What the hell was in the brief case on pulp fiction?

Answer 1

It was a Soul Man! dadada...

Answer 2

On the "soul" interpretaion, the indications are

1) astonishment on the look of these criminal's faces.. who've seen every denomination of wealth humanly possible.

2) The band-aid on Wallace's neck -- which goes likewise unexplained (no doubt begging to be interpreted like we're doing here)

3) In possession of the briefcase, Samuel Jackson's character goes through a change of character, the biblical text on his lips gains new meaning.

4) when you assume it is a soul for Wallace, it brings new meaning or coherence to that passage cited from Ezekiel, as above.

We can go into many associations regarding it... Soul also from a african-american form of art. Signified by the afro. The shaved head as loss of soul. The black suits relating to the Blues Brothers. The many references to race following the murder of the passenger in the back of the car. Dead ****** storage, the black wife. Master-slave dialectic all over the place. Living in Ingleberg -- boonies.


Then again Tarantino may just be screwing with us, just for the purpose of making something deep to talk about. If he put any amount of dollars in there, it wouldn't be shocking. Gold Bars... nothing. What we don't see and yet see on the face of John Travolta, reflecting off... is what we don't know, and we can construct that object of desire however we may choose. It's mystery makes it MOST alluring.

Answer 3

I heard it was Marcellus Wallace's soul.
He had traded it to the Devil and was getting it back. In the first scene you see him he has a band-aid on the back of his neck, and it's rumoured that that is where the Devil removes your soul.

Also when Sam Jackson and Travolta get the briefcase back from the guys in the apartment, it was divine intervention that saved them because they were foiling the Devil by getting the soul back.

When Sam shows the contents to the robber in the diner, it glows with a heavenly light. I also think Terantino mentioned it in a interview.

Answer 4

Great movie question, deathtrapp1. What indeed was in that mysterious case?

I think it doesn't matter what it was. I bet Tarantino never bothered deciding what it was. Its mystery and flexibility are the whole point. It could be anything. The idea is just to make us think about what could be so shiny, so illuminating, so valuable, and so priceless. What fulfills all those descriptions for you, deathtrapp1?

Answer 5

3 Big Macs and 2 Large Fries

Answer 6

I always liked this answer:

Marcellus Wallace's Soul, bought back from the devil

Answer 7

Gold.

Answer 8

a penis pump

Answer 9

Cocaine