London Fields by Martin Amis describes a non-traditional murder story that Samson Young, the narrator, tries to transcribe. Searching for her killer as part of a suicidal death wish, Nicola Six forms relationships with Keith Talent and Guy Clinch, two candidates she believes could commit murder if properly provoked. Although it appears that Nicola Six is ​​an autonomous authority figure as she is the architect of her own death, Nicola is actually the weakest of the characters in London Fields due to her dependence on certain individuals for the outcome of her future self-predicted. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Nicola's addiction to Keith Talent lies in her belief that he is her potential killer, thus leading her to initiate a sexual relationship in which she stages events designed to provoke Keith into committing murder. The narrator initially introduces Keith as “a bad guy. Keith Talent was a very bad boy. You might 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 come to know Keith as a "hustler" (6), who possesses a love of darts, "sex, violence, and sometimes money" (165), and who always seems to suffer from a "hangover" (111) . Keith is so convincing in the role of “the killer” (3), that as soon as Nicola entered the Black Cross and “examined the main players in the scene, she immediately understood, with pain, with pregnant arrest, with intense recognition, of having found him, his 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. He was never there. Keith wouldn't kill for love. He would never 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 kill” (202), Nicola reveals that “the tricks she would play on Keith and Guy were good tricks; but they were mean, cruel, and almost hopelessly dirty” (202). James Diedreck, a critic of the novel, provides insight into Nicola's tactics when he suggests that “for Keith, whose libido is all factoid and tabloid, she is the embodiment of his wildest pornographic fantasies. Nicola knows this, and consciously exploits it" (122). However, through various scenes of sexual scenarios and pornographic videos, it would appear as if Nicola exerts power over Keith through her puppeteering manipulations; Nicola depends on Keith because she believes he can compete for the role of her killer. Without Keith, or any of the other key players he believes are involved in his ultimate demise, his need to plot and manipulate would be non-existent, thus making clear his weakness as a character due to his lack of independence despite his authoritative nature. .Although Keith becomes trapped in Nicola's twisted web of self-destruction, he benefits from their relationship through sexual and financial rewards, demonstrating his independence as a character through Nicola's survival. Keith's marriage to his wife Kath is fragile at best: “Everything he loved, everything he looked for in a woman, Kath didn't have it” (108). Although much of Keith and Nicola's relationship is purely sexual, as “he's an obsessive tail chaser, the kind that should have been extinct long ago. He drinks everything that is vaguely childish on the street” (134), with the majoritypart of his thoughts about her being “frankly pornographic” (55), Nicola ultimately provides Keith with the elements his marriage is missing. Nicola makes Keith feel needed: “He leaned forward and whispered, with certainty: 'She... needs me'” (112), “She understands me. She's the only one who understands me” (288). This idea is perhaps most evident when Keith explains that he “wanted to see [Nicola] very badly, not out of an act of love and hate…No: he wanted her because of her trust in him, because she was the other world, and if if you said Keith was real, then the other world would say so too” (446). As for Nicola, Keith says “this bird is really good news. It's a fucking miracle. Where has it been all my life?" (175). Keith also benefits financially from his and Nicola's relationship, discovering that "there was money, apparently, in Nicola Six" (169). Although the reader learns that Keith "never had what it takes to be the killer" (6), it is through the benefits Keith derives from his relationship with Nicola and his innocence in her murder that he is able to overcome his character ; confirming her strength and independence as a character, and her weakness and lack of independence. Nicholas's long-standing belief that "love in some form would be present at her death" (72), leads her to initiate. a romantic relationship with another potential murderer, Guy Clinch, in which he carefully orchestrates the events that he believes will encourage him to kill for love. The narrator presents Guy as "the foil, the colt, Guy Clinch... a truly delightful human being." (14) with "a huge amount of money, excellent health, beauty, 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 “to Guy, Nicola is a beautiful and kind woman who needs his protection; she ignites his nostalgia for the passion that transpired from his marriage” (122). After Guy admits that “every few years he would secretly 'fall in love.' It was like an illness that went away after a couple of weeks; the love virus, effectively repelled by a certain immune system” (87), it is easy to believe that she would fall so hard and so quickly for Nicola. Robin Ramsay, the course's author, explains that “in Nicola's hands, Guy is like putty. Because he espouses an archaic code of chivalry, he is blind to Nicholas's manipulation” and “believing himself to be in love with her, he unconsciously conducts the affair like a 14th-century courtly lover” (114). Guy's unawareness of Nicola's manipulation frustrates her: “What would she have to do to arouse suspicion in this man? If he had entered and found her lying naked on the sofa with one leg hooked over the back, humming contentedly to herself and enjoying a languid cigarette, he would have thought she was suffering from the heat” (132). Although Nicola desperately placed Guy in her arms after encouraging his love for her, even though for her it was just "like being in a love advertisement" (348), she still cannot escape her dependence on his character for the outcome of your report. final destiny. Despite falling victim to Nicola's schemes and manipulations, Guy benefits from his relationship with Nicola as she provides Guy with the elements missing from his disintegrating marriage and, like Keith, his independence as a character is evident through his Nicola's innocence and survival. Nicola “had the power to inspire love, almost everywhere” (20), and “really did a number on [Guy]” (97). Although Guy “didn't deserve the humiliation and chaos” that Nicola put him through, he ultimately got itbenefit from their relationship. The narrator notes that after meeting Nicola, “something had made Guy do a miraculous job. He woke up and thought: Air! Light! Question! Serious, poor, handsome: anything you want to name” (96). Guy explains that he had “never felt more alive. He had never felt happier” (142), and that “if not too good for this world, [Nicholas] was, in his opinion, far too good for this time” (154). The narrator further suggests that Nicholas “could make a man feel that he is truly living at last, could make him give his world an elevated color” (298). Although this love doesn't last for Guy after Nicola's fateful death, he experiences feelings he hasn't felt in a long time, thus allowing him to benefit from their relationship. Similar to Keith, Guy is also able to overcome Nicola through his innocence in his death and demonstrate his independence as a character. On the surface, Nicola believes her relationship with Samson Young is strictly business, him acting as the scribe to her relationship. great scheme; however their relationship proves complex as she unknowingly depends on him as her killer. Nicola reveals why she allowed Sam to write down her story when she explains “what women want”: “Everyone wants to be a part of it. Whatever it is. Between them they want to have bigger breasts, browner, better in bed – all of that. But they want a piece of everything. They want to come in. They all want to be there. They all want to be the bitch in the book” (162). As their relationship develops, Sam notes that "with [him], she can let her hair down" (119), explaining that their mutual interdependence has led to a relationship where they "can't talk to anyone else like [them] ] can between them” (161), while carefully distinguishing that they were not in love: “I am not in love with Nicola. Something intertwines us, but it is not love” (233). “London Fields focuses on a woman who is fatally and synergistically involved with her narrator” (131) Despite their close relationship, the thought that Sam is a potential candidate as her killer never seems to come to fruition and she focuses her energies. about Keith and Guy. However, Peter Stokes, a critic of the novel, explains that Nicola is as dependent on Sam as the other two characters are: “Nicola needs Sam as a killer” (309). another man highlights her weakness and lack of independence as a character due to her reliance on Sam to kill her. Nicola creates the story for Sam himself, thus benefiting his career; however, despite his dependence on Nicola, Sam ultimately overcomes Nicola through his story. After "two decades of nagging torment, two decades of failure" (3), Sam "can't believe [his] luck" (1) when he meets Nicola Six. Patrick Gill, another critic of the novel, explains that “the story of Nicola's murder, her plot against herself, already offers unity, drama and charm, and in admitting this, Sam seems to propose her as the 'real' author... he is she is a writing instrument” (41). Diedreck suggests that Sam “feels sickly and ecstatic at having met Nicola, who relieves him of the burden of creation by creating the story of London Fields, which he can simply transcribe” (119). While Sam benefits from his relationship with Nicola career-wise, he is also completely dependent on her for his story: “None of this would have ever started without the girl. He had no hope in hell without the girl. Nicola Six was the miracle, the absolute woman" (14). However, despite the control that Nicola manages to exert over Sam, Brian Finney, a critic of the novel, explains that Sam ultimately succeeds”, 38(4), 1997: 300-311.