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The red convertible short story symbolism
The red convertible by louise erditch symbolism
The red convertible by louise erditch symbolism
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Louise Erdrich was born Karen Louise Erdrich on June 7, 1954. Her parents were both affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Although her Native American heritage is very prevalent in her writing, she is influenced by western ways. Louise attended Dartmouth College and Johns Hopkins University. Her religion is stated as "anti- religion." Louise expresses her knowledge of Native American ways, but tries to shun it's beliefs by using western objects to tell her stories. Louise married Michael Anthony Dorris and had six children. In the story, "The Red Convertible," Louise gives an insight into the Native American way of life and some of the hardships that can befall the victims of war. Before Henry Jr. went to Vietnam, he and Lyman (his younger brother) bought a red convertible. It was an Olds. Henry and Lyman were inseparable, traveling around their native land. Lyman always considered that the car belonged to Henry. After Henry returned from the war, he was not the same. His spirit had been taken away. He was depressed and could barely function. Henry's state of mind is so bad that one night when watching television, Henry bites his lips so hard that blood begins to trickle down his chin. Even at dinner, Henry does not notice the blood running down his chin and into his food while he is eating. This blood running from Henry's lip symbolizes his desire to get any western influences out of his system. (Dutta, 1) Lyman believed that the car could bring Henry Jr. back to his normal self and make him better. While Henry was away at war, Lyman kept the car in perfect working order. Lyman wrecks the underside of the car and the carburetor so that Henry would fix it and maybe help bring back the old spirit he used to have. Henry Jr. never bought Lyman's share of the Red Convertible. Lyman says, "We owned it together until his boots filled with water on a windy night and he bought-out my share." (Erdrich, 407) On the night Henry's boots filled with water, Lyman and Henry are drinking by the Red River. Henry never literally buys Lyman's share, in fact, Henry tries to give the car to Lyman. Lyman refuses the offer and they begin fighting.
Bruce has just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease (which in 1956 was not curable). Henry's wife, Holly, is pregnant with their first child and he has no interest in Rochester, Minnesota in wintertime, but he goes. That's the kind of person Henry is. He's not a sweet-faced do-gooder. He's a tough, no-nonsense, individualistic competitor, but he's a loyal person who knows right from wrong and understands that people sometimes have to step out of their own box and do something for others. His wife understands that too. So he flies to Minnesota, picks up Pearson and drives him home to his family.
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.
A soldier’s wounds from war are not always visible. Louise Erdrich, the author of The Red Convertible, presents a short story about two Native American brothers Henry and Lyman, who live in North Dakota on an Indian Reservation. Henry and Lyman purchased a Red Convertible and took a trip across the United States with the car. Upon their return, Henry is drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. When Henry finally came home, he was a different man. Like Henry, I have a nephew named Bobby, who serves in the United States Army. Bobby has seen more combat than most soldiers would like to see. The effects of war can be tough on a soldier when they are reintroduced back into society, just like Henry, my nephew had a tough time dealing with the effects of war.
We learn that when Henry comes home from the war, he is suffering from PTSD. "It was at least three years before Henry came home. By then I guess the whole war was solved in the governments mind, but for him it would keep on going" (444). PTSD changes a person, and it doesn 't always stem from war. Henry came back a completely different person. He was quiet, and he was mean. He could never sit still, unless he was posted in front of the color TV. But even then, he was uneasy, "But it was the kind of stillness that you see in a rabbit when it freezes and before it will bolt"
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.
The possibility exists that Henry has merged to become one with his players. Many characters Henry created appear to reflect some of his desires and needs that he is unable to fulfill in his outside life. For example, we can see him "in the character of Paul Trench" who embodies many of the mutual traits between Henry and Sycamore Flynn during the previous chapters (Agelius 171). We sense "Henry’s presence. . .through Paul" in the structure of the final chapter (Angelius 172). Henry’s thoughts and feelings now portrayed through Paul Trench, who plays Damon Rutherford in the remaking of the tragic death. Henry, having merged to become one with his players, has lost touch with reality completely. No clues exist that the Association is not "the real world":
Henry suffers from retrograde amnesia due to internal bleeding in the part of the brain that controls memory. This causes him to forget completely everything he ever learned. His entire life is forgotten and he has to basically relearn who he was, only to find he didn’t like who he was and that he didn’t want to be that person. He starts to pay more attention to his daughter and his wife and starts to spend more time with them.
his knife and can’t bring himself to kill the pig, it is because he is
Cruising down the highway in a cherry red convertible on a sunny day with the top down, a brother to sing along to the radio with; a relaxing scene that many would see as a memorable moment. The shots of guns and cannons, death, blood and the unimaginable violence of war holds the complete opposite. Louise Erdrich, an extremely popular short story author, combines the two in her painfully realistic story The Red Convertible. The ease of life for the Lamartine brothers, Henry and Lyman, quickly changes when Henry is drafted into the war. Erdrich tells the tale of two native american boys whose lives are plagued with the nasty repercussions of war. Her story incorporates her own native american culture and is tied in with the harsh truth of
Regiment 304 moves on to battle the next day. Henry is getting very scared, but is
Like anyone who has fought in a war, the war makes a person very different. We do not know if Henry was tortured while fighting, but the way he was acting leads us to believe that he was. He is very quiet and restless. He is not making jokes or laughing and if he does laugh it creeps people out. It is hard for Lyman to see his brother like this. Henry only seems interested in watching the color television. The furthest thing from Henry’s mind is the red convertible. Lyman is sad that the bond with is brother is gone because of Henry’s experience in the war. Another sign of symbolism is when Lyman destroys the car and make it look like trash. He does this to try and get Henry out of whatever mood he is in and so that they can ride and spend time together. The hope is that Henry snaps out of whatever funk he is in and that he notices the car. Henry is screwed up from his experiences during the war. His plan works out perfectly. He gets the attention of his brother and Henry says, “that red car looks like shit” (Erdrich 114). He notices how bad the car is and he himself starts to repair it. He blames Lyman for how bad the car is and he hopes that he can get it to run
However, he didn’t know how lucky he really was until a few months later as the war started to sink in. He had made many friends. Some of them lived and are still alive to today. But like every war there are always going to casualties. In late July of 1967, his best friend Thomas died due to a gunshot wound to the chest. After watching his best friend die next to him he wasn’t ever the same. He struggled with PTSD for the next decade. He would picture his best friend next to him screaming for help and crying for his mom. That image is still scared into his mind. It got so bad that he tried committing suicide. Luckily, his son came in and stopped him. He was able to get help and treatment. He is very grateful for the people he has in his life to help him along the way. He will always remember his best friend and will always bleed red, white, and
Henry was taken aback, did he really see what he thought he saw or had it only been his imagination? He went over to her and tried to rouse her, but she would not awaken, this was the second time he had seen her like this, and Sato had found her unconscious last night as well. After ten minutes, Ben walked back in.
...ocuses on their climb up the mob ladder. Henry goes through a lot of significant changes within the movie such as the changes of a human trying to adapt to his environment. Starting out from small crimes and growing to eventually dealing drugs and numerous other crimes. His boss from the mob named Paul and also Tommy and Jimmy helped guide Henry through problems making sure he made no mistakes and could adapt to his surroundings acting as his institution. Guiding him throughout the movie but also dealing with the conflicts when Henry would learn of new ways to make money through crime and manipulation. This acting as the conflict between human nature and institutional demand in that no matter what institutions do to try to prevent mistakes or unpredictable behavior, human nature will always continue to evolve and need more help in order to adapt to new environments.
friends and lived on a farm. When Henry got up in the mornings, he always