Many people might choose to view the action of consuming as one of fulfilling his or her needs over desires. Anne Herrmann states that, "Consumers are not just deceived into wanting what they don't need, they learn to satisfy needs by refashioning available products" (539). A world where these illusions are permitted to take place is that of the shopping mall. A place where mayhem is given an opportunity to co-exist with tranquility; creating the perfect concoction in order to allow the consumer to feel at peace with their surrounding.
What one might not notice while visiting the "mall" is that it is a place where each "boutique" has been properly geographically stationed in order to attain its maximum potential as well as appropriately conform to the look the developer wishes to achieve. With exits at extremities and the notion of time nowhere to be seen, one is almost compelled to spend hours wondering senselessly. The mall's sole purpose is to have you leave with an item you had no clue served any purpose to you. It can do so by sending you in circles with "fountains and benches carefully positioned to entice shoppers into stores" (Bergren 5), and by soothing ones eyesight with plantations of exotic trees found only in foreign countries. .
The place is entirely created so one feels isolated and secure in an environment built to resemble locations of much greater proportions. In many scholarly journals the Shopping mall is compared to an amusement park. This analogy might have been established due to the fact that many malls have already begun offering various forms of entertainment to their clientele. Locations within the center are also pinpointed to act as mirror images of locals common to urban life. For instance, most open areas within the shopping center are usually decorated with a large number of flowers often found in gardens. To achieve the full effect of the outdoors, some mall designers even go as far as adding "reflective materials [ ][which] give the illusion of permanent sunshine" (Davis 4).