FINDARTICLES is a CBS Interactive portal that lets you find articles about any topic, by searching in our network of news and technology sites, including CBS News, CNET, TV.com and others. Clashing civilizations edward said essay summary ways of seeing john berger analysis essay english only debate essays. The magic poker robert coover analysis essay. Analysis of Robert Coover’s Stories By Nasrullah Mambrol on April 18, 2020. ( 0) Robert Coover’s (born February 4, 1932) central concern is the human being’s need for fiction. Because of the complexity of human existence, people are constantly inventing patterns that give them an illusion of order in a chaotic world. Wardrip-Fruin, Montfort -The New Media Reader.pdf - Free ebook download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read book online for free. The practical analysis concentrates on the postmodern and metafictional short stories “The Magic Poker” and “The Elevator” from Robert Coover’s short story collection Pricksongs and Descants and “Lost in the Funhouse” and “Life-Story” from John Barth’s short story collection Lost in the Funhouse.

S. McDonald
Professor Williams
ENC 1102
12 January 2011
Reader Response 1
The first time I read “The Cranes” by Peter Meinke, it appeared to be
nothing more than a story about an elderly couple sitting in their car at the Gulf of
Mexico reflecting on their lives together. However, the second time I read the short
story, I began to pick up on the author’s symbolism. It wasn’t until I read the story for a
third time that I realized the couple was committing suicide.
I truly enjoyed this story. There is so much more to it than I originally thought.
The initial shock of realizing that the husband and wife were taking their own lives was
quite disturbing to me. However, I was greatly comforted by the couple’s sense of humor
in these final moments of their lives. They were so completely at ease with one another.
The author uses descriptions of three different kinds of birds to convey an image
of how the couple must view themselves and the world around them at this point in their
lives. “Along the marshy shore two tall stately birds, staring motionless toward the Gulf,
towered the bobbing egrets and scurrying plovers.” (Meyer 621) The first clue the author

The Magic Poker Robert Coover Summary 3

gives that there is more to the story than there first appears to be is the mention of the
shower curtain on the front seat. “the shower curtain spread over the front seat crackled
and hissed.” (Meyer 622) The next clue is when the wife questions if they are doing the
right thing. “Maybe this is the wrong thing,” (Meyer 622) she asked her husband. I
began to suspect that they could be committing suicide when the plaid towel is
mentioned. “He turned in his seat, picked up an object wrapped in a plaid towel, and

The Magic Poker Robert Coover Summary Judgment

placed it between them in the front.” (Meyer 622) The author had described how the

The Magic Poker Robert Coover Summary 2

Gulf looked only a few lines before this....