Allgemeine Filmdiskussion

Analysis

Drugs. Lots of drugs. That’s pretty much what comes to mind when we think of Old Bull Lee. That and the whole guru thing. Which is an interesting combination, when you think about it. He enters the story during cross-country trip #2, and provides us with an interesting perspective of Dean: he’s going absolutely mad – Sal should get out while he still can. That’s his advice to Sal, and it makes sense to us, the reader. The fact that this incredibly sane advice comes from a drug addict says something: Dean's madness is really extreme. It also reminds us that Dean’s madness has nothing to do with drugs or alcohol – it’s his own stuff. And there seems to be no getting rid of it.

Timeline

* Bull calls Sal’s Aunt’s house, telling Sal, Dean, and Ed to get over to New Orleans and take care of Galatea.
* Bull’s history is revealed, which details his knowledge, his role as a teacher, his penchant for drugs and new experiences, and his love for Shakespeare and Mayan Codices.
* He smokes marijuana with the rest of the gang.
* He shows off his gun collection.
* His relationship with his wife is detailed as close and soulful.
* We meet his children.
* Bull takes the gang to a bunch of crappy bars to demonstrate that bars these days are no good.
* He psychoanalyzes Dean and decides that Dean is headed for disaster.
* He tells Sal that he ought to stay in New Orleans rather than continue on with Dean.
* Bull shoots up in the bathroom.
* He has fun throwing knives at a wooden target.
* Bull loses money at the racetrack and berates himself for not realizing the importance of Sal’s vision of his dead father.
* He shoots up in the bathroom again.