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Psychological impact war has on soldiers
Summary of the text: the red convertible by LOUISE ERDRICH
Summary of the text: the red convertible by LOUISE ERDRICH
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"The Red Convertible," a short story written by Louise Erdrich's, she writes about the travesties of war that impose on the relationship of two brothers, Henry and Lyman. The author uses symbolism to unveil the troubles brought home by Henry after he leaves the battlefields of Vietnam. The story emphasized difficulties Lyman was forced to Handel the separation from his brother. The goal of Erdrich writing the "The Red Convertible" was to communicate the emotional stresses war creates for a soldier and how that stress affects relationships with there families.
Throughout the story, Erdrich uses the red convertible as a symbol of Henry and Lyman's relationship, and more generally, the war-torn relationships of soldiers. In the beginning of the story, Henry and Lyman buy, restore, and travel around the continent in the convertible together. This action represents a normal relationship before the effects of war. When Henry goes off to war, the relationship changes and Lyman demonstrates their separation by taking the car apart. Later, when Henry returns from war a scarred and changed man, he loses his usual interest in the convertible, as well as in Lyman. In return, Lyman bangs the car up, as a result of feeling neglected. The car portrays the "banged up" relationship he feels between his brother and him. When Henry discovers the car, as well as his relationship with Lyman is damaged, he confronts Lyman, "When I left, that car was running like a watch. Now I don't even know I can get it to start again, let alone get it anywhere near its old condition." Henry alludes to what condition the car was in before he left for Vietnam and expresses his concern about bringing the car back to its old condition. Erdrich uses symbolism here to e...
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...ough the color and becomes entranced, causing him to neglect his family and even become violent with Lyman. Erdrich portrays the instability that soldiers experience after war and also, the abuse their relationships experience.
In summary, Erdrich makes a statement in her short story, "The Red Convertible": the Vietnam War had a horrendous effect on the soldiers who participated, but also on the people who knew them before. She reveals the horrible effects war has on soldiers as well as on their relationships. She depicts a more realistic view of war; instead of showing soldiers as heroic and unaffected, she shows them for what they really are, human beings with emotions. Erdrich accomplishes her purpose by bringing her audience to the understanding that war affects more than just the soldier. Like death it affects everyone and everything the soldier is involved in.
war, Lyman kept the car in perfect working order. Lyman wrecks the underside of the car
When Lyman describes the first time he saw the red convertible, the reader can assume he is baffled, and moved. "The first time we saw it! I tell you when we first saw it." (443) Lyman is remarkably overwhelmed he can't get the adjectives out to describe it, he just repeats himself in a humorous way. Both brothers are astound when laying eyes on this shiny red convertible. "There is was, parked, large as life. Really as if it was alive." (443) Lyman and his brother Henry are deeply affected when they examine this car, it brings some sort of happiness to them they cannot explain, and eventually decide to spend all their money on it.
ABSTRACT — The impeccable ingenuity of Anne Carson with an elite outlook to the Autobiography of Red edifies the subtle genre in the form of a poetic novel with its firm roots in Greek mythology. Carson, a professor cum poet attempts a precocious projection of the protagonist, Geryon, in the Autobiography of Red by which making an appeal to her readers to opine the literary piece to be the autobiography of Geryon. Carson’s intelligence actually, lies in transposing Geryon’s story, however, into the contemporary world, so that
It is always said that war changes people. In the short story 'The Red Convertible', Louise Erdrich uses Henry to show how it affects people. In this case, the effects are psychological. You can clearly see a difference between his personalities from before he goes to war compared to his personalities after returns home from the war. Before the war, he is a care-free soul who just likes to have fun. After the war, he is very quiet and defensive, always watching his back as if waiting for someone to strike.
Whereas, when Henry was drafted, not to face his feelings and fears he offered his half of the car to Lyman. Clearly, this was his way of using the car to communicate, as Henry said to Lyman, “Now it’s yours” (326). Also, this could also be considered as a means to try to ease Lyman’s pain. Nevertheless, Lyman fought for the relationship without speaking the words. Besides, what’s more Lyman could not deal with the fact that Henry may not return, and he also used the car to communicate by rejecting his offer saying, “Thanks for the extra key,”(326). By the same token, they were using the car, by giving it up, as a symbol of their love; however, neither wanted the car without the other brother. In any case, without the car to connect them, they are in a break-up
It's easy to find Louise Erdrich among the canon of what have come to be known as western writers. Her name (or names, given the mltiple pseudonyms) pops up right near the top along with Cormac McCarthy and Elmer Kelton. And as impressive as her noteriety is, one eventually wonders if "western writer" isn't an albatross hanging around the neck of her career. Maybe it's Tolkien's fault. After all, he's the one who created an entire genre in which setting is paramount to plot or conflict. But Erdrich doesn't share his negligence. Her sories are set in the west, but her truths are universal. "Fleur", specifically, speaks to two.
Even though Lyman and Henry’s relationship ends up ending, the red convertible will always be with Henry and will always be a memory for Lyman. While Lyman struggles with losing his brother to the war, the red convertible brought them back together, even though it was really the end. Henry was faced with war and when he was finished and came back home he changed because of his experiences. Both Lyman and Henry changed throughout the events that took place, but unfortunately for Lyman the red convertible was not able to bring back the relationship they had when they first bought it together.
...is interactions with his wife are filled with tension and he is saddened when he reflects upon the men lost during war and the death of his brother.
To what lengths would you go for a loved one? Would you destroy something in hopes that it would save them? That 's what Lyman Lamartine did in hopes to fix his PTSD afflicted brother. "The Red Convertible" was written by Louise Erdrich in 1974 and published in 2009 along with several other short stories. Lyman, and Henry, are brothers. The story starts by telling us about how the two brothers acquired a red convertible. Henry ends up being drafted into the Vietnam War, and comes back home suffering from PTSD. One day the pair decided to take a drive to the Red River because Henry wanted to see the high water. Ultimately, the story ends with a cliff-hanger, and we are left wondering what happens to the boys. The symbolic nature of the red convertible will play a key role in this literary analysis, along with underling themes of PTSD and war.
PTSD, also known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, can cause change and bring about pain and stress in many different forms to the families of the victims of PTSD. These changes can be immense and sometimes unbearable. PTSD relates to the characters relationship as a whole after Henry returns from the army and it caused Henry and Lyman’s relationship to crumble. The Red Convertible that was bought in the story is a symbol of their brotherhood. The color red has many different meanings within the story that relates to their relationship.
¨When societies come under stress these kinds of things happen. People start looking around for essentially human sacrifices. They start looking around for somebody they can blame.” Margaret Atwood proposes this in an interview with Bill Moyers. The kinds of things she is speaking of is exactly what we observe in The Crucible by Arthur Miller which tells the story of the Salem witchcraft trials where many were punished and killed. In Arthur Miller’s ¨Why I Wrote The Crucible¨ we witness innocent people being blacklisted for conspiring with communists. All of these defend what Margaret Atwood declared in her interview. When a society comes under stress, we always find someone to blame.
...r believes that no one will understand anyway. He is also able to make the point that unless you have experienced war first hand like the speaker did, one will never understand and one has no right to convince innocent men to go to war or to promote it. Owen describes war so vividly that no one would wish it on even their worst enemy. Through heavy use of irony in the lines “It is sweet and right to die for one's country.” (Poem and Notes) he is also able to make dying for one’s country in war not seem quite as honorable as the promoters of the war made it out to be.
The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard I read the book, Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard. The book was published in New York by HarperCollins publishers in the year 2015. The book has 383 pages. I’ve never read a book by Victoria Aveyard before, but I enjoyed the book quite a bit. The book is fiction and it’s both action as well as romance.
“The Red Convertible” revolves around Henry, but it is narrated by his younger brother, Lyman. From Lyman’s perspective,
One can easily see the love both, Lyman and Henry had for one another, especially Lyman. He never calls the red convertible is own in fact, throughout the story he treats the convertible as Henry's car. After the enemy caught Henry, Lyman wrote him several letters. "Even though I didn't know if those letters would get through. I kept him informed all about the car" said Lyman ( Erdrich 332). While Henry was away for 3 years, "In those years, I'd