Thursday, December 26, 2019

Racial Discrimination in The US - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 821 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? Dear sister, I am writing to you because of the racial discrimination that a lot of African Americans face in the United States. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Racial Discrimination in The US" essay for you Create order Racial discrimination involves the thought that various races are more superior to other races in the community. Racial discrimination in the United States has been the most important issue since the colonial as well as the slave era. Lawfully approved racial discrimination forced a severe burden on the African Americans. European Americans were from the start at an advantage since the ruling favored them in issues of literacy standards, acquisition of land as well as voting rights. The first racially structured establishments at the time comprised slavery, residential schools for American natives and also confinement camps. However, racial bias became prohibited in the middle of the 20th century, but politics on race remained a critical phenomenon in the territory of America. Racial discrimination unrelentingly took place in all institutions of the community including education sectors, employment, and shelter as well as lending of loans. Segregation, as well as slavery, played a significant role amounting to inequalities as well as racism in America. Slavery was a form of forced labor which existed in the United States of America as an authorized institution. The first Africans landed in 1619, and that was the beginning of slavery. Forced labor steadily spread to regions which had productive soils where people grew high price cash crops. During the 18th century, imperial courts, as well as the legislatures, radicalized slavery. That formed a caste system where forced labor applied entirely to African Americans. On the other hand, American natives were also sporadically forced to slavery. Slavery became a delicate matter in the political affairs of the United States hence it became an issue of discussion when drafting the constitution. Also, it became the biggest problem in the cases of the Supreme Court. Slaves resisted the validation of slavery as well as the entire association which supported it. To demonstrate their disappointment, they held rebellions. Consequently, they escaped slavery by migrating to Canada as well as nonslaves states. They fought to create their culture. Although white laws, as well as stereotypes, silenced them, Africans created their own distinct culture. They mixed their traditions as well as Christian ideas and formed a religion, their version of Christianity. Their rebellions, although infrequent as well as small, were used to express their beliefs on slavery and add to their culture. The slave desire for liberty as well as freedom became an important part of African American culture.   Thus, activists of abolitionism such as Martin Lut her King were regularly engaged in moral as well as political discussions in an attempt to promote the establishment of Free States as western development proceeded. Slavery was the key theme which led to the beginning of the civil war in America. When the Union won the war, forced labor became prohibited all over the United States. My sister, in spite of significant steps in racial parity, the lasting consequences of slavery, as well as racism, is still evident today. Black women like you may experience some of the inequities, disparities as well as injustices across the social as well as the economic order. Compared with white women you shall have high levels of poverty as well as unemployment. Also, you are more likely to be targeted by and come in contact with the system of the criminal justice. Black women get subordinated in that way because patterns of race, class, domination a well as gender get built into the structure of the society. Racial discrimination, in other words, is socially or structurally patterned. Too often explanations of those perceptions suggest that culture, as well as biology, is the key.   I argue that race, as well as gender, is important only since they are socially ranked. It is the social reaction to the color as well as the sex that result in discrimination. Although we don’t reduce the relevance of ethnicity, the challenge with cultural diversity as the key explanations of racial discrimination is the inclination to marginalize each cultural grouping, to view it as distinctive, and also to imply that every culture varies from some supposed standard. That regularly leads to blaming other individual’s cultural practices as well as values thus leading to racial discrimination. It is, therefore, the right time that the civil right act, which covers discrimination towards race or color, comes into a real performance as well as action. It is worthy to claim that African American s especially women get deprived of their human rights. Therefore my sister, the nongovernmental organizations that you are working with should augment campaigns against racial discriminations without facing threats or fear of the authority. We African Americans must familiarize with our rights and carry a harsh campaign against discrimination.   Also, we should press the local government to protect minority groups like us from discrimination so as to enhance the well-being of each citizen.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Breakdowns of Accountability by Baker Essay Example

Essays on Breakdowns of Accountability by Baker Essay The paper "Breakdowns of Accountability by Baker" is a brilliant example of an essay on finance and accounting. Accountability is a term that goes beyond the financial accounting aspect, into requiring a moral and compassionate angle of caring for the other (Baker, 2). The fact that there were many people who perished during the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans State of the USA is an indication that the moral aspect of accounting is lacking. Institutional racism was a major contributor to the deaths that were accounted for, considering the fact that most of the affected families were black, old and poor, thus the relevant state and government officials did not take adequate care of the victims (Baker, 10). Rather than the application of the compassionate/moral accountability during such a catastrophe, the officials responsible applied the calculative accountability, which then made them neglect many victims in horrendous conditions, to avoid accounting for them finan cially (Baker, 3). Despite the accurate predictions that the Hurricane Katrina would be devastating, both President Bush’s administration and the local authority did not take precautionary measures to address the warning until after 36 hours, when many people had died, hundreds of thousands displaced and property worth hundreds of billion US dollars had been destroyed. ViewpointInstitutional racism accounts for the huge damage that occurred in New Orleans State during Hurricane Katrina, merely because the state and national government officials failed to give adequate professional and humanitarian services to the affected families because of their race and social status. While financial accounting is essential for ensuring the prudent usage of resources, it is wise and humane to go beyond the financial accountability during disasters and engage moral and companionate accountability that entails offering professional services to save lives and property, without due regard to the financial cost implications.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Consumer Behavior In Context Of Forecourts †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Consumer Behavior In Context Of Forecourts. Answer: Introduction: Concept ofmarketing initiates with the evaluation of needs of the consumers and behavior for meeting these needs. The main issue in this context is to learn the facts considered by the consumers while choosing any brand. Study of these facts is known as consumer behavior. It can be said that consumer behavior is that subset of the human behavior which deals with the decisions and acts of the consumers while purchasing any product or service. As stated by walters Bergeil (1989), consumer behavior consists of those decisions and related activities of the individual which particularly involved the purchasing and using of the economic goods and services. As stated by the Schiffman Kanuk (1991), consumer behavior is considered as the behavior of the consumers which reflect at the time of searching, buying, using, assessing and positioning of the products and services which they expect will fulfill their needs. TheAmerican Marketing Association defines the behavior of consumer, and as per this association behavior includes the vibrant communication of thought, behavior and events of environment through which human beings demeanor the argument aspects of their lives. It must be noted that, single point of exiting the study of consumer behavior theory is the intra-individual approach, as this approach focus on the decision-making of individual consumers. This theory is considered as the activity which helps in resolving the issue and involves number of steps. The main decision for this purpose is made by the consumer, whether to purchase the product or not while engaged in specific buying situation. However, in some particular categories of the product, choice of store is considered as more important by the consumer in comparison of choice of a brand, and it also involve a difficult set of decision criteria. Consumers visit different stores for the purpose of purchasing different types of products, but motive of consumers for shopping is generally different from the purchasing a specific product (Robertson, 1970). Generally, there are two main motives of consumers for engaging in the shopping that are personal and social motives. This paper discuss the retail consumer behavior in context of Forecourt Retailer, and for this purpose structure of consumer behavior report includes different sections such as concept related to consumer behavior, attitude of consumer decision making process, family tribes and virtual groups etc. lastly, paper is concluded with brief conclusion which summarize key facts of this report. About Forecourt Retailers: Long ago, forecourts were only used for filling up the fuel, but now things had been changed. Presently, they convert themselves in the most convenient shops and enter into direct competition with the traditional convenience stores. Generally, maximum number of shoppers visit the forecourt by car, and this provide the opportunity to Forecourt to increase the customer base, and this opportunity is generally not available to convenience stores because these stores are located in city centers or main roads with no parking available. Recent years witnessed major changes in the structure of forecourt, and 2005 is considered as that year in which revolution of shoppers perception initiated in context of forecourt. Now, shoppers treat the forecourts as a normal convenience store, and because of this reason it is necessary for retailers and suppliers to understand the importance of forecourts. In other words, now forecourts are not considered as petrol stations, but they are considered as a convenience store which also sells petrol. Therefore, these stores opened up different opportunities for food suppliers such as provide better offers to the forecourts for the purpose of attracting shoppers in the forecourt convenience stores. On the basis of above stated facts, it can be said that it is necessary for forecourts retailers to understand the behavior of the consumers (HIM, 2017). Consumer behavior its theories: Decision making process of consumers is considered as hot topic of debate which attracts the interest of various researchers from long time. There are number of economists such as Nicholas Bernoulli, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, who evaluated the basis of consumer decision making theory (Richarme, 2007). This early research only focuses on the economic outlook and only considers the piece of buying. The most important model in this context is utility theory which stated that consumer take their decision on the basis of the projected results of their decisions. Consumers are considered as balanced decision makers who only consider their own interest while taking the decisions (Schiffman kanuk, 2007). It must be noted that, where utility theory stated that consumer is a rational thinking man, contemporary research related to consumer behavior consider the large number of factors which influence the consumer, and it also recognize the large number of ingesting activities. Ge nerally, these activities consists the requirement of recognition, search of information, evaluation of alternatives, building of purchase intention, purchasing act, consumption, and lastly disposal. This also completes the view of consumer behavior which has evolved through different visible stages over the past century in context of new research methodologies and model approaches being adopted. However, this evolution is continuous in nature, and approach of consumer behavior reacted since 1950 only to the conception and growth of modern marketing for the purpose of ensuring the more universal range of activities and this directly influence the decision taking by consumers (Blackwell, 2001). This is shown in the contemporary definition of the consumer behavior that is, consumer behavior is considered as study related to the process which involves those situations when individuals or groups choose, buy, use, and dispose any product or service for the purpose of satisfying their nee ds and desires (Solomon, 2006) Schiffman Kanuk (2007) aso consider the similar approach for the purpose of defining the consumer behavior: behavior that displayed by the consumers while searching, buying, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their requirements. It can be said that maximum contemporary definitions of the consumer behavior are similar in scope. Reasoned action theory: in the late 1960s, this theory was created by the Fishbein and Icek Ajzen, and this theory mainly focuses on the pre-existing attitudes in the process of decision making. This theory base on the approach that, consumers act on a behavior which relies on their intention for creating and receiving particular results. In this analysis, consumers are considered as balanced characters that choose to act in the best interest of their own. This theory stated that, specificity is important in the process of decision making and consumer only takes any particular action when there is equally particular result expected. It must be noted that consumer has power to change his mind and decide on different course of action (OHIO, n.d.). Consumer attitude models and measurement: There are number of models which can be used by the organization for evaluating the attitude of the consumers, and some of these are stated below: Tri-component model: Consumer involvement in Decision making process: Consumer involvement is considered as that state of mind which motivates the consumer to purchase the product, and it also consider the importance of the place of consumer on a product or service. It must be noted that there are three levels of involvement of a consumer in the decision making process, and different factors which influence the involvement of a consumer. Low involvement Medium involvement High involvement In this decision taken by consumers are considered as habitual decision, and it involves those products or services which are purchased by consumers on regular basis. This can be understood through example; low involvement decisions include groceries, laundry detergent, and household items. As these items are purchased by the consumers on continuous basis and in this customers knows what they want to purchase (Inspire one, n.d.). These decisions are simple in nature, as they are made in stores and do not involve much time. This can be understood through example; medium involvement decision include new pair of shoes, accessory, etc. in this consumers are more involved as compared to low involvement decision but they does not conduct any research on these product or service. High involvement decisions include those products or services which reflect the finances, personality, status and supporting lifestyle of the consumer. This can be understood through example; purchase house, car, and any other luxury item (Blomberg kyring, 2012). It must be noted that there are two set of factors which decide the degree of involvement in the decision making process: Nature of the product or service. Consumer psychology However, it is considered by expert degree of consumer involvement mainly depends on the risk taken by consumer while purchasing any product, which means higher the risk the more deep consumer involves (Choudhary, n.d.). Generally, there are almost five types of involvement which named as ego involvement, commitment, communication involvement, importance of purchase, and Extent of information secured (Rifon Trimble, 2002). Models of consumer involvement: Reference groups: A reference group is considered as that group who influence the decision of purchaser, and purchaser consider the perspectives of this group while taking his decision. It must be noted that reference group could be very large or very small, and this group generally includes family members and close friends. These groups set the lifestyle level and purchasing patterns. Reference groups are divided into two types that are primary groups and secondary groups (NPTEL, n.d.). Primary groups include those groups which basically include set of people with whom we met every day, and these peoples have direct and strong influence on the lives of consumers and also on their buying decisions. Primary groups make the person comfortable and give them feeling that they are with the person at the time of making the purchase decision. These people help the consumer by providing clear and honest advices, and because of this person get more confident in context of purchase. O the other hand, secondary reference group is considered as formal group and they communicate less frequently as compared to primary reference group. These groups generally include professionals, colleagues, seniors at work, etc. However, in case of secondary groups power to influence the consumers is less in comparison of the primary reference group, as they are not confortable in sharing their thoughts and views in the groups (Eszter, 2008). Some other reference groups in context of consumer behavior theory are stated below: Aspirational group: Aspirational group is considered as that group to which an individual desire to become a part. An individual is currently not the part of that group but wish to become part, and for this purpose an individual copy the existing members of that group. Dissociative group: this group is completely opposite from the group of aspirational people, as in this people deny to become or get connected to any specific group. In other words, people hate to become part of any particular group. It is necessary for Forecourt to identify such people and understand their needs such as likes and dislikes of the consumers, and also the groups to which such consumers belong. Forecourts must understand the degree up to which reference group influences the consumers and also which group influence the consumers most (Bray, n.d.; Shodhganga, n.d.). Family: Family of any consumer play most important role in their decisions such as parents, siblings, relatives all have different thoughts in context of any product. Following are the roles played by family in the decision making process of the consumer: Influencers these people are those who provide ideas and information related to any product or service to the consumer. Gate Keepers it include those members of the family who generally panel the information such as parent and siblings who provide information to the consumer in different ways. Decision Makers it includes the parents and other guardians of the consumer who possess right and power to take decision on the behalf of the consumer. They take their decision after completing the research and on the basis of results they purchase or dispose the product. Buyers it include those peoples who actually purchase the product. End Users it include those persons who finally use or consume the product (bailey, 2011). It must be noted that any consumer easily gets influenced by his family members and friends. Social class: It must be noted that, all the societies include division of members in a society into the hierarchy of different classes of society. Generally, social class is referred as amount of status possessed by the member of any particular class in comparison of members of other classes. Membership of social class is considered as main driver of the consumer attitude and behavior development. The measurement of any social class is concerned with the classifying individuals into the groupings of the social class. These groups are of particular value to the marketers, who use social classification as an effective tool for the purpose of identifying and segmenting target markets. Almost three methods are present for measuring the social class, and these three methods are subjective measurement, reputational measurement, and objective measurement. It must be noted that subjective measures rely on the self-perception of the individual, but measures related to reputation depends on the others perceptions. There is one more method that is objective measures, and under this method marketers use particular tools of socio economic either alone or in combination with others (Scribd, n.d.). Class structures usually range from class two to nine class, and the most frequent use of classification system includes almost 6 classes upper upper, lower upper, upper middle, lower middle, upper lower, and lower lower classes. It must be noted that profiles of these classes are reflected in the difference occurred in the attitudes, activities, and consumption habits of the consumers. This is the reason that marketers provide social class based market segment is of high importance. Forecourts can use Geo-demographic clustering technique in this context, this technique combines the geographic and socio economic factors for the purpose of locating concentration of customers with specific characteristics. Usually, marketers directed their attention towards the wealthy consumers, who reflect the fastest growing segment in our population. However, some marketers considered it extremely profitable as they can consider the needs of the non-wealthy consumers and hold strong position in the market. Forecourts must consider the needs and requirements of both the classes and try to manage their products and services in this context. Research has revealed the social class differences in the habits of clothing, home decoration, etc (management innovations, 2008). Understanding of the individual consumer: Motivation- this is another driving force which force them to take any particular action. As stated by the Maslow, proposition is the needs stated at one level and these needs must be at least partially satisfied before those at the next level become important in determining our actions. Customers also take their buying decisions on the basis of this theory. Conclusion: This report reflects number of different approaches for the purpose of modeling the behavior of the consumer and decision making process. It can be said that maximum contemporary definitions of the consumer behavior are similar in scope. Consumer behavior theory is the area which is subjected to broader research, and it is believed and expected that still there is hope to identify new approaches in this context. As stated above, consumer behavior is considered as the behavior of the consumers which reflect at the time of searching, buying, using, assessing and positioning of the products and services which they expect will fulfill their needs. It must be noted that, those approaches which are defined above in terms of consumer behavior fails to consider the role of ethics, social responsibility and altruism. Review in terms of the decision making models stated above highlights the choices of consumer and also identifies the key process that result in behavior of individual. Large number of variables has been theorized across the models, and each model has evidence to justify its inclusions while making attempts to explain the behavior. References: Bailey, J. (2011). Customer buying behavior at selected petroleum shops in Cape Town. Available at: https://etd.cput.ac.za/bitstream/handle/20.500.11838/973/205208258_Bailey_John_F_mtech_bus_admin_2011.pdf?sequence=4isAllowed=y. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Blackwell, R. (2001). Consumer Behavior. 9th ed. Orlando: Harcourt. Blomberg, A. Kyring, O. (2012). Consumer Involvement and its Outcomes. Available at: https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFilerecordOId=2970124fileOId=2970126. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Bray, J. Consumer Behaviour Theory: Approaches and Models. Available at: https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/10107/1/Consumer_Behaviour_Theory_-_Approaches_%26_Models.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Cabanero, C. (2006). Consumer involvement in goods and service purchases. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e404/c1b8c26534f1c21676d8ad72174073845678.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Choudhary, A. Involvement of Consumers in Decision Making. Available at: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/consumer-behaviour/decision-making-consumer-behaviour/involvement-of-consumers-in-decision-making/64198. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Eszter, T. (2008). The Role of Reference Group Influence in Consumer Behavior. Available at: https://rgdi.sze.hu/files/Ertekezesek,%20tezisek/Tezisfuzet_Angol.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. HIM, (2017). Forecourt Retailing: Current Trends Opportunities. Available at: https://www.himshopper.com/latest-thoughts/article/forecourt-retailing-trends/. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Inspire one. How Involved Is Your Customer?. Available at: https://inspireone.in/blog/how-involved-is-your-customer/. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Mack, S. (2018). Role of Perception in Consumer Behavior. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-perception-consumer-behavior-67136.html. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Management innovations, (2008). Social Class and Consumer Behavior. Available at: https://managementinnovations.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/social-class-and-consumer-behaviour/. Accessed on 7th April 2018. NPIEL. Consumer Behavior. Available at: https://nptel.ac.in/courses/110105029/pdf%20sahany/Module.6-27.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. NPTEL. Sociological Influences On Consumer Decision Making. Available at: https://nptel.ac.in/courses/110105029/pdf%20sahany/module%207l-32.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. OHIO. Four Consumer Behavior Theories Every Marketer Should Know. Available at: https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/four-consumer-behavior-theories-every-marketer-should-know/. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Rai technology university. Understanding Consumer Behavior. Available at: https://164.100.133.129:81/econtent/Uploads/Understanding_Consumer_Behaviour.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Richarme, M., (2007). Consumer Decision-Making Models, Strategies, and Theories, Oh My! Available from: www.decisionanalyst.com/Downloads/ConsumerDecisionMaking.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Rifon, N.J. and Trimble, C.S. (2002): An update on consumer involvement with products and issues: thirty years later, American Marketing Association. Conference proceedings. N 13, pp. 271-278. Robertson, T.S. 1970. Consumer Behaviour. Illinois : Scott, Foresman Company. 169p. Schiffman, G. Kanuk, L. 1991. Consumer Behaviour. 4th ed. London : Prentice-Hall International Inc. 680p. Schiffman, L. (2007). Consumer Behavior. 9th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Scribd. Social Class and Consumer Behavior. Available at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/32001825/Social-Class-and-Consumer-Behavior. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Shodhganga. Consumer Attitude, Models and Measurement. Available at: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/38030/11/11_chapter%204.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Shodhganga. Consumer behavior. Available at: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/130511/8/08_chapter%202.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Shodhganga. Relative Influence Of Reference Groups On Product And Brand Choice Decisions. Available at: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/13187/7/07_chapter%201.pdf. Accessed on 7th April 2018. Solomon, M., (2006). Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective. 3rd ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Walters, J. Bergiel, J. (1989). Consumer Behaviour: A Decision Making Approach. Cincinnati: South Westren Publishing Company. White, R. (2004), How people buy cars, Admap Journal, Vol. 39 No 3, pp. 41- 43.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Social Deterioration In The Crucible Essays - Salem Witch Trials

Social deterioration in "The Crucible" The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The church, legal system and the togetherness of the community died so that children could protect their families' social status. Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of change. The church was against the devil, at the same time it was against such things as dancing and other premature acts. The reputation of the family was very important to the members of the community. When the girls were caught dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not just themselves but the reputation of their families. They claimed that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance. The girls also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. A community living in a puritan society like Salem could easily go into a chaotic state and have a difficult time dealing with what they consider to be the largest form of evil. Salem's hysteria made the community lose faith in the spiritual beliefs that they were trying to strictly enforce. The church lost many of its parishioners because the interest of the town was now on Abigail because people wanted to know who was going to be named next. When the church was trying to excommunicate John Proctor, there were not enough people at church to do it. The people were getting misled so far as to leave a dagger stuck in the door of their minister's house: Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house_a dagger clattered to the ground...There is danger for me.(128) were Parris' exact words. With the conveyer of God fearing for his life there was no longer anyone but Abigail to lead the community. The justice system is designed to protect the people that it serves but during the trials the accused witch had two choices, death or imprisonment. The punishment of death was given to all people that pleaded not guilty; the other punishment was to plead guilty and go to jail. John Proctor gave his view of the justice system when he said I like not the smell of this `authority' (29). And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature?(85) said Danforth, describing the number of people that were in jail on charges of witchcraft. There were so many people executed that Hale commented there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere...(130) Salem was turning into a ghost town. With Abigail controlling the community, the church no longer getting the whole town to prayer, and an unjust legal system, it is natural that the people were in a state of total chaos. The unexplained was caused by the devil, so some members of Salem used the unexplained to their advantage. Mrs. Putnam told the truth when she said, There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!(26) Mrs. Putnam did her share of spreading rumors after she heard that the girls were flying, so she asked Parris How high did she (Abigail) fly, how high?(11). These rumors happened because people did not want any blame put on to themselves. This `passing the buck' made people start fighting with one another such as Corey charging Putnam of having his daughter accuse a resident of witchcraft in order to get Corey's land. Abigail used her power of getting people to listen to her to her advantage when she charged Proctor's spouse with being a witch so Abigail could live with John. This again proves that Abigail had control of the town and the unexplained turned neighbor against neighbor. The social breakdown in Salem was the major factor in the tragedy that took the lives of many innocent people. There was more than one tragedy in The Crucible. The first was the murdering of many innocent people, and the second was that a community that was once very close had been broken apart. It appeared