Back in 1994, Pulp Fiction took the indie scene by storm as the defining movie of the decade. The movie has had a tremendous influence on cinema in the years since its release, but perhaps its biggest influence has been the huge boost that it gave to Samuel L. Jackson's acting career.

Not only did Pulp Fiction make Jackson a star; it defined the kind of character he would play for the rest of his life. A guy who's articulate, a guy who doesn't watch his language, a guy who rattles off long, meandering monologues that become gold for iconic Pulp Fiction quotes from everyone's favorite gangster with a flair for dramatic quotations and a heart of gold. Jules Winnfield was the role that defined Jackson as an actor and Jules' Pulp Fiction quotes are some of the most memorable moments in film history.

Updated on June 17th, 2021 by Kristy Ambrose: One of the great things about Pulp Fiction is the rewatch factor, and that includes all the great quotes. It's entertaining enough to get through several times anyway, and every time we watch it, there's yet another sublime quote from Jules to make us think, laugh, or hold our breath. It's easy to mine this brilliantly written film for yet more of the best Pulp Fiction quotes from Jules Winfield, everyone's favorite criminal with a heart of gold. The variety of Samuel L. Jackson quotes from Pulp Fiction help make it one of the most quotable movies of all time.

14 "Normally, both your asses would be dead as f****** fried chicken, but you happen to pull this s*** while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you."

This Pulp Fiction Samuel L. Jackson quote is part of the climax of the film and the culmination of everything that has happened since the now-infamous opening scene. The audience understands that we've come full circle from where it all began, with some silly pet names and a spontaneous robbery in a cafe.

It confirms for the audience that from here on, Jules will be a changed man. He's not just making this declaration to the armed robbers but also to the viewer. The audience has seen Jules kill people and that's how we know he's serious.

13 "Say 'what' again! I dare you! I double-dare you, motherf*****, say 'what' one more goddamn time!"

As Jules interrogates Brett in what is possibly the most iconic scene with some of the best Jules Pulp Fiction quotes in the whole movie, Brett keeps saying, "What?" He's panicking because some gangsters have shown up at his apartment and he's in big trouble. Jules is speaking very clearly, but he's also speaking very quickly and he's using some colorful language that Brett is struggling to follow.

At first, Jules jokes about Brett's answer to everything simply being, "What?" But eventually, he's said it so many times that Jules reaches his breaking point, pulls out his gun, points it in Brett's face, and dares him to say it again.

12 "They speak English in What?"

This is one of the jokes that make up Jules' tirade and it's a nice Pulp Fiction quote all on its own. It's one of the last things he says before shooting everyone else in the room with the exception of Marvin. The "Miracle of the Missed Bullets," the incident that sets Jules' character arc in motion, immediately follows.

The opening scene of the film, in which Jules and Vincent tidy up some messy business, is a treasure trove of classic Jules Winnfield quotes. It seems that between the two of them, Jules does most of the talking, while Vincent looms as a thug in the background.

11 "Mmm, this is a tasty burger!"

One of the hallmarks of Quentin Tarantino's movies is that he doesn't take any product placement deals. So, instead of eating and drinking and smoking actual brands, his characters are linked together by the fictional brands they use. For example, everyone in the Tarantino-verse smokes Red Apple Cigarettes, so that the director doesn't have to give any money to some big tobacco company.

The same thing goes for Big Kahuna Burger, the Hawaiian fast food place where Brett and his roommates bought their breakfast. So, Jules isn't complimenting an actual brand when he takes a bite out of a burger and says, "Mmm, this is a tasty burger!" No Jules Winnfield quote would ever be a sincere product placement anyway unless it was for a foot massage.

10 "I'm the foot f*****' master."

As Jules and Vincent head up to Brett's apartment to put a good scare into him and straighten out some business for Marsellus Wallace, they talk about a rumor they heard about Antoine "Tony Rocky Horror." Marsellus threw Tony from a fourth-floor window and the rumor going around is that it was because Tony massaged his wife's feet. Some of the best Pulp Fiction quotes from both Jules and Vincent come from this scene.

This gets the two onto the topic of foot rubs, which they explore in some depth when they realize they're a little early to Brett's apartment. When Vincent starts telling Jules about massaging feet, Jules tells him that he is "the foot f**kin' master."

9 "I'm trying, Ringo. I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd."

After delivering his Ezekiel 25:17 speech for the second time, a recurring Jules Pulp Fiction quote that sets up his character arc, he starts telling Tim Roth's common crook character, Pumpkin, about the meaning behind the passage. At first, he thought it was just a cool thing to say before killing someone.

But then he narrowly avoided death and thought it was divine intervention, so he began to reassess his entire life. That meant reassessing the meaning of the Biblical quote he'd recited to all of his victims. He tells Ringo that he used to think he was "the righteous man," but now, he wants to be "the shepherd."

8 "If my answers frighten you, then you should cease asking scary questions."

This is one of the wisest Pulp Fiction quotes from Jules. He's a pretty philosophically minded guy, all things considered. When he's picking pieces of Marvin's skull out of the car and scrubbing blood out of the backseat, he couldn't care less about philosophy.

On the whole, however, he's a spiritual guy who's very closely in touch with himself and the world around him. Here, he sums up the rule of cause and effect. If you don't want to hear something scary, then don't ask a scary question. If you don't ask a scary question, you won't get a scary answer.

7 "Check out the big brain on Brett!"

When Jules enters Brett's apartment, he takes the dominant position by having a bite of Brett's burger. This reminds him of the "Royale with Cheese" conversation he had with Vincent in the car – perhaps the most iconic conversation in the movie – and he asks Vincent to tell the guys what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in France.

Jules asks the room why this is, and Brett correctly identifies the reason as being the metric system, so he compliments his intelligence and calls him "a smart motherf****r." Now, everyone knows what a "Royale with Cheese" is and why it's called that.

6 "From here on in, you can consider my ass retired."

Some Tarantino fans have speculated that the piano-playing drifter that Samuel L. Jackson plays in a brief appearance in Kill Bill is actually an older version of Jules from Pulp Fiction. After getting shot at and not being hit by a single bullet, Jules believes that he was saved by divine intervention and decides to become a drifter, wandering the streets, seeing where the world would take him.

That being the case, it checks out that later in his life that he would be playing piano in some random town where the Bride happened to show up. It's already been established that all of Tarantino's movies take place in the same universe.

5 "It's the one that says Bad Motherf*****."

Of course, that's on his wallet. It's his name, isn't it? It's one of the simplest and shortest Samuel L. Jackson Pulp Fiction quotes but it could be the one that best defines Jules' attitude.

The wallet isn't anything special. In fact, it looks like one of those simple leather folding ones that you can buy at a local market or county fair and then have the folks behind the counter brand it with the message or picture of your choice. For the audience, however, it's priceless.

4 "I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?"

This Pulp Fiction quote from Jules says to Brett right after killing his friend on the couch. The audience is breathless with laughter, partly from the shock, since they can't even tell if he's joking or not but the guy on the couch is most definitely dead.

That guy was played by Burr Steers, who has admitted in recent years that he kept screwing up takes after his character was shot: "The thing I remember most, was how I f**ked up. I was dead for much of the scene. But the blanks were so loud, I couldn't help but flinch. So, they're doing the thing to Frank Whaley, or whoever else he shot in [that scene], and they'd go off and I'd go, 'Ahhh!' I was supposed to be dead, but no."

3 "The motherf***** that said that s*** never had to pick up itty-bitty pieces of skull on account of your dumb ass."

One of the most shocking twists in Pulp Fiction occurs when Vincent accidentally shoots Marvin in the head in the back of their car. This leads into the third of the three anthology stories in the movie, "The Bonnie Situation," in which Jules and Vincent have to clean Marvin's blood and brains out of the backseat of the car.

Pulp Fiction & 9 Other Second Movies That Lived Up To The Director's First

Vincent tells Jules that an old philosophy goes that if someone admits to their wrongdoing, they're immediately absolved of that wrongdoing. Jules then counters that the person who came up with that never had to clean up shattered skull shards on someone else's behalf.

2 "I hate to shatter your ego, but this is not the first time I've had a gun pointed at me."

Jules tried to be nice, and give Pumpkin a chance with this Pulp Fiction quote that comes as a warning. The audience knows something important that he doesn't and it's a tense moment. Too bad Pumpkin didn't look at the wallet first, then maybe this whole almost-botched robbery could have been averted.

Luckily for two thieves that chose the wrong cafe that morning, Jules is reaching the end of his character arc and he's decided to stop killing people.

1 "The path of the righteous man..."

Of course, Jules' most articulate quote is his Ezekiel 25:17 speech:

"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 goodwill, 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 brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"

NEXT: Pulp Fiction's 5 Most Unexpected Plot Turns (& 5 Most Shocking Death Scenes)

Next 9 Unpopular Opinions About Avengers: Endgame, According To Reddit

About The Author

Ben Sherlock (3559 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He's currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

More From Ben Sherlock