One of the wildest and most influential movies of the 1990s was Quentin Tarantino’s second feature film, Pulp Fiction. With this movie, Tarantino really embraced his unique sensibilities as a director. He told a story with an unorthodox structure, a mix of violence and humor, and many colorful characters.
It is those characters that make Pulp Fiction such a fun movie to revisit. As with Tarantino’s other projects, he finds a way to play with audiences’ expectations, making the audience like characters who are not necessarily the good guys while also providing a number of characters that are still easy to hate.
Marcellus Wallace
In a movie filled with violent and dangerous people, Marcellus Wallace is the one person everyone seems to be afraid of. He is the crime boss who is only talked about and seen in the shadows in the first half of the movie but that is enough to establish him as someone who is not to be messed with.
During an early scene, Jules and Vincent discuss their boss Marcellus and how he allegedly threw an associate out of a window after giving Mrs. Wallace a foot massage. He is then seen murdering and torturing people in response to Butch’s betrayal. But later it is shown that Marcellus is not without mercy under the right circumstances.
Honey Bunny
The movie opens with the introduction of two would-be criminals talking about their next job. Honey Bunny is the female member of the couple and the most annoying of the two. Though she might seem like a sweet young woman when she is having some coffee, she can switch in a moment once the robbery starts.
Honey Bunny says she doesn’t want to hurt anyone but that doesn’t mean she has a problem threatening people and yelling about executing everyone in the place. Of course, when she comes up against someone who is not scared of her, she turns to jelly.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is Honey Bunny’s lover and partner in crime who is only slightly more likable than she is. He has many of the same characteristics as she does, only he is not quite as over-the-top with his robbery persona.
Pumpkin also seems unwilling to really hurt anyone and just wants to find an easy robbery target. But his tough-guy persona only lasts until someone sticks a gun in his face.
Lance
Lance is the lazy and useless drug dealer friend of Vincent Vega. When he is introduced early in the movie during his transaction with Vincent, he seems like a pretty normal and friendly guy who makes small-talk with his customers.
When Mia overdoses on Vincent’s stash, Vincent drives to Lance’s house to get help. That’s when Lance shows his true colors as he is panicky, chaotic, and cowardly. In fact, he doesn’t even want to help this dying woman because he is afraid of what might happen to him if he does.
Vincent Vega
Despite the ensemble nature of the movie, Vincent Vega could be considered Pulp Fiction‘s main character. He is a hitman working for Marcellus along with his partner Jules. While the movie shows Vincent do hard drugs and murder people, it also makes him out to be a pretty charming guy.
His date with Mia Wallace makes him seem more ordinary and he even gets a chance to show off his dance skills. But it’s his friendship with Jules, talking about everything from cheeseburgers to divine intervention, that really makes Vincent seem not so bad.
Captain Koons
In one of the most bizarre and hilarious scenes in the movie, there is a flashback to young Butch being visited by Captain Koons. The captain served in the Vietnam War with Butch’s father and wound up in the same prison camp as him where Butch’s father eventually died.
Koons is there to deliver a wristwatch owned by Butch’s father that had been passed down from generation to generation. As a POW, he had to hide the watch in a very uncomfortable place and Koons did the same to keep the watch safe after his friend died.
Winston Wolf
When Vincent and Jules have a bloody mishap while driving, the only man they can call is Winston Wolf, aka the Wolf. Winston is a fixer who approaches any situation with a level head and a calm attitude.
Seeing as Winston wasn’t responsible for the death he’s cleaning up, it is easier to see him as a decent person. He might work for criminals, but he is a polite, practical, and effective man who knows how to get the job done. It’s hard not to admire him.
Butch Coolidge
Butch is a boxer who makes a deal with Marcellus Wallace to throw one of his upcoming fights, but instead, he wins the fight and collects the money he bet on himself. As far as nefarious plots go, this is one of the more honorable ones.
Butch does end up killing the man he fought against and doesn’t seem to show much remorse for it, although it was an accident. Apart from that, the only violence he is shown engaging in is against people who are trying to kill him so his ability to stay alive is impressive.
Mia Wallace
Mia Wallace is probably the most innocent of all the main characters in the movie. She is the wife of Marcellus Wallace who is introduced in the story when Vincent takes her out for dinner. Mia has a certain charm to her and speaks her mind as she pleases.
She is a drug user but compared to what some of the other characters do in the show, that is quite mild. She is just someone who enjoys having a good time and isn’t afraid to put herself out there.
Jules Winnfield
Like Vincent, Jules is shown early in the movie carrying out a pretty brutal assassination. Yet even with that very violent image in the minds of the audience, they still can’t help but like the guy. It also helps that Jules turns over a new leaf by the end of the movie.
After nearly getting killed himself, Jules decides God intervened and gave him a second chance. He immediately decides he is giving up his life of crime and will dedicate the rest of his life to simply “walk the earth.”
