"The Desperadoes" By Stan Barstow.

Vince is a very violent character and feels that this gives him a "sense of release". He also carries "six inches of razor-sharp steel" in the form of a knife incase he ever needs it in one of his frequent conflicts. Because of all the fights he gets into the reader may not feel sympathetic for Vince when things do go wrong and an example of Vince's needless violence is when he attacks an old man purely for fun after the gang had been at the Tivoli.

Although Vince is regularly aggressive and has an unpleasant nature he has the ability to change his attitude and act completely different, he does this in the presence of Iris. He does not tease her about her name and he lets her choose a name that she feels more comfortable with. He also talks in a more respectable manner and does not feel the need for violence to let out his rage. He also thinks more responsibly, he begins to think of "things like steady courtship, marriage, a little home with someone to share it and be waiting for him at the end of the day". The reader sees a completely different side to Vince when he is with Iris but the reader also sees how rapidly Vince can change.

Vince has many different reasons for his violent conduct and careless attitude. The main reason is his poor relationship with his father who always picks on Vince. He refers to Vince with such expressions as "idle layabout", "good for nothing" and "no- good teddy boy". This leads to Vince accumulating feelings of fury and hatred until he can unleash all his emotions in an uncontrollable act of violence.

Another factor aggravating Vince's aggressive manner is his views on work and the police. He thinks that he has to "spend all day workin' to fill somebody else's pockets with brass". He has also come to the assumption that the police pick on him merely because his "hair's cut a bit different". This leads to Vince having more anger inside him that he needs to repress.

Jackson, a 'bouncer' at a dancehall the gang like to go to, is a rival of Vince. Jackson finds Vince with Iris and ruins any chances Vince had with her and this leads to Vince deciding that there will be a final showdown. He arranges with his gang that they shall "jump" Jackson later that night. The gang's intention was to shake Jackson up but the conflict resulted in the death of Jackson and Vince being held responsible with the

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murder. They only wanted to "get that bugger" for the pain and anguish he had inflicted on Vince.

The conflict did not go to plan as Jackson overpowered the gang and left Vince no alternative other than stabbing Jackson in an act of self-defence. This proves to be a fatal blow and the gang flee leaving Vince on his own.

The reader may choose to sympathise with Vince or they may feel Vince's actions led to his own downfall. Either way there are many reasons for and against Vince's actions but there can be no excuse for murder.