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  • Essay / Weakness succumbs to authority and expectations

    London Fields by Martin Amis depicts a non-traditional murder story that Samson Young, the narrator, seeks to transcribe. Searching for her murderer as part of a suicidal death wish, Nicola Six forms relationships with Keith Talent and Guy Clinch, two contestants who she believes could commit murder if properly provoked. Although it appears that Nicola Six is ​​an autonomous authority figure in that she is the orchestrator of her own demise, Nicola is actually the weakest of London Fields' characters due to her dependence on of certain individuals for the outcome of her future which she herself predicted. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned'?Get Original Essay Nicola's dependence on Keith Talent lies in her belief that he is her potential murderer, which leads her to leads to begin a sexual relationship in which she stages events designed to incite Keith to commit murder. The narrator first introduces Keith as “a bad guy.” Keith Talent was a very bad guy. You could even say he was the worst guy” (4), further explaining that “every pub has its superstar, its hero, its pub athlete, and Keith was the Knight of the Black Cross” (23). We soon know Keith as a "cheater" (6), who enjoys darts, "sex, violence and sometimes money" (165), and who always seems to suffer from a "walled-eyed hangover" . (111). Keith is so convincing in the role of the "murderer" (3), that as soon as Nicola entered the Black Cross and "examined the main actors on the scene, she immediately knew, with pain, with gravid arrest, with an intense recognition, that she had I found, her murderer” (22). Nicola quickly recognizes that love will not be a strong enough motivation for Keith to commit murder: “the capacity to love was extinguished in him. It was never there. Keith wouldn't kill for love. He would not cross the road, he would never swerve for love. Nicola rolled her eyes at the thought of what this would involve her sexually” (72). In her attempts to discover “what would drive [Keith] to murder” (202), Nicola reveals that “the tricks she was going to play on Keith and Guy were good tricks; but they were base and cruel and almost without relief filthy” (202). James Diedreck, a reviewer of the novel, provides insight into Nicola's tactics when he suggests that "for Keith, whose libido is entirely factual and tabloid, she is the embodiment of his wildest pornographic fantasies." Nicola knows this and she knowingly exploits it” (122). Through various scenes of sexual scenarios and pornographic videos, it would appear that Nicola exercises power over Keith through her puppeteer-like manipulations; Nicola depends on Keith because she sees him as a suitor for the role of her murderer. Without Keith, or any of the other key players she believes to be involved in her ultimate demise, her need to plot and manipulate would be non-existent, thus making obvious her weakness as a character due to her lack of independence despite her authoritarian nature. Although Keith is entangled in Nicola's twisted web of self-destruction, he profits from their relationship through sexual and financial rewards, proving his independence as a character through his survival of Nicola. Keith's marriage to his wife, Kath, is fragile to say the least: "Everything he cherished, everything he wanted in a woman, Kath didn't have it" (108). Even though much of Keith and Nicola's relationship is purely sexual,given that "he's an obsessive tail chaser of the type that was supposed to have died out years ago." He swallows anything that looks like a bim on the street” (134), with most of his thoughts about her being “frankly pornographic” (55), Nicola ultimately provides Keith with the elements that are missing from his marriage. Nicola makes Keith feel needed: "He leaned forward and whispered, with certainty, 'She...she needs me.' » (112), “She understands me. She is the only soul that understands” (288). This idea is perhaps most evident when Keith explains that "he really wanted to see [Nicola], not for an act of love or hate... No: he wanted her for her belief in him, because she was the other world, and if she said Keith was real, then the other world would say it too” (446). As for Nicola, Keith expresses that “this bird is really good news. It's a fucking miracle. Where has she been all my life? (175). Keith also benefits financially from his relationship with Nicola, finding that "there seemed to be money in Nicola Six" (169). Although the reader learns that Keith "never had what it took to be the murderer" (6), it is through the benefits that Keith derives from his relationship with Nicola as well as his innocence in her murder that he manages to overcome his character. ; confirming her strength and independence as a character, as well as her weakness and lack of independence. Nicola's long-held belief that "love, in one form or another, would be present in her death" (72), leads her to begin a romantic relationship with another potential murderer, Guy Clinch, in which she orchestrates carefully events that she believes will encourage her to kill for love. The narrator introduces Guy as “the foil, the colt, Guy Clinch…a truly charming human being” (14) with “an enormous sum of money, excellent health, good looks, height, a capriciously original mind” (27 ). Due to the pressures of his failed marriage to his wife, Hope, a marriage "waiting to be invaded" (140), when Guy first meets Nicola he is "ready", "wide open" (36) . Diedreck explains that “for Guy, Nicola is a beautiful and distinguished woman who needs his protection; it fuels his nostalgia for the passion that escaped from his marriage” (122). After Guy admitted that every few years he “secretly fell in love.” It was like an illness that disappeared after a few weeks; the love virus, effectively repelled by a determined immune system” (87), it is easy to believe that he would fall so hard and so quickly in love with Nicola. Robin Ramsay, the author of the course, explains that “in Nicola’s hands, Guy is putty. Because he espouses an archaic code of chivalry, he is blind to Nicola's manipulation” and “believing himself to be in love with her, he unconsciously conducts the affair like a courtly 14th-century lover” (114). Guy's unconsciousness in the face of Nicola's manipulation frustrates her: “What should she do to arouse suspicion in this man? If he had come in and found her lying naked on the sofa, one leg hanging over the back, muttering contentedly and enjoying a languid cigarette, he would have assumed she was suffering from the heat” (132). Although Nicola made Guy hopelessly wrapped around her finger after encouraging his love for her, even though it was only "like she was in a love commercial" for her (348), she still can't escaping his dependence on his character for the outcome of his life. possible fate. Although he is a victim of Nicola's schemes and manipulations, Guy benefits from his relationship with Nicola to the extent that she provides Guy with elements that are missing from his marriage bydisintegration and, like Keith, his independence as a character is evident through his innocence and Nicola's survival. Nicola “had the power to inspire love, almost anywhere” (20), and she “really did a number on [Guy]” (97). Even though Guy “did not deserve the humiliation and devastation” that Nicola put him through, he ended up benefiting from their relationship. The narrator notes that after meeting Nicola, “something had done wonders for Guy. He woke up and thought: Air! Light! Matter! Serious, poor, beautiful: whatever you want to name” (96). Guy explains that “he had never felt so alive. He had never felt so happy” (142), and that “if he was not too good for this world, [Nicola] was, in his opinion, far too good for this time” (154). The narrator further suggests that Nicola "could give a man the feeling that he was finally truly living, she could give color to his world" (298). Although this love does not last for Guy after Nicola's fateful death, he experiences feelings he has not felt in a long time, allowing him to enjoy their relationship. Similar to Keith, Guy is also able to defeat Nicola through his innocence in her death and prove his independence as a character. On the surface, Nicola believes her relationship with Samson Young is strictly professional, he functions as her scribe. big project; However, their relationship proves complex to the extent that, without knowing it, she depends on him to be her murderer. Nicola reveals her reasons for allowing Sam to transcribe her story when she explains “what women want”: “They all want to be in it. At any rate. Between them, they want to have bigger breasts, browner breasts, better in bed – all that. But they want a piece of everything. They want to participate. They all want to participate. They all want to be the bitch in the book” (162). As their relationship develops, Sam notes that "with [him] she can let go" (119), explaining that their interdependence on each other has led to a relationship in which they "can't talk to no one else like [they] can toward each other” (161), while carefully distinguishing that they were not in love: “I am not in love with Nicola. Something binds us, but it is not love” (233). Diedrick provides insight into the complex relationship between Nicola and Sam when he explains that "London Fields focuses on a woman who is fatally and synergistically involved with her narrator" (131). Despite their close relationship, the idea of ​​Sam being a potential candidate as a murderer never seems to come to fruition and she focuses her energy on Keith and Guy. However, Peter Stokes, reviewer of the novel, explains that Nicola is just as dependent on Sam as on the other two characters: “Nicola needs Sam as a murderer” (309). Therefore, Nicola's relationship with another man highlights her weakness and lack of independence as a character due to her dependence on Sam to murder her. Nicola single-handedly creates Sam's story, benefiting his career; however, despite his dependence on Nicola, Sam eventually defeats Nicola through her story. After “two decades of tedious torment, two decades of not leaving” (3), Sam “can't believe [his] luck” (1) when he meets Nicola Six. Patrick Gill, another reviewer of the novel, explains that "the story of Nicola's murder, her plot against herself, already offers unity, drama and appeal, and in admitting this, Sam seems to propose it as the 'real' one. author… he is his writing instrument” (41). Diedreck suggests that Sam "feels sick and delighted to have met Nicola, who relieves him of the burden of. », 38(4), 1997: 300-311.