The Toulmin System in Pulp Fiction
The Toulmin System in Pulp Fiction
Examples of argumentation and debate can be found in many places besides courtrooms and news channels. This paper will discuss a scene from the movie Pulp Fiction where one character, Vincent Vega, uses the Toulmin system to make an argument against another character, Jules Winnfield. First, I will give a brief overview of the movie, then analyze the aforementioned scene, detailing what parts of the dialogue are claims, evidence, warrants, backing and qualifiers. Pulp Fiction is a movie that was made in 1994. Directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring several actors that grew to become A-list stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, Pulp Fiction became one of the most critically acclaimed movies of that year. The movie is famous for its clever and humorous dialogue, its gruesome and stylized violence, and interconnecting storylines that Tarantino has become acclaimed for. In one of the first scenes of Pulp Fiction, Jules Winnfield is telling Vincent Vega about an incident that involves their boss, Marsellus Wallace, his wife Mia, and a man by the name of Antoine Rockamora. Jules tells Vincent that Antoine gave Mia a foot massage, and once Marsellus found out, he had some men attack Antoine. They dropped Antoine through a greenhouse, and “since then he kind of developed a speech impediment.” It is to this that Vincent says, “you play with matches, you get burned.” This is the claim of his argument. Jules asks Vincent to clarify, and Vincent says, “you don’t be giving Marsellus Wallace’s new bride a foot massage,” which is his revised claim. Vincent’s reason for this is that Antoine was attacked. Jules then asks Vincent if he thinks Marsellus overreacted. Vincent says yes, but states that Antoine should have expected some sort of reaction. When Jules says that foot massages are meaningless, Vincent gives his first warrant by stating that Antoine put his hands on Mia in a familiar way, and that’s what upset Marsellus.
Examples of argumentation and debate can be found in many places besides courtrooms and news channels. This paper will discuss a scene from the movie Pulp Fiction where one character, Vincent Vega, uses the Toulmin system to make an argument against another character, Jules Winnfield. First, I will give a brief overview of the movie, then analyze the aforementioned scene, detailing what parts of the dialogue are claims, evidence, warrants, backing and qualifiers. Pulp Fiction is a movie that was made in 1994. Directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring several actors that grew to become A-list stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, Pulp Fiction became one of the most critically acclaimed movies of that year. The movie is famous for its clever and humorous dialogue, its gruesome and stylized violence, and interconnecting storylines that Tarantino has become acclaimed for. In one of the first scenes of Pulp Fiction, Jules Winnfield is telling Vincent Vega about an incident that involves their boss, Marsellus Wallace, his wife Mia, and a man by the name of Antoine Rockamora. Jules tells Vincent that Antoine gave Mia a foot massage, and once Marsellus found out, he had some men attack Antoine. They dropped Antoine through a greenhouse, and “since then he kind of developed a speech impediment.” It is to this that Vincent says, “you play with matches, you get burned.” This is the claim of his argument. Jules asks Vincent to clarify, and Vincent says, “you don’t be giving Marsellus Wallace’s new bride a foot massage,” which is his revised claim. Vincent’s reason for this is that Antoine was attacked. Jules then asks Vincent if he thinks Marsellus overreacted. Vincent says yes, but states that Antoine should have expected some sort of reaction. When Jules says that foot massages are meaningless, Vincent gives his first warrant by stating that Antoine put his hands on Mia in a familiar way, and that’s what upset Marsellus.