need to play hero. He evokes a MENTOR of sorts, referring to the story of a bank robbery in which the robbers used terror and trickery to seize control. Working each other into a frenzy, Pumpkin and his daffy girlfriend CROSS THE THRESHOLD, waving their guns, bringing the possibility of instant death into play. Then with a swirl of retro surfer music, we are thrown into the main tides and the body of the movie.

  This opening sequence exercises the cinematic rule of "Disorientation leads to suggestibility." You don't know if these punks are the heroes of the story or, as it turns out, mere bookends. The filmmaker's intention is to leave you a bit disoriented and guessing about their importance. You're also left guessing about the fate of these hotheads and the people in the restaurant.

  VINCENT and JULES

  Now for the first time, we see our two protagonists, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, driving in a big American car. They, too, are in their ORDINARY WORLD having a mundane conversation about the subtle differences in fast-food menus and customs in the countries of Europe. Vincent has spent some time in Europe where things are different — a Big Mac is called Le Big Mac in France, and the rules about drugs in Amsterdam are different. He has been to a SPECIAL WORLD and has the experienced air of a hero reliving a previous adventure.

  Vincent and Jules stop at an apartment building and take guns from the trunk of their car. The feeling is that this is just another day at the office for them, a routine job in their Ordinary World.

  As they approach the apartment to perform their mission, the conversation turns to Mia (a SHAPESHIFTER), wife of their criminal boss Marsellus Wallace (Mr. Big). This is the first note of a CALL TO ADVENTURE for Vincent, who has been put in the difficult position of being asked by Marsellus to escort his wife on a date while he's in Florida. The danger of this Call is made clear (a form of REFUSAL) in the complex philosophical discussion about foot massage. Jules points out that a Samoan gangster named Antwan Rockamora was thrown off his balcony into a greenhouse just for giving Mia a foot rub. Jules thinks the punishment was out of proportion to the crime, but Vincent understands very well that a foot massage could be a sensual experience and could get you killed. Nonetheless he has accepted the Call and will be Mia's escort. He promises not to get in trouble with Mia and denies that it will even be a real date, but Jules is skeptical.

  After a long pause at the door, they CROSS A THRESHOLD, entering the apartment of Three Young Guys "obviously in over their heads." They have something which Marsellus Wallace wants, and apparently they have tried to stiff him in a deal for the contents of a mysterious briefcase. Jules, menacingly standing over the leader, Brett, intimidates him by eating his fast food and questioning him about what restaurant he bought it from. It's not a Wendy's or McDonald's hamburger, it's a Big Kahuna burger. Kahuna is Hawaiian magic, so it suggests big magic coming. Certainly there is magic in the briefcase, whose glowing contents hypnotize Vincent when he opens it to check on them. What's in the briefcase? It doesn't matter because it's just a MacGuffin, and in keeping with the Hitchcock tradition, Tarantino never bothers to say what it really is. It's enough that it's something of importance to the characters, something worth the risk of dying for. It's a Holy Grail or a Golden Fleece, a symbol of all the desires that draw heroes into quests.

  Confronting the terrified young men, Vincent and Jules are HERALDS bringing a fatal CALL, acting at this moment as the allies of Death, the servants of the SHADOW. They are agents of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, who brings punishment on those who offend the order of the gods. The god in this case is Marsellus Wallace. Brett and Roger have offended Mr. Big by trying to cheat him in the deal for the briefcase.

  Jules makes his power manifest by shooting Roger without provocation. Before executing Brett, Jules performs a ritual, reciting the Bible passage from Ezekiel 25:17 which is his trademark:

  "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brother. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."

  This, in effect, is a statement of the theme of the movie, a complex statement that can be interpreted many ways. On this reading, Jules seems to identify with only part of the message, the part about "great vengeance and furious anger," for he and Vincent empty their guns into Brett when the speech is done.

  Then a miracle occurs. While Jules' friend Marvin, who has been there all along, mutters in a corner, a Fourth Young Man bursts out of the bathroom, firing away at Jules and Vincent with a heavy handgun. The miracle is that the bullets seem to have no effect. The Young Man is blown off his feet by return fire from Jules and Vincent.

  This sequence establishes the Ordinary World for the protagonists of this thread of the story. They are enforcers for a powerful gangster, a notch or two above the level of the two kids in the coffee shop, but not far above. They are trying to work out an ethical system between them, and are concerned about the limits of honor and duty. The twin heroes are traveling down the same road so far, but their paths are about to split because of their differing reactions to the miracle that has just occurred.

  "VINCENT VEGA AND MARSELLUS WALLACE'S WIFE"

  A title card now establishes that the prologue or framing device is over and the first of the pulp fiction short stories is about to begin. But before bringing Vincent and Mia together, the storytellers introduce two new characters, Marsellus Wallace and Butch Coolidge, projecting ahead to Butch's story thread. Marsellus, described as sounding like "a cross between a gangster and a king," sits talking to Butch, a knocked-around prizefighter. In Butch's Hero's Journey, he is in his ORDINARY WORLD, getting a dark CALL to throw a fight.

  Marsellus is both HERALD and MENTOR, godlike, seen only from behind, possessed of a MENTOR'S wisdom and a definite philosophy of life. Perhaps significantly, he has a Band-Aid on the back of his neck. Was he simply cut while shaving his perfectly bald head, or does the Band-Aid cover something more sinister — like the alien brain implants from the 1950s classic Invaders From Mars? Like the glowing contents of the briefcase, it poses a puzzle which the moviemakers decline to solve.

  Marsellus counsels Butch to swallow his pride and give up his shot at being featherweight champion of the world in return for the sure thing. Butch doesn't hesitate before accepting his Call to throw the fight. He takes the money unhesitatingly. He seems to be accepting the Call, but in fact, as we later learn, he is planning to REFUSE this particular Call, intending instead to win the fight and collect big money by betting on himself

  Vincent and Jules enter with the briefcase, but are dressed quite differently than in the previous scene. They wear T-shirts and s
horts, which look a little out of place in the bar. Later we'll see that several days have passed since we last saw Vincent and Jules, and that they have been through several major ORDEALS.

  Vincent clashes with Butch, mocking him as a washed-up palooka, in a confrontation typical of the TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES phase. Vincent throws a challenge, which Butch refuses to rise to. The chance encounter with Butch is a TEST which shows a flaw in Vincent, a lack of respect for his elders. He should know that Butch is an experienced hero, a potential MENTOR who could teach him a few things, but instead he makes fun of him. Butch's REFUSAL to rise to this challenge shows that he is mature and careful. He sees that Vincent is a friend of Marsellus and wisely decides to let it ride — for now. However, a potential ALLY has been turned into an ENEMY by Vincent's arrogance.

  The thread now follows Vincent, who has previously received the CALL to take Mia on a date. In keeping with the criminal underworld theme, Vincent approaches his own kind of MENTOR — his drug dealer, Lance — before CROSSING THE THRESHOLD to deal with Mia. The Mentor's lair is an old house in Echo Park. This Mentor, like a shaman equipping a hunter with magic potions and healing herbs, presents an array of heroin options for Vincent's selection. Vincent pays top dollar for the strongest stuff.

  Vincent shoots up and cruises over in a blissful daze to pick up Mia. Here is another of Vincent's flaws — he is weakened by his drug addiction. Vincent CROSSES A THRESHOLD as he enters Marsellus' house. He passes by strange metal sculptures, like THRESHOLD GUARDIANS from some primeval culture. There's a sense that the gods are watching.

  Inside, Mia operates in the godlike realm of Mr. Big, playing with Marsellus' toys. Like Mr. Big in many noir movies, she watches from a hidden upper room, manipulating Vincent by remote control with her disembodied voice. The rules are different in this SPECIAL WORLD. In Vincent's ORDINARY WORLD, he and his gun are the absolute rulers. Here, a barefoot woman holds the power of life and death. She calls the tune and selects the theme music for the evening.

  Moving further into the SPECIAL WORLD, Vincent takes Mia to the strange '50s cafe for a TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES scene. Jackrabbit Slim's is a model of the postmodern world, in which images of the recent past are continually chopped up, recycled, and harnessed to new tasks. Legendary faces like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and Buddy Holly are reduced to waiting tables and delivering hamburgers.

  In a typical Hero's Journey Stage Six bar scene, Mia and Vincent TEST each other out. Menu choices assume great importance as clues to character. Phallic cigarettes are rolled and ignited. They get the measure of one another through cool but probing dialogue. Vincent boldly tests Mia by asking about her relationship with the fellow who was thrown out the window. He passes her TESTS by asking diplomatically, without assuming she was in the wrong. They become ALLIES.

  They are linked in another way, revealed when Mia gets up to "powder her nose," in fact, to snort cocaine. Like Vincent she is weakened by her addiction and it will lead to her ORDEAL.

  The cue to enter the dance contest is an APPROACH, moving them a step closer to the life-and-death matter of sex. From the way they groove together on the dance floor, it's clear they would have fantastic sex. Their dance moves and hand gestures reflect the SHAPESHIFTER archetype, as they try out various masks and identities in the APPROACH to love.

  Vincent and Mia return to her house to face a SUPREME ORDEAL. Mia is looking very seductive, and Vincent retires to the bathroom to steel himself. He talks to his image in the mirror, convincing himself not to have sex with Mia. In this area, at least, he passes an important TEST, remaining loyal to his boss despite strong temptation. His motivation may not be so noble — he knows Marsellus will probably find out and kill him if he does fool around with Mia — but he passes the TEST nonetheless.

  Meanwhile Mia finds Vincent's heroin in his coat, and mistaking it for cocaine, snorts it greedily and passes out. Vincent finds her with blood running from her nose and panics. Here Vincent is not just facing Mia's death, but also his own — for he will surely be killed if Mia dies. It was his heroin, his weakness, that caused the problem, along with Mia's lust for sensation.

  Vincent races to his Mentor's house (THE ROAD BACK) where a frantic search for a medical book, a marker pen, and a huge adrenaline needle commences.

  Vincent digs deep for the hero's courage to plunge the needle into Mia's heart. In a weird reversal of the classic scene from vampire movies, driving a stake into her heart is actually the way to bring her abruptly back to life, a RESURRECTION. Vincent, like Sir Lancelot, has the godlike power to bring someone back from the land of the dead.

  Vincent returns Mia to her house (RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR) where, pale and wan, she gives him a kind of ELIXIR, a feeble joke from the TV pilot she appeared in. They part with another ELIXIR, a sense of friendship and mutual respect arising from sharing an ORDEAL together. They promise each other they won't tell Marsellus what happened. You get the feeling that if anything ever happened to Marsellus Wallace, these two would probably get together.

  BUTCH'S STORY

  The story now switches to another thread, the Hero's Journey of Butch, the boxer. It takes us back to Butch's early ORDINARY WORLD, a scene from his childhood in suburbia, where he watches a Speed Racer cartoon on TV in 1972.

  A CALL TO ADVENTURE is issued by a HERALD or MENTOR, Captain Koons, the Air Force officer who brings the gold watch that belonged to his father and forefathers. In a long monologue Koons describes the watch's tradition of being carried by American soldiers in Butch's family. He relates the ORDEAL that he and Butch's father endured in the Vietnamese prison camp. The watch becomes an emblem of manly tradition that connects it to symbols like the magic swords that heroes inherited from their fathers. However, we're brought crashing back to reality with the earthy detail of where Butch's father hid the watch for five years, and Captain Koons used a similar hiding place for two years after Butch's father died. Fulfilling the DONOR function of a MENTOR, the officer gives the watch to Butch.

  We're then thrown back to the present where we see Butch getting another CALL — this time his manager calling him into the ring for the fight he's supposed to throw.

  "THE GOLD WATCH"

  A title card now makes it clear we are taking up a major thread of another Hero's Journey. We find out, through the radio that plays in the taxicab outside, that instead of throwing the fight as agreed with Marsellus, Butch has won the fight and

  killed the other boxer. He has refused Marsellus' CALL, but has answered other calls — the CALL of his own spirit to fight well, and the CALL of temptation to cheat Marsellus and collect a lot of money.

  Butch CROSSES A THRESHOLD as he leaps from a window into a dumpster. He boards the cab and begins stripping off the attributes of a prizefighter, leaving this part of his life behind. In a TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES scene, his attitude is probed through his conversation with Esmerelda Villalobos, the woman cabdriver from Colombia. She explains her name has a beautiful, poetic meaning ("Esmerelda of the Wolves"), and Butch says his name, like most American names, doesn't mean anything. Again the note of cultural relativity is sounded. She is morbidly curious about what it feels like to kill a man. Instead of horrifying her, it seems to turn her on. Everything is relative. Butch himself offers a rationalization for having killed the other boxer. If he was a better fighter, he'd be alive. He makes an ALLY of her and wins her promise to tell the police she never saw him.

  By his actions he has made ENEMIES of Marsellus Wallace and his crew. We see Marsellus sending his minions to hunt down Butch, all the way to Indo-China if necessary.

  In an APPROACH phase, Butch makes a phone call to check on his winnings. He goes to his French girlfriend, Fabienne, at a motel and they make plans to skip the country once he's collected his money. Their flirtatious talk, characteristic of intimate APPROACH scenes, seems to be more of the seemingly banal chatter that marks the early scenes between Vincent and Jules. It has the same sense of cultural relativity and differing value systems. He
re the distinctions are along gender lines, as the girlfriend tries to make Butch understand her precise attitude about potbellies on women. They make love and the night ends with a false sense that all will be well.

  A new and immediate CALL TO ADVENTURE is sounded the next morning as Butch discovers she has failed to retrieve his father's watch from his apartment. Without consulting any Mentors, he overcomes his fear of being caught by Marsellus and goes to get the watch. Driving to his apartment, he is CROSSING THE THRESHOLD into a SPECIAL WORLD of increased danger.

  After a careful APPROACH to his apartment, Butch takes possession of the watch, SEIZING THE SWORD. However, he encounters a THRESHOLD GUARDIAN sent by Marsellus to kill him. It's Vincent, who has been reading a book

  in the bathroom (the comic spy thriller Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell). Foolishly, in a fatal, tragic mistake, Vincent has underestimated his opponent, and has left his gun sitting on the kitchen counter. Butch hears the toilet flush, grabs the gun, and kills Vincent. It's a near-death ORDEAL for Butch, but its the tragic CLIMAX for Vincent, who has been brought down by one of his flaws — his disrespect for his elders. He is punished with true poetic justice, and in a humiliating way, being caught gunless while exiting the toilet. We don't know it yet, but Vincent also appears to be paying the price for having denied a miracle — the miracle of escaping the bullets of the Fourth Young Man in the earlier scene. His death at this point seems like divine punishment for having refused to acknowledge divine intervention.