Consumer Behavior Is Essential For Effective Marketing Marketing Essay

Consumer Behavior Is Essential For Effective Marketing Marketing Essay Introduction: A Consumer is somone who acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing process. (Investor words, 2010). We can classify consumers in two categories: (i) personal consumers / retail consumers, and (ii) organisations as consumers. In each case bahaviour is analysed differently. I will concentrate in this essay on personal consumers and their behaviour and its implications for effective marketing. Consumer behaviour is the process individuals or groups go through in recognizing needs, finding ways to solve these needs, making purchase decisions (e.g., whether or not to purchase a product and, if so, which brand and where), interpret information, make plans, and implement these plans. Understanding customer perception and motivations has tremendous implications for selling and marketing, process improvement and, in turn, reaching targetted consumers and make rewarding profit. With the Consumer-Centered era long gone, in the New Era orentation to enable long-term bonds with consumers it is essential to study consumer behaviour and to understand more of the customers psychology, their internal and external motivations, preferences, limitations, and actions to be able to provide a tailored value proposition. As a discupline, this is referred to as customer relationship management (CRM). Diagram showing consumer behavior, measures, and marketing actions. (graph from: Norton, 2005)Consumer attitude: The process of purchase is largely influenced by consumer attitudes. In the context of marketing, it is towards: product, brand, place (eg retail store), etc.  Consumer attitudes are a composite of a consumers (1) beliefs about, (2) feelings about, (3) and behavioural intentions.   These components are viewed together since they are highly interdependent and together embrace the forces that influence how the consumer will react to the object.(Perner, 2008) Beliefs: Consumer beliefs can be positive (e.g. chocolate tastes good) as well as negative (e.g., chocolate makes me fat).   In addition, some beliefs may be neutral (chocolate is a treat), and some may differ depending on the person or the situation (e.g., dark chocolate gives a lot of energy and stimulatesgood when you need to study or boost your energy level, but not good just before sleep time).  Often consumer believes can be inaccurate (e.g. pork is healthier than chicken). Feelings/Affect- is the consumers feelings toward a brands product or service.   Sometimes these feelings are based on the beliefs (e.g. a person feels nauseated when thinking about a hamburger because of the amount of fat it contains), but there may also be feelings which are relatively independent of beliefs (e.g.  I like ice cream) Behavioural intention.   Is what the consumer plans to do with respect to the object (e.g., buy or not buy the brand).   This can be a logical consequence of beliefs (or affect), or may reflect other circumstancese.g., although a consumer does not really like a bar/restaurant, he or she will go there because it is a hangout for his or her friends. (Perner, 2008) Changing behaviour of customers can be challenging because people like to believe that their behaviour is rational; thus, once they use our products, chances are that they will continue unless someone is able to get them to switch (Perner,2010). Consumer Choices: The comonly accepted and studied path of consumer choices, also illustrted in Elliot (1997), includes 5 main steps: Need/ opportunity recognition 2. Information Search 3. Evaluation of alternatives 4. Purchase 5. Outcome of purchase/feedback Need/opportunity recognition. Consumers recognize a need for a product/service when they percive a gap between their current state and their desired state. This can be either because of a change for the worse in their current state (need recognition) or when the desire seem to be further away (opportunity recognition). ( Elliot, 1997). That can be as easy as concluding that we need milk because we have just run out and cant make a cake without it. Or when a mother decides that buying an Armani top for her son would probably make her family more recognisable and admirred. Information Search. After identifying a product which will satisfy the need or opportunity gap, it is assumed that a customer will search for information to help him make a decision. Here it has been established that there are two ways in which information search takes place. Those are internal and external searches. Internal vs. External Search(Perner,2008) Internal search involves the consumer identifying alternatives from his or her memory/experience. Internal search is influenced by motivations, attitudes, personality, age, lifestyle, perception and learning/ experience.   This is often the only search method used for low involvement products or fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), thus building top of mind awareness is crucial task for marketing communications especially in hose low-involvement products categories (Elliot, 1998). External search involves information from environment that influences the purchase decisions. Those external factors influencing decision process include situational influences, such as, physical environment and time, and social influences such as advertising as well as culture, subculture, social class, group membership, family, friends, work/school peers, co-workers, people from the same sports/hobby clubs, neighbors etc. There are various referent groups that people consciously or unconsciously consider during their search. Those include; membership, aspiration, avoidance, word of mouth, opinion, leadership. Despite consumer interests and beliefs, they will strive to conformity and thus usually the internal search has to compete with their external influences because they want to belong to, and be accepted by, people from their direct environment. Consumers are more likely to use an external search for high involvement products.   For instance before buying a house, the consumer is more likely to ask friends opinions, read reviews in Consumer Reports, consult several web sites, and visit several property offices.   Thus, it is extremely important that firms that offer products that are selected predominantly through external search invest in advertising and marketing to ensure having information available to the consumer in need-e.g., through brochures, web sites, or news coverage. Evaluation of choices: The evaluative criteria are the product attributes, functional, symbolic and emotional, on which the relative performance of the competing alternatives will be compared (Elliot 1998). Decision rules can be: I. Compensatory, when a poor performance on one attribute can be offset by good performance on other attribute. (e.g. one car is not as fast as other but its cheaper.   If the price is sufficiently inexpensive, the consumer may then select it over a car with better acceleration that costs more) II. Non-compensatory, when only one standard is used and alternatives which dont measure up are eliminated. (e.g. when a customer wants to have a UK-branded product, lets say cereal, although there will be many other cereals with same ingredients and good taste they wont be considered) Considering that human beings seek to reduce cognitive efforts, often the way for choice evaluation are rules of thumb, e.g. cheapest is best, or known brand is always better than unknown, etc. Unfortunately this type of thinking often lead to systematic bias when compared with the rational decision making model of economic theory. Those would be believes that e.g. if an item is on sale it must be a good deal, or all branded products are of the same quality. Purchase: Purchased is often influenced by time, the more time between the intention to buy and the purchase the more opportunity for change in original intention. But in many instances a conscious purchase intension is not formulated prior to the purchase act and in this case a display of product may trigger impulse purchase. US studies show that 83% decisions to purchase of snack foods take place in the supermarket itself rather than prior to shopping. Obviously higher involvement products are more likely to be pre planned than lower involvement products. (Elliot, 1998) Outcomes of Purchase: These have important implications for the future purchase decisions. The cognitive approach points to importance of prior expectations as a determining how well consumer will evaluate the purchase experience. The lower the expectations the less dissatisfaction on poor product performance, and the more satisfaction on good product performance is seen. Consumer Involvement: The amount of effort a consumer puts into searching depends on a number of factors. There is a classical model to measure consumer involvment in purchase decision. This model shows that involvmnet depends largly on: price, type of product, frequency of purchases, symbolic meaning, social visability, time commitment, potentiality for harm, potentiality for poor performance of product/service etc. (Elliot, 1998) In practice the price or high significance will mostly effect the involvement of consumers. E.g if we buy boat or house we are more likely to put more effort in research than when we buy washing powder. The same is true for highly life significant products such as computer or medications, which tend to be given more attention than lets say notepad or pen. (where you shop, ease / proximity of parking, ambience, safety, provision of child care, etc) Influences on Consumer Behavior(Perner 2008) The Life Cycle. Individuals and families tend to go through a life cycle: The simple life cycle goes from    http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/cb/Simple_FLC.png (Perner 2008) In real life however, there are many more complications possible, such as couples undergo divorce, single parents run house or remarry or become involved in other non-marital relationships, or stay on their own etc. Integrating all the possibilities gives a depiction of the Family Life Cycle to the one below: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/cb/Family_Life_Cycle.png (Perner 2008) Obviously young singles with still little cash and highly influenced by their peer environment will have different needs, and make different purchases to young couples, and young couples will greatly vary in their customer behaviours to full nest families. Then again there is a significant difference in amount, type and variety of products purchased between Nest I, Nest II and III families, since different age of children in the family will have various demands / needs, and the older the children the more influence they will have on parents and their purchase decisions themselves. Empty nest family with no children in the house often can afford more luxurious items than before. They will frequently look for comfort and durability and high quality of goods. Older singles will have similar needs, but if retired or lonely may not be able to afford as high standards of products as empty nest and thus minimalistic approach can be seen in their purchase behaviour. Apart from differences in customer behaviour arising from Family Life Cycle it is also important to mention that behaviour changes with age, health, career and financial status. Older people tend to have greater income but also greater obligations such as mortgages, children, and spouse. Different ages are concerned with different financial rewards and obligations. That often leads to different consumer behaviour. Figure 2.5 Consumer life events Understanding the life event triggers behind the big decisions that consumers make, assists information providers in targeting information at the times and places in peoples lives when they most need it. (Australian government, 2010) Family decision making model: Another relevant consideration includes the Family decision making model. It is important to realise that it is not only the decision maker(s) in the family that count during the decisions processes of the family. Although they decide where and which product, brand to buy, there are also initiator, ultimate users, the information gatherers/holders- who seek out information about products of relevance, Influencers- who do not ultimately have the decision power, but they may make their wishes known by asking for specific products or causing embarrassing situations if their demands are not met. And then again all those have different role to that of the purchaser. (Perner, 2008) It was measured that parents under childrens (age 4 -12years) influence in US purchase products worth apporximately $4,400 per year per child. This comprises nearly $150 billion annually in US market alone. (McNeal,1997). This statistic is even more prominent if we look at China and heir one child policy and the six-pocket syndrome (where all 4 grandparents and parents can cherish and spoil 1 child only (Goll,1995) From the marketing point of view, family decision-making model introduces some problems since the purchaser can be targeted by point-of-purchase (POP) marketing efforts that cannot be aimed at the decision maker, or influencer. It should also be noted that family decisions are often subject to a great deal of conflict. The reality is that few families are wealthy enough to avoid a strong tension between demands on the familys resources. (Perner, 2008) Family decision making model can be observed in nearly any shop. This will take place when a family is out and about maybe doing grocery shopping and then suddenly one of the children will point to a toy or Christmas tree that courts its attention (that will be the initiator). There will be various criteria to consider: maybe some information provided on the spot about this particular Christmas tree; the fact does the family have already one or not and in what condition it is, also time of the year will have influence on the decision making process. The user or a Christmas tree is the whole family but especially children. Mother of the family will often be the decider who will try to satisfy the whole family and purchase something that is practical and safe a s well as will look representative in the home surrounding. Father will often pay for the tree and make the purchase thus in this scenario will be the buyer. This issue is addressed by many shops by offering extensive displays o f child-attractive items, together with parent-satisfying product descriptions to fulfil needs of the decision maker, and not infrequent value deals to finally convince the ultimate buyer. The Means-End Chain. Is another model of consumer behaviour where consumers buy products not because of their attributes per se but rather because of the ultimate benefits that these attributes provide, in turn leading to the satisfaction of ultimate values. An important implication of means-end chains is that it is usually most effective in advertising to focus on higher level items. (Green Book, 2005) This can be illustrated on example of UHT milk. A consumer may not be interested in the process and chemistry of ultra high temperature process of milk preservation, but might reason as follows: Self satisfaction/esteem Kids will continue to get all calcium and vitamins required for growth and strong bones, and he milk is there whenever needed Children can safely use the milk when they need it without a need to go back to a shop for weeks at a time. Milk can be stored longer without taste and properties change, Long life properties of UHT milk UHT milk producers use this model and emphasise the long life properties of milk, and thus in consumer perception this is the main focus point. They often dont make further investigation to find out that UHT milk has sufficiently less vitamins and minerals then fresh milk, and frequently make decision to buy long life milk instead of fresh milk. Diffusion Curve Model: And last but not least we should note that not all consumers will choose to buy new products at the same time. Dependingly on their education, experience, capacity to purchase and desires we will be able to identify Innovators who buy first but comrpise less than 5% of consumers, e.g. people who follow the latest releases of technology/fashion engineering and will purchase the products as soon as they reach the market even if they dont necessary need it, and it means paying premium price for those goods. After the first purchases by Innovators, the Early adpoters will show their interest. They benefit form using the product and want to maintain an edge over the rest of their peer group / consumers at large. However the vast majority of the curve ignores most marketing efforts at the earliest stages until they are convinced that the product or idea is not a fad. Successful new products, the hits, are most sought by Innovators and Early Adopters soon after introduction: and then Early majority will follow the trend to purchase. After some time the later majority will make the decision to buy, and then when the products/ services are no longer considered new by majority of population the laggards will come to belive it is ecessary for them to aquire this product. Possibly that will take place after the older model they owned is no longer functioning and it is necessary for them to replace it. Those clients frequently benefit from large discounts, since new more desirable models are often already available on the market. The described above model is commonly known as Diffusion Curve model or 5 segments model, and can be illustrated as bellow (actual percentages will vary according to the product / sector / consumer mix): Viral Marketing and Consumer Behavior (Graph from; Braziel, 2007) This model doesnt equally apply to all products, it is mostly used for electronics, computers, fashion clothing, house appliances such as AGD (white goods) and RTV (audio / visual electronics) products. Thats because we cant really talk about innovative products when it comes to FMCGs like bread, milk, butter. Also it would be hard to talk about laggards when the product of concern was something everyone needs in day to day life. Knowing about the diffusion curve model and the fact that new products are usually initially adopted by a few consumers and only spread later, and then only gradually, to the rest of the population, companies learned that to introduce new products they must be well financed so that they can stay afloat until their products become a commercial success by generating self-sustainable profit. They also realize that it is very important to please initial customers, since they will in turn influence many subsequent customers brand choices. That is why many brands use post-purchase evaluation forms and ensure quick response to any dissatisfaction, so consumers feel understood, respected and powerful. This helps in creating good overall impression about the product or brand, which is likely to be passed on to Early adopters and beyond. Discussion: There are two main applications of consumer behavior in marketing: (Perner 2005) Using consumer behavior to make better marketing campaigns. For example by understanding that consumers are more receptive to food advertising when they are hungry, food/snack companies learned to schedule snack advertisements late in the afternoon. As a result of increased receptiveness consumers are more likely to memorize the items and either buy there and then or next time when they see the product on the supermarket shelf. by understanding that new products are usually initially adopted by a few consumers and only spread later, and then only gradually, to the rest of the population, companies learned that (1) to introduce- new products must be well financed so that they can stay afloat until their products become a commercial success. (2) it is very important to please initial customers, since they will in turn influence many subsequent customers brand choices. Social marketing involves getting ideas across to consumers rather than selling something. E.g. To reduce the incidence of transmission of diseases through illegal drug use the best solution, obviously, would be if we could get illegal drug users to stop. This, however, was deemed to be infeasible. It was also determined that the practice of sharing needles was too ingrained in the drug culture to be stopped. As a result, using knowledge of consumer attitudes, Dr. Fishbein created a campaign that encouraged the cleaning of needles in bleach before sharing them, and this marketing campaign was hugely successful (Syed, 2009) Attitude research has shown that consumers often tend to react more favorably to advertisements which either: Admit something negative about the sponsoring brand (e.g., the Volvo is a clumsy car, but very safe), this approach makes consumer perceive the advert more reliable, and will pay off by their better attitude towards brand/product advertised. OR Admits something positive about a competing brand (e.g., a competing supermarket has slightly lower prices, but offers less service and selection).   Two-sided appeals must, contain overriding arguments why the sponsoring brand is ultimately superior-that is, in the above examples, the but part must be emphasized. (Perner, 2008)   Again this two side appeal gives consumer perception of rational, reliability and this type of advert is more likely to be listened, believed in and remembered. Knowing it is generally very difficult to change beliefs that people hold, some companies try to change the importance of beliefs by decreasing them or by strengthen them by advertising e.g. milk company can emphasise on the importance of milk ingredients such as; calcium and iron for the health being of people, and thus increase the perception of importance for milk in consumer eye, which will then lead to increased milk sales. Companies can also add to consumer beliefs, e.g. Cereal makers can add beliefs that their cereal are more convenient and healthy than other cereals, which sounds quite plausible to some people if the advert uses enough credible terms for ingredients. Thus consumer perceive those cereals more appropriate for breakfast than others and are more likely to purchase them when next time see them in the shop. Using consumer choices model described in the introduction, some companies will seek to create in the eyes of target consumers a perception of need of e.g cooking spice, by advertising it as a miracle mix which will make every dish you make tasty and desirable by all family members. That perception of opportunity may trigger the consumer purchase decision. Knowing that information search for FMCGs is mostly internal, food producers try to make impression on the consumer e.g by making tomatoes look more healthy and appealable to potential consumers e.g we can see tomatoes with green stems or big organically grown sign on the packaging that will trigger the consumer desire to eat healthy and even though those tomatoes may not be any healthier than the other 5 types that sit on the shelf. The perception of healthy / organic will arise in consumer mind and thus he will be more likely to purchase them. In relation to purchase decisions of consumers, many companies, especially those selling low involvement goods, use a marketing strategy which is directed at one of humans basic motivation:- curiosity. By packaging a product with interesting and/or innovative pictures and images, they try to wake up consumer curiosity and in this way win the consumer interest and encourage impulse to buy. Knowing that fulfilling original expectations of consumer will often lead to repeat purchase some products e.g Heinz Ketchup by introducing a claim of great thickness and delivering on it better compare to other brands, can win consumer because consumer attention is drawn towards thickness only and satisfying this attribute alone give consumer overall perception of good performance. Emphasising consumer brand loyalty, many shops introduce loyalty cards, which give additional credits for shopping in particular shop, such as entitlement to discounts and promotions. Loyalty cards databases on the other hand enable understanding the clients better and give offers that best suit their behavior/habbits. Its a win-win situation for seller and buyer: the consumer has a perception of being special/appreciated and can see the reward for loyalty, while the shop has more information about the customers. For example, it was established that a buyer of full fat milk is 2.5 times more likely to purchase children orientated products. That is because a lot of parent buy full fat milk for their kids, and having kids means we buy for them more than just milk. Knowing that, a shop/company can send kids products brochures only to those people buying full fat milk rather than spend money on approaching adults who dont have kids and are unlikely to purchase childrens products. All the models described above are important to know and consider; to help spot emerging patterens and trends relative to the marketing and branding process. However they seem to be slightly overcomplicated and we need to realise that every day consumer patterns as well as practical marketing often varies from the theoretical models. To support this view we dont need to look far, we read from countless articles e.g McCole (2004) suggests that there exists a sizable gap between the worldviews of academics and practitioners. And Brennen (2004, p. 492), in his editorial comments in a special issue that explored the nature of the academic-practitioner divide, notes that a consensus seems to be emerging that much, or perhaps most, of work done by academics is of limited relevance to practitioners. (Syed H. Akhter, 2009). Also there are numerous studies which show that a large percentage of consumers dont research their purchases or limit the research to minimum, e.g. on average 52% of peo ple in US obtained no independent information on products/services purchased and even for purchase of a new car, more than 30% of people visit only one car dealer.(Elliot, 1998). A lot of those theoretical models, together with practical / anecdotal experience, indicate that decisions made by customers are mostly emotion-driven or impulse driven. The purchase decisions often depend on curiosity, value perception (an approximation of reality), brand loyalty or rules of thumb , rather than research, and that is why marketing, branding and advertising need to enhance value perception for the customer and take care of a good purchase experience rather than just focusing on the purchase product/service. Conclusion: To conclude this paper on dynamics of consumer behaviour in practical marketing, I decided to look into Early Learning Center (ELC) brand and their marketing strategies. With their consumer base largely being 0-6 year old children, specifically I sought evidence of ELCs marketing efforts reflecting a sound understanding of the behavior of their target customers, the adults who buy those goods on childrens behalf Early Learning Centre (ELC) ~ Toy Sale Now On Early Learning Centre (ELC) is essentially a marketing and distribution company, but one that also designs and commissions the manufacture of its own-branded products.It was established in 1974 as a mail order firm, and was an early adopter of direct sales through the Internet the website www.elc.co.uk was first launched in 1999 and proved to be successful in its first year in terms of profit generated on internet-driven purchases.. In 2007 Mothercare plc acquired Early Learning Centre for  £85m ( £49m plus  £36m debt). Mothercare is one of the most familiar names in UK retailing, and is probably the first store that comes to mind when thinking of the needs of pregnant women, babies and children up to the age of 10. There is a lot of overlap with ELC in the post-natal market and so their merger and co-location of stores makes sense from a business perspective. Today there are over 225 ELC stores in the UK, and 115 stores internationally operated by franchise partners in locations including UAE, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia Ireland, and Poland. Catalogues sales have remained a core part of the business. [Early Learning Centre prints and distributes over 4 million catalogues in the UK alone each year.] Over 80 percent of the products sold by Early Learning Centre are own brand. ELC operate through three distinct channels to market; UK stores, Direct (internet-based businesses and catalogue mai l order), and International.(ELC, 2008) The Early Learning Centre brand provides eight major categories of toys and games primarily for children in the 0-6 year age range. They segregate their items based on sex and age of children for whom the toys are designed. This approach helps greatly during customers search through the products. As a result customers can put less effort into the search process and it adds to their overall shopping experience. Knowing that changing attitude of consumer is generally very difficult. Instead ELC try to influence feelings, either by advertising itself to create pleasant, warm feeling about products, and hope that will be enough to make customer like the product, or they use classical conditioning by e.g. showing happy, stress free children playing with ELC toys. the great outdoors!!! acctive play and fresh air fun! (pictured copied from: http://www.kidstart.co.uk/partner/ELC.aspx) Another strategy of ELC involves exposure effect. By providing advertisement and pictures outside the store and in magazines known to be popular amongst parents of 0-6 year old children and those adults likely to buy presents for such children, ELC ensures customers are more familiar with the product and thus more likely to purchase it. Aware that changing behaviour of customers can be challenging, one strategy employed by ELC is to introduce seasonal price discounts to justify in consumer minds the switch, based on a good deal principle. After the switch if a customer was more satisfied with the ELC product than with a previously used brand, there is a large likelihood that he or she will stick with the ELC products for future purchases even when the price goes back to normal. Another marketing strategy employed by ELC is engaging the convenience mindset of their target audience. ELC stores are usually located in big shopping malls, specifically in those locations in the mall that are frequently used/passed by customers on their way in or out. Not only are toys displayed, many toys at the entrance, but also throughout the store, are out of their packaging to enable better investigation of product prior to purchase. This is also a great way to attract the children of passing shoppers mothers, families into the shop to play. When this happens parents will be forced to come into the shop and during that time possibly will purchase one or more of the toys that their children were attracted to, or indeed other

In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck presents a totally pessimistic view of life where dreams offer the only escape? Essay

‘Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world†¦with us it ain’t like that†¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you’. Perhaps of Mice and Men can be perceived as a totally pessimistic reflection of what life in 1930s America was like, but through the extraordinary relationship between George and Lennie and the natural dignity of Slim, a balance between the good and the bad, the happy and the unhappy is achieved. The parent-child relationship shared between George and Lennie throughout the novel is certainly a good thing. From the start of the novel, we see George as a responsible character, a parent substitute to Lennie, whose loyalty seems more through kindness than a sense of duty. He reminds Lennie that ‘(his) aunt Clara would like (him) running off by (himself)’ and even when he is severely provoked by Lennie to speak harshly to him, he soon feels guilty and apologises: ‘I been mean, ain’t I?’. Lennie, on the other hand, acts like a child, unaware of the hardships he and George face throughout the novel. He pleads with George to let him keep the rats he finds and needs George to repeat to him words and phrases so that he can remember them: ‘ â€Å"Lennie†¦you remember what I told you?† Lennie raised his elbow and his face contorted with thought’. Yet although George is Lennie’s ‘opposite’, he continues to care for him throughout the novel, even at the end when he chooses to end Lennie life himself rather than watch him suffer under the wrath of Curley; Lennie dies at the hand of the man he trusts, still believing in his dream, painlessly, happy and free: ‘Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering’. But perhaps it is this dream that makes this novel seem so pessimistic: it is what seemingly keeps them together yet at the end it is shattered, and with it, George and Lennie’s friendship comes to a shocking end. The dream is of a very small farm, ‘ a little place’, which they own themselves, a dream of working for themselves and of being the ones in charge: ‘If we don’t like a guy we can say: â€Å"Get the hell out,† and by God he’s got to do it’. It is powerful enough to draw in Candy and, temporally, even the cynical Crooks. Yet although this dream offers an escape from reality and even when the hope of freedom seemed possible, it is shattered and George is left with no other option but to shoot his one and only ally in the struggle against a society which finds it difficult to imagine than one can have a friend to share his fears and sorrows with: ‘†¦I never see one guy take so much trouble for another†¦Ã¢â‚¬â „¢ Perhaps Lennie’s death is down to fate and destiny, the fact that neither he nor George had any control over their lives, as reflected by Slim’s tender words at the end of the novel, ‘You hadda George. I swear you hadda’, or maybe it is in fact down to the rootless American society of the 1930s. So to conclude, although George and Lennie’s friendship and Slim’s natural dignity are two good things, Lennie’s death and the collapse of the dream he and George believed in at the end of the novel leads one to feel that, during the Depression, freedom and success were perhaps impossible to achieve. The ‘American Dream’, the key to American psychology, stated that great personal success could be gained by hard work and private success. Yet in truth many were not allowed to achieve this success. Such groups included itinerant workers and Black people who, in this novel, are represented by Crooks, a character openly referred to as ‘nigger’, which exemplifies the casual racism directed towards him by the others and although the ranch hands do not set out to insult him deliberately, the use of the term ‘nigger’ signals to us that black men like Crooks were constantly degraded both verbally and physically by whites. The story’s heart-rending conclusion leads one to realise that for most migrant workers, the reality of their social situation means that the ‘American Dream’ cannot be realised. This truth is reflected by the famous trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, both Italian immigrants who realised the true force of society’s bias in the 1920s. Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted of the murder of a paymaster and his guard and the robbery of $15,776 from the Slater and Morrill Shoe factory and were later executed for their crimes. From the evidence and the obvious biased feelings toward immigrants, the case became one where their culture was on trial as opposed to their actions and thus they were bound to be found guilty. Instead of upholding the sacred judicial process cemented in the United States Constitution, the conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti resulted from the prejudice and discrimination of ‘old-stock’ Americans in the 1920’s. For Sacco and Vanzetti, their time was not an age of reason in American history. As â€Å"both were guilty and proudly so—- of a cultural crime†: â€Å"†¦My conviction is that I have suffered for things I am guilty of. I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was an Italian, and indeed I am an Italian; I have suffered more for my family and for my beloved than for myself; but I am so convinced to be right that if you could execute me two times, and if I could be reborn two other times, I would live again to do what I have done already.†

Special Occasion Speech - 819 Words

A True Hero Walking With Us Thank you for joining us today as the City of Mobile participates in the Race for the Cure Walk in celebration of October Cancer Awareness Month. This is a special occasion for many reasons but the most significant is that we have chosen as a community to make a difference and to show our own ability to be heroes. People define heroism in so many individualized ways and the world is full of heroes that make a significant impact and have admirable traits of all kinds. Our own designated heroes affect our mindset and influence our thoughts and our actions. It is powerful and influential. To me, a true hero changes the world and provides hope and peace in the most difficult situations. Today we celebrate†¦show more content†¦This is the real heroism of our world. Nancy Brinker gave the world an option to make themselves heroes to others. She gave them a way to find hope and these every day heroes educate and bring awareness and they pride themselves in celebrating every small step towards a cure. Cancer is deadly, and people should do everything in their power to help find a cure. There is not a single person on this earth that has not been affected by cancer. Ghandi said, ‘be the change you want to see in your world.† Everyone should choose to â€Å"be the change† and choose to be a hero, even if it’s for someone you do not know. Today, we are privileged to have Nancy Brinker lead us as we walk together in the City of Mobile’s Race for the Cure Walk and I am honored to be among so many heroes...each of you. Thank you, Mrs. Brinker, for being here with usShow MoreRelatedWhy Is It Important? How Your Audience As You Prepare Your Speech? Essay1648 Words   |  7 PagesWhy is it important to analyze your audience as you prepare your speech? 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The Doctrine Of God Is Love - 1139 Words

This paper will reflect the history of the interpretation of 1 John 4:8. In book one John states (4:7) that, â€Å"love is from God,† and then he continues in (4:8) that, â€Å"God is love.† Undoubtedly, even nonbelievers may perhaps exhibit agape love for others. Agnostic or unbelieving parents frequently possess sacrificial or agape love for their families and or their spouses. Soldiers who are nonbelieving might throw their bodies on a grenade to spare the lives of the comrades. These type loving acts stem from God’s shared grace. This kind of sacrificial or agape love is so profound and altruistic, however, it can never be considered Gods Agape love. John desires us to recognize that if we see sincere biblical love, it originated with God not with the person, for He is the only foundation of love in the world. John asserts that God is love (1 John 4:8). God does not simply love; he is love. All things that God does, stems from his love. 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Although the word â€Å"Trinity† is not mentioned in the Bible, there is evidence that God is three in one. Jesus’ baptism described in Matthew 3:13-17 references the Trinity. Matthew speaks of Jesus coming out of the water, the heavens opening, and describing the Spirit of God descending like a dove and a voice from heaven saying â€Å"This is my Son, whom I love.† Also, in Matthew 29:19 it says â€Å"Therefore go andRead MoreReligion Is A Misrepresentation Of The Christian Perspective948 Words   |  4 Pagesaggressively took the message of God to turn into a confusing issue that would separate the Christian faith into different denominations. The denominations consider the Christian faith with their own perspective on controversial doctrines, such as Baptism, speaking in tongues, demon possession, or celebrating certain holidays. Our society is functioned where Christians become sensitiv e about different topics, leaving the secular society to ignore them. One controversial doctrine is the ability to speak inRead MoreDoctrine Of The Afterlife : The Old Testament1377 Words   |  6 PagesDoctrine of the Afterlife in the Old Testament In the ancient Hebrew writings, the concept of heaven and hell is limited to an underworld development. After burial, it was believed that the souls of the dead would descent into the lower parts of the earth. This underworld or Sheol was a place where people would â€Å"dwell as weak, dim shades with no consolation from God.† The book of Psalms considers Sheol as the Pit, where there is no help and the soul is remembered no more (Ps. 88:3-5). The OldRead MoreEssay about Bibliology1053 Words   |  5 Pagesof everything concerning the Bible. God reveals Himself, His ultimate plan for us (salvation), and His will to us through His Word. Psalms tells us that the Word of God is to be lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Psalms also tells us to hide His word in our heart. We speak to God through prayer, but He speaks to us through the Scriptures. The importance of this book cannot be stressed enough; we literally have a love letter, written by Almighty God, just for us. The Bible can help in anyRead MoreConcoction To Control Others.Martin Henry Shares, â€Å"It Must1421 Words   |  6 Pagespeople equate sickness, financial problems, and death as hell. Doctrine of the Afterlife in the Old Testament In the ancient Hebrew writings, the concept of heaven and hell is limited to an underworld development. After burial, it was believed that the souls of the dead would descend into the lower parts of the earth. This underworld or Sheol was a place where people would â€Å"dwell as weak, dim shades with no consolation from God.† The book of Psalms considers Sheol as the Pit, where there is noRead MoreThe Character And Attributes Of God1279 Words   |  6 PagesAND ATTRIBUTES OF GOD To begin to understand God, one must first begin with a firm belief in God, as well as the Bible – from which we derive all authoritative knowledge of God. The next step is to examine the amazing attributes of God. Of all the numerous attributes, there are three that I feel are key to understanding God: His Holiness, Omnipotence, and Love. First, God’s Holiness implies a level of truth and perfection that surpasses anything else in this world. For God to be truly Holy,Read MoreThe Doctrine Of Sin : Sin Of Humanity1408 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Doctrine of Sin† The theological term of sin (sinlessness of Christ) is the doctrine that Jesus was without sin, free from all transgression of the law and thus able to do the will of the Father in complete holiness (Grenz 107). However, sin of humanity in Scripture tells us it is a history of man in a state of sin also rebellion against God and God’s plan of redemption to bring man back to himself. Again, sin is failure to adhere to God’s moral law in action as well as in nature