Daily Dialogue — November 26, 2018
Jules: I’m not giving you that money. I’m buying something from you. Wanna know what I’m buyin’ Ringo?
Pumpkin: What?
Jules: Your life. I’m givin’ you that money so I don’t have to kill your ass. You read the Bible?
Pumpkin: Not regularly.
Jules: There’s a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities 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 the 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 brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.” Now… I been sayin’ that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, that meant your ass. You’d be dead right now. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin’ made me think twice. See, now I’m thinking: maybe it means you’re the evil man. And I’m the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here… he’s the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you’re the righteous man and I’m the shepherd and it’s the world that’s evil and selfish. And I’d like that. But that shit ain’t the truth. The truth is you’re the weak. And I’m the tyranny of evil men. But I’m tryin’, Ringo. I’m tryin’ real hard to be the shepherd.
— Pulp Fiction (1994), written by Quentin Tarantino, stories by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Callback.
Trivia: If you look at Jules Winnifield driver license in the wallet scene, it states “1225 Shepherd Way, Inglewood” as his home address. As there is no Shepherd Way in Inglewood, this may be a reference/nod to the shepherd in the made up Ezekiel 25:17 quote Jules loves to give every time he kills someone. Also do note the expiration date as “06–06–06”.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Oftentimes callbacks are one-liners. In this case, it’s a Bible verse. Well, part of it is from the Bible. Most of it is made up and derives from the 1976 movie Karate Kiba. First, the setup:
Then the callback:
One of the reasons this is such a good callback is it demonstrates how Jules is committed to changing. The first time he recites the verse, then blows away Brett. This time, he has every opportunity to whack Ringo… but he doesn’t. I think his restraint is directly attributable to this:
Jules believes this moment to be a miracle, a message from God. Vincent does not. Jules ‘repents’ his ways… and lives. Vincent does not… and dies.
