Hw 51

Precis: Funerals act as a goodbye for the families and as a time for families to look back and remember all the good times they had with the loved one that passed on. Before funerals turned into a profitable market they were generated around the idea of respecting the dead and helping them transition into their next life/ journey. With today's industry funerals have lost there true meaning and are all about making profit. Funeral parlors just want to make as much profit as possible that they forget about the feelings of the families and loved ones.

Quotes:

"Again I am caught, waiting for an intimate moment to pass." (Jokinen 110)

"To Richard and me the glasses are a prop. Same with the watch. To the families, they're the women who wore them" (Jokinen 113)

"Japanese Buddhists will only cremate on certain days of the week never on tomoniki, or "friend-pulling days" (Jokinen 126)

"In Princeton, British Columbia, a funeral director was charged with thirty-four count of fraud and negligence for allegedly giving the wrong cremated remains to families" (Jokinen 131)

Analysis: After reading the second third of Curtains it was very clear that the characters viewed grieving as a weakness. I thought back to reality and realized I am surrounded by people who are like that. If someone is seen crying it symbolizes weakness to some, but why when someone cries at a funeral it is viewed as honor or "okay" Our society is very hypocritical which results to a lot of double standards. I personally find it disrespectful for people to use death as a way to make a profit. Reading about hug able urns is not very pleasing, Tom's boss Neil seems very unemotional when trying to "sell" his products to grieving families. He tries to explain how although other funeral parlors say there cheaper in reality their not, why doesn't he try and comfort the family before trying to sell 8000 dollar urns. If Neil wanted to make more profit I believe being more compassionate with families would draw them in and feel more welcomed. As the book continues I hope Tom will find a way to put his two cents in on how he feels about the funeral parlors traditions in handling the dead.