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How does Fritz Leiber use the vampire as a mentor for capitalism in his story, “The Girl with the Hungry Eyes?”
“The Girl with the Hungry Eyes” is a story that was written by Fritz Leiber in 1949. It is about a girl who has the identity of the vampire to enthrall and feed the individuals who are not lucky to see her in the adverts she makes. The story has been used to explain the capitalist nature of society. In the capitalist nation, wealth is handled individually. This means that the firms should do all that they can to ensure that they remain competitive enough in the market. The story of Fritz has some magic part of it that hinders the real meaning of the consumerism nature of the economy. This paper will, therefore, explain the relationship between adverts, capitalism, and vampirism based on the story by Fritz Leiber.
The modern economists have defined consumerism as the promotion and the protection of the consumers. In this case, the consumers have the right to get what is good. The consumers also have the right to make the decision on whether to buy a certain product or not. In the capitalist economy, the business entities seek the market of their products through advertisements. In the story, the girl forces Dave to take have some photographic model and agrees because of the threats. This hinders the real meaning of the modern adverts in the capitalists market. If the incidence was taking place in the modern capitalist society, Dave could have been protected by the law, in other words, consumerism. The use of vampires or anything that looks like a threat is discouraged in the capitalist country. Consumers should choose what they want in the market without being forced by anything or anyone.
The story can also be analyzed using the relationship between advertising, consumption, and vampirism. One of the best ways of dealing with the competition is the mass advertisement for goods or services. Unlike in the story where the girl uses some extra power to make the adverts, in the capitalist market, one is free to take part in the advertisements or not. You should not use your personal advantage to mistreat others. This still applies in the consumption whereby the consumers are protected from being misused by things such as a vampire. The rate of consumption by the consumers depends on their wish but not the wish of the business entities making the advertisement. On the other end, vampirism has been used to define the society that some individuals use some power to mistreat the consumers. In vampirism, consumers tend to purchase the goods or services because they are forced to by the scaring powers. Generally, it can be said that the consumers are protected in the capitalist economy, and the issues related to vampirism do not happen today.
From the above information, it can be concluded that the story of Fritz Leiber does not define the modern capitalist economy. In the case of the girl, she only used Dave for advert purposes and after the threats. Even after the boy agreeing on making love affairs with the girl, it seems like she accepts it because she wants to take advantage of photographing. This is not the case in the modern capitalist market where the consumers are protected by the law, and they should choose what they want despite the kind of adverts they go through. (Word Count: 562)