The Cranes by peter meinke Free Essay Example, 1000 words

As they watch the cranes, the author paints the moving picture for us and we see through the eyes of the couple. He quietly places something between them. We do not know what it is, but he says a telling line from Casablanca, â€Å"Here’s lookin’ at you kid. † This was Bogart’s goodbye to his old love. A wonderful bit of humor is injected when she asks him how they court, and he says, â€Å"He bows like Nijinsky and jumps straight up in the air†¦. she lies down and he lands right on top of her. † They talk about how old they are, (130?) And he says that the cranes mate for life and loive a long time, that these are probably older than they are. â€Å"their feathers are falling out and their kids never write. † Then he mentions that Audibon says they are almost extinct because they mate for life. This is a really interesting slant on marriage and faithfulness. She says there will always be Whooping Cranes, another bit of faith here. She worries about the children, wishes they were more settled. We infer that she worries that they will not understand. We will write a custom essay sample on The Cranes by peter meinke or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now He tells her that she feels responsible for everything, and that the children will be fine. It is at this point that we realize that it is her who is dying, as she goes i9nto fits of coughing when she laughs. He tells her she was wonderful in ways that he could never tell the kids, and it is she that makes the joke, â€Å"Well I hope not! † She says she is tired and then falls asleep. We surmise that either she is so sic that she sleeps a lot or he has drugged her drink. The last description echoes of a gun as the car is described as gleaming â€Å"beetle-like – dull and somehow sinister in its metallic isolation. † This tells us that it is over and they are dead. However, the very last sentence brings a smile as the two cranes plunge upward, beating their great wings, their long slender necks like arrows pointing toward the sun. This symbol shows us the two loving spirits rising toward heaven, or whatever there is, and we find it satisfying. The author only shows us the cranes and the car. We never actually see the two people, but only hear them, as they prepare to die together. They do not seem to be saying goodbye, but rather beginning a journey together, as Ingrid Bergman was as she left Humphrey Bogart behind. We know, however, that in this story they will not separate, and that last image of the cr anes rising together reinforces this idea. One very interesting bit is when the author describes the squabble among the smaller birds, and how the cranes step delicately away from the commotion.