Character Analysis

Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino is a crime flick about six men who know nothing about one another being contracted by a professional criminal and his son to rob a jewel store.  In one scene from Reservoir Dogs, the boss named Joe, gives the each of the six contracts their own alias.  Using this scene, we can analyze each character with semiotics.

Joe (Lawrence Tierney)

This first character you see is Joe.  In this scene, Joe gives each character their name and when Mr. Pink questions his name, Joe snaps back rudely.  When Mr. Pink asks to pick his own name, Joe says he “tried that once”.  This shows Joe is experienced in leading crime.   He also repeatedly refers to his decision being final.  He establishes his dominance over the other men and shows he is the alpha-male.  “There’s two ways you can go on this job, my way or the highway.”  As well as being adamant in his decision, he is also short tempered and is easily angered by Mr. Pink.

Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino)

The first character to receive his alias is Mr. Brown.  Mr. Brown isn’t one of the big characters, being in only a few scenes, but enough is gathered in the scene to show that he tries to be the funny guy of the group.  After Joe calls Mr. Pink a faggot, you can hear Mr. Brown laughing like a little kid.  He also seems like the only person in the room who would complain about being Mr. Brown for such a pathetic reason as being similar to dung.

Mr. White (Harvey Keitel)

Mr. White is the next person given an alias.  Throughout the scene, you cans see Mr. White looking at Joe respectfully as his superior.  He also attempts to establish peace in the group by telling Mr. Pink that no one care what his name is, which is again respecting Joe and his decisions.  Out of every character in the warehouse, Mr. White is the man most likely to say, “sir, yes sir” to Joe.

Mr. Blond (Michael Madsen)

When you see Mr. Blond named, you notice that his head is cocked to the side and he is slouching in his chair.  His body language is showing that he is the cocky one in the group and that he is full of himself.  He acknowledges Joe’s decisions and understands the rules, but he has his own way in doing things.  This is shown throughout the movie as he turns the heist into a blood fest and in many more scenes.

Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker)

Mr. Blue is one of the quiet ones not only in this scene but also the entire movie.  Not much is known about him and his silence adds more of the mystery to his character.

Mr. Orange (Tim Roth)

Mr. Orange also remains quiet and his slouched posture in this scene shows he is calm and collected.  It is made clear at this point in the movie that he is an undercover cop and the way he acts in this scene demonstrates how he blends into the gang in order to avoid blowing his cover.

Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi)

Mr. Pink is the last character Joe names in this scene and he is the own who puts up the most fuss about his name.  This shows he is a very whiny person.  He repeated complains in the scene and argues with Joe.  One can also conclude that Mr. Pink seeks trouble which is demonstrated in the rest of the movie.  And finally, Mr. Pink cowers away from Joe after Joe gets red in the face with anger.

"Nice Guy" Eddie (Chris Penn)

The final character in this scene is Joe’s son, “Nice Guy” Eddie.  He is another character who is silent in this scene but his silence is out of respect for his dad.  He looks up to his dad – as any son would – and he looks down towards the other characters as if he is better than them, putting himself on equal ranking and authority as his dad.

Just from some semiological analysis in this short scene, we are able to identify every main character in Reservoir Dogs and establish characteristics or personalities for each character.