An audience is a central component in communication. An audience could be singular, or it
can consist of a large number of individuals. In Johnstone’s analysis, an “audience may be
thought to consist of passive listeners whose emotion and beliefs have to be analyzed so that they
can identify with what the speaker or writer says” (144). As we noted previously, expressions of
sorrow and the response to them by means of various objects have become almost predictable in
society today. Shortly after a tragedy has taken place, individuals place objects to express sorrow
and concern to family members, to organizations, to remember a specific city, st reet, or location.
When we observe various forms of expression to indicate sorrow, those who place objects at
these locations do so with an audience in mind. We can infer that those who use these objects to
express an attitude of despair and sorrow share a similar way of expressing grief with those who
view them close up or from a distance. In other words, those who place them and those who view
them comprehend the language of these signs in much the same manner as they would
comprehend traditional forms of oral or written communication. In essence, they participate in
the same culture in that they process these signs in an almost similar manner. For example, the
picture of an individual in military attire placed at a memorial site would convey a similar
meaning not only to other military personnel, but to others in the nation. Such an object at a
memorial site would convey to audiences the concepts of bravery, patriotism, and service that are
typically highly appreciated and valued in society. A similar method of sharing a common
meaning is the presence of flowers, balloons, and other objects, often seen at these moments of
sorrow. As mentioned earlier, flowers convey a similar meaning of sorrow from the perspective
of those who place them at these sites and from those who view them. This approach to meaning
is similar to Barthes’ analysis of signs at the levels of denotation and connotation. Denotation is
the basic level of analysis. Many persons would agree, for example, on what athletic shoes are.
At the level of connotation, a wider range of interpretation is possible. Athletic shoes convey a
message of latest styles, trends, costs, personalities, and places where they are worn.
Place of Emotion
Expressions of sorrow, by their nature, are emotional phenomena. They reveal the cognitive
and neural mechanisms that influence the reasons why individuals behave in a certain manner
when they experience traumatic episodes, whether these episodes pertain to family members to
friends, or to strangers. In cognition, expressions of sorrow are elements of bottom -up and top-
86