Bart Sells His Soul (1 of 2)

Bart Sells His Soul (1 of 2)
S07E04

"Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 8, 1995. In the episode, while being punished for playing a prank at church, Bart declares that there is no such thing as a soul and to prove it he sells his to Milhouse for $5 in the form of a piece of paper with "Bart Simpson's soul" written on it. Lisa warns that Bart will regret this decision, and Bart soon experiences strange changes in his life. Thinking he has really lost his soul, he becomes desperate to get it back. Lisa eventually obtains it and returns it to a relieved Bart.

"Bart Sells His Soul" was written by Greg Daniels, who was inspired by an experience from his youth where he had purchased a bully's soul. Director Wesley Archer and his team of animators visited Chili's for examples to use in Moe's family restaurant. The episode includes cultural references to the song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", by Iron Butterfly, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and a parody of the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume.

Writers from the fields of religion, philosophy, popular culture, and psychology cited the episode in books discussing The Simpsons and the show's approach to the nature of the soul. The episode was positively received by the media, and is regarded as one of the series' best. The creative team of The Simpsons puts the episode among the top five best episodes of the series, and series creator Matt Groening cited "Bart Sells His Soul" as one of his favorite episodes. It has been used by secondary schools in religious education courses as a teaching tool.

Kurt M. Koenigsberger comments in Leaving Springfield that "a good deal of enjoyment" is to be had from the episode, due to "the exposure of the hypocrisy behind 'the finance of salvation' and the ambivalent operations of the commercial world". Don Cupitt, a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, believes that when Lisa lectures Bart about the soul, she "shows a degree of theological sophistication which is simply not tolerated in Britain." Paul Bloom and David Pizarro wrote in The Psychology of The Simpsons that although Lisa does show "healthy religious skepticism" she still believes in an eternal soul. However, Lisa tells Bart at the end of the episode, "some philosophers believe that no one is born with a soul, you have to earn one through suffering".

M. Keith Booker cites the episode in Drawn to Television, while discussing The Simpsons' treatment of religion. Booker cites a scene from the episode where Milhouse asks Bart what religions have to gain by lying about concepts such as the existence of a soul – and then the scene cuts to Reverend Lovejoy counting his money; Booker believes that this implies that religions create mythologies so that they can gain money from followers. He juxtaposes this with Bart's realization later in the episode that "life suddenly feels empty and incomplete" without a soul, which suggests "either that the soul is real or it is at least a useful fiction". Mark I. Pinsky and Samuel F. Parvin discuss the episode in their book The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leader's Guide for Group Study. Pinsky and Parvin note Bart's statement to Milhouse from the beginning of the episode: "Soul — come on, Milhouse, there's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the Boogie Man or Michael Jackson", and then suggest questions to ask students, including whether they know individuals that agree with Bart, and their views on the existence of a soul.

In Planet Simpson, Chris Turner quotes Bart's revelation to Lisa that he sold his soul to Milhouse for five dollars and used the money to buy sponges shaped like dinosaurs. After Lisa criticizes Bart for selling his soul, Bart responds: "Poor gullible Lisa. I'll keep my crappy sponges, thanks." Turner comments: "Here Bart is the epitome of the world-weary hipster, using the degraded language of modern marketing to sell off the most sacred parts of himself because he knows that some cheap sponge is more real, hence more valuable, than even the loftiest of abstract principles.

Reverend Lovejoy leads his congregation in a hymnal version of the song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", by Iron Butterfly, titled "In the Garden of Eden", by "I. Ron Butterfly". During an argument between Lisa and Bart, while discussing the relationship between laughter and the soul, Lisa quotes Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and Bart responds "I am familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda." Kurt M. Koenigsberger comments in Leaving Springfield: "While Bart may be familiar with the canon of Chilean poetry, the joke takes its force in part from the probability that The Simpsons' viewers are not." Bart begins a prayer to God with "Are you there, God? It's me, Bart Simpson". This is a parody of the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume. 1pp2p30eccmcv3443