One insight about human nature in Louise Endrich’s The Red Convertible is that family members always try to heal and support each other, but sometimes it does not work out. In the story, Henry is detained by the Vietnamese soldiers during the war and the readers are unaware of what happened to him during that time: Whereabouts I did not know. He wasn't such a hot letter writer, and only got off two before the enemy caught him. I could never keep it straight, which direction those good Vietnam soldiers were from. I wrote him back several times, even though I didn't know if those letters would get through. (Erdrich 3) Before this war incident, Lyman and Henry were shown as lively and adventurous people who love to travel and experience life together. …show more content…
When the war ends and Henry returns home after being detained by the Vietnamese soldiers, he is not the same as before. He became very quiet and lonely. Moreover, when Lyman tries to talk with Henry, he is reluctant to talk. Evidently, the heartbreaking truth that even family's love and support cannot always heal the deep scars caused by tragedy and war is highlighted by Henry's lonely behavior despite Lyman and his family's best efforts to reach out and support him. Subsequently, as Henry is not willing to talk to anyone after he comes back from the war, Lyman thinks that wrecking the car would be a great way of bringing back Henry’s former self. Lyman says: I thought the car might bring the old Henry back somehow. So I bided my time and waited for my chance to interest him in the vehicle. One night Henry was off somewhere. I took myself a hammer. I went out to that car and I did a number on its underside. Whacked it up. Bent the tail pipe double. Rip the muffler loose. By the time I was done with the car, it looked worse than any typical Indian car that has been driven all its life on reservation roads, which they always say are like government promises—full of
returned from the war, he was not the same. His spirit had been taken away. He was
In the text “Seeing Red: American Indian Women Speaking about their Religious and Cultural Perspectives” by Inés Talamantez, the author discusses the role of ceremonies and ancestral spirituality in various Native American cultures, and elaborates on the injustices native women face because of their oppressors.
Chances are rare to come by. Depending on one’s decision, it can affect one’s lifetime. Henry consciously, after so long when a second chance is given to him again, let his chance slips by without giving his all. As Henry was talking to Marty at his University, Henry says: “I had my chance, I let her go...I made my decisions...I could found her after the war. I could have hurt Ethel and had what I wanted, but it didn’t seem right. Not then. And not these past few years” (Ford 268). An unforeseen circumstance is given to Henry as another chance. Henry’s decision involving that chance is to marry Ethel and stay true to her; as a result, Henry let Keiko go. However, when it does seem right,...
They Lamartine family notices their cheerful Henry is not the same as before. "He sat in his chair gripping the armrests with all his might, as if the chair itself was moving at high speed and if he let go at all he would rocket forward and maybe crash right through the set." (444) It is disheartening to read about the Henry we know as carefree, life loving guy, who turns so damaged, and hurt by what the war has done to him. This example of Henry only shows the audience how war can completely ruin a person. "His face was totally white and hard. Then it broke, like stones break all of a sudden when water boils up inside them." (446) You sense a sign in reference to how run-downed Henry is, and how is brother only wants the best for him. Lyman wants the old Henry back, the brother he knew on that once adventures summer. Unfortunately this story is not a happy ending and Henry cannot snap out of it. Making any reader think twice before joining the
“There is in fact no such thing as an instantaneous photograph. All photographs are time exposures, of shorter or longer duration, and each describes a discrete parcel of time.” -John Szarkowski
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.
War changes a person in ways that can never be imagined. Living in a war as well as fighting in one is not an experience witnessed in everyday life. Seeing people die every time and everywhere you go can be seen as an unpleasant experience for any individual such as Henry. The experiences that Henry had embraced during the Vietnam War have caused him to become an enraged and paranoid being after the war. It has shaped him to become this individual of anxiety and with no emotions. The narrator says:
In “The Red Convertible,” Louise Erdrich through her first- person narrator Lyman, creates an unspoken emotional bond between two brothers. This emotional bond between the brothers is not directly spoken to each other, but rather is communicated through and symbolized by “The Red Convertible.” In spite of what appears as a selfless act by one brother, in turn, causes pain in the other brother, as no feelings were communicated. In this case, Lyman explains his version as he takes us through the experiences that he and his brother Henry have with the car.
The relationship of brothers usually lasts forever, but in Louise Erdrich’s short story “The Red Convertible”, the relationship of the main characters Lyman and Henry takes a turn. Erdrich takes her audience through the experiences these brothers face and how they must come to terms that their relationship has changed. Knowing that it will most likely never be the same both Lyman and Henry try to fix their relationship until eventually one falls because of the experiences he faced in life. While Lyman may think the red convertible will save his and Henry’s relationship, Erdrich makes it clear that it will not through the characterization of the brothers, the plot of the story, and the symbolism she uses to tell her story.
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.
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.
Louise Erdrich and Tim O’Brien both use symbolism to foreshadow of what the future will come to be of the characters. Henry in “The Red Convertible,” his emotions and mental state is shown through the symbolism of the red convertible. The car symbolizes the strong bond between one another. Henry tells Lyman, “When I left the car was running like a watch. Now I don’t know if I can get it to star again, let alone get it anywhere near its old condition” (Erdrich 138). The relationship between Henry and Lyman applies to the condition of their vehicle. Bussey states in her critical essay, “After Lyman damaged the car, Henry had the opportunity to work toward a goal, instead of watching television all day. In this way, the car symbolizes Henry 's
The National Institute of Mental Health recognizes PTSD as a “disorder that develops in some people who have seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.” Since Henry’s return from the war, Lyman describes his brother as tense. There are many examples of Henry’s strange behaviors. However one truly stood out to Lyman and his family. He says, “I looked over, and he’d bitten through his lip. Blood was going down his chin” (970). Lyman continues that, “he took a bite of his bread his blood fell onto it until he was eating his own blood mixed in with the food” (970). Henry clearly is troubled by something, and the troubles all began after Henry went off to the Vietnam War. I’m no doctor, but one could simply recognize Henry is suffering from some form of
Oedipus, in the ‘Oedipus the King’ and the Emily in ‘A Rose for Emily’ are both dynamic characters whose lives depend on life experiences and the environment. Oedipus is motivated by the need to move out of Corinth to avoid killing his father. His conscience is clear and he leaves the luxury in Corinth for Thebes unaware of what the fate holds for him. Various other events shape his life in different ways within the play. Emily, on the other hand, is a character with a complicated personality. She is introverted and she is usually out of sync with the reality. She does not seem to associate herself with the community members. She holds on to the past and has a false sense of entitlement that breeds arguments with the leadership of Jefferson