Comparing The Red Convertible And A Place I Ve Never Been

Handling Illness in “The Red Convertible” and “A Place I’ve Never Been”
Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible” and David Leavitt’s “A Place I’ve Never Been” portray two characters, Henry and Nathan, who face unknown or misunderstood illnesses. Henry and Nathan share a few significant similarities; however, they are remarkably contrasting characters. Each character has a distinct way of dealing with his circumstances, and upon close inspection of the point of view, setting, and symbolism in each story, the reader is able to conclude that Nathan is a coward and lacks the courage to even attempt to overcome his condition unlike Henry.
“The Red Convertible” revolves around Henry, but it is narrated by his younger brother, Lyman. From Lyman’s perspective,

the reader can infer that Henry has a sound support system and that he actually utilizes it. Lyman describes how he damages the convertible that he shares with Henry knowing that Henry will not be able to resist fixing it. Henry confesses to Lyman that he is aware of his brother’s effort to help him, and he does his best to take advantage of it. Henry works on the car and temporarily improves from his previous condition. Lyman claims, “He was better than he had ever been before” (Erdrich 334). Lyman’s perspective allows the reader to understand that no one knows how to truly help Henry, but Henry is valiant enough to accept what little help he is offered.
Similarly, “A Place I’ve Never Been” is written from the perspective of Nathan’s friend, Celia, to illustrate that Nathan also has a solid support system.

Once Nathan returns from Europe, Celia reveals, “In any case, Nathan was back and I didn’t dare think about myself” (Leavitt 1050). This indicates that Celia is willing to do anything for Nathan. However, from what the reader can gather about Nathan, he is unwilling to accept her help. For instance, Celia suggests practicing safe sex so that Nathan can resume life as normally as possible, but Nathan declares, “There is no such thing as far as I’m concerned” (Leavitt 1051). Celia portrays a side of Nathan that only she is familiar is to reveal that Nathan is given help but is too cowardly to accept it. The reader can analyze what is revealed by each narrator and conclude that Henry deserves much more praise than Nathan for at least attempting to exploit the help he is offered before losing all hope. Nathan and Henry are both given support, but Nathan is too cowardly to accept

it.
The settings of “The Red Convertible” and “A Place I’ve Never Been” are additionally critical in understanding that Henry is much braver than Nathan for attempting to overcome his illness.

Nathan lives in New York City where there is a considerable amount of public awareness for HIV/AIDS. This strongly suggests that Nathan not only has access to get tested for the virus, but also has access to receive available treatment. Nathan plainly refuses to even get tested. Contrastingly, Henry lives on an Indian reservation where there are no doctors, and his brother confesses, “We were afraid if we brought Henry to a regular hospital they would keep him” (Erdrich 333). Knowing he has no access to medical treatment, Henry still tries to overcome his illness with only the help of his younger brother. From the setting alone, readers can determine that Nathan has access to get help while Henry does not, and they can confirm that Nathan is a coward for not even attempting to get medical

treatment.
Though the point of view and setting of each story strongly lead the reader to believe that Nathan is a coward for not even making an effort to overcome his circumstances, perhaps the symbolism used in each story most strongly convinces the reader of Nathan’s cowardice. Henry and Nathan have similar moments in which they lose all hope, and in these moments, the authors use symbolism to provide the reader with a more thorough understanding of the characters. For example, in “The Red Convertible,” as Henry is drowning, he calmly states, “My boots are filling” (Erdrich 336). The water filling Henry’s boots symbolizes Henry’s illness. The water weighs his Henry down and causes him to drown, while the mental illness Henry has inevitably bring him to the point of suicide. Erdrich uses this symbolism to illustrate how courageous Henry is for making an effort to overcome an illness that is essentially inescapable.
David Leavitt uses symbolism in a similar way to portray Nathan’s final loss of hope. When Nathan confesses that he has never been in love, Celia observes, “He looked away from me, across the café, listening, I suppose for that wind-chime peal as all the world’s pennies flew his way” (Leavitt 1056). The pennies are a reference from a game Nathan plays earlier in the story in which players receive pennies for experiences they have not had. Therefore, the pennies that are coming Nathan’s way symbolize all of the experiences that he is missing in life. These missed experiences are a burden to Nathan and prevent him from living his life to the fullest. Nathan could easily change this by facing his fears and getting tested for HIV/AIDS. Nathan knows that he could change his life for the better if he addressed his problems, but he is seemingly a coward and chooses to avoid them.
Ultimately, several elements of “The Red Convertible” and “A Place I’ve Never Been” lead the reader to believe that Nathan is coward and that Henry has much more courage. The point of view, setting, and symbolism in each story direct the reader to conclude that Nathan has a much greater chance of overcoming his illness than Henry. The narrators, Lyman and Celia, both demonstrate that they are willing to help Henry and Nathan, but only Henry utilizes his support. Likewise, the setting suggests that Nathan has access to medical care and chooses not to exploit it; Henry, on the other hand has no access no medical care. Even the symbolism in the end of each story demonstrates that Henry’s illness is essentially impossible for him to overcome, but Nathan has the opportunity to continue his life normally as possible. This suggests that Nathan has a much less challenging obstacle to conquer than Henry, but he acts more cowardly by choosing not to help himself.