Props and Symbolism

This past week, I have been researching certain symbols and customs that come with having a funeral. As our opening deals with the main female character getting ready for her friends funeral, my partner and I focused on the certain things people have to do to prepare to attend a funeral.

Some of the things done during the time around the funeral is a group gathering, involving the people close to the deceased, as they express their feelings about their event, mostly in a way to find peace with the situation. This would make the actual event of the funeral somewhat easier to handle emotionally and mentally. In the main characters case, it begins with her waking up in the afternoon, sleeping with the covers around her in an unorganized manner. She has not confronted her feelings about her friends passing, and has been sleeping for long periods of time, as a result of her continued feelings of sadness and grief. After this, her alarm clock begins to ring, and causes her to angrily get up and smash the button to turn it off. This progress highlights another feeling part of grief, which can be anger or rage, which is something she is going through on her own.

In terms of props, we had decided that the girl would have a shared memento with the deceased friend, which would be a friendship bracelet. As the girl gets up from her bed and gets ready, she would see the bracelet, and have a emotional reaction towards it. At this point, many things in her room are reminding her of her deceased friend, and she does not want that, shown as she ends up throwing the bracelet in the trash. Due to the bracelet, the characters emotions are shown related to the death of her friend, which are denial and anger. This can prompt questions about the character and the friends relationship, and how the main character is involved in the events related to her friend.

Some other props that would be used are a black dress that the main character wears to the friends funeral, and roses. With roses, their is not a specific one that needs to be used, and it can depend on the person. In the characters case, she would bring a white flower to the funeral. The color white can mean purity and innocence, which is representative of her friend. Her friend bringing a white flower is a way to pay homage to how nice and pure her friend was, which is different to how the main character is now.

Sources

Freud, Emma. “How to Do a Funeral.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Jan. 2014, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/04/emma-freud-guide-how-to-do-funeral.