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Literary devices used in the red convertible
The red convertible by louise erditch symbolism
The red convertible story
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Experts say “when a man returns from war he is forever changed.” In the story “The Red Convertible” by writer Louise Erdrich, shows us how war can alter the friendship between two brothers, after Henry comes back from war. She accomplishes this by using a red convertible as a symbol of Henry’s mental state, and how is gets destroyed, “We owned it together until his boots filled up with water on a windy night and he bought my share.”(The Red Convertible-Erdrich 1) In one sentence the author gives us a good representation on how the story will develop. Throughout the story Erdrich gives us; different tones, foreshowing, and symbolism, in order to make the story more interesting giving us a pretty good picture of the emotions through out the whole story and how their friendship evolves. …show more content…
He was quiet, very uncomfortable sitting anywhere and always moving around. Henry went from a fun energetic person like the color red from their convertible, to a more mean, cold and jumpy. Layman is very shocked and disappointed upon henry’s arrival bc he is not the henry he knew anymore. In one the paragraphs he mentions buying a color TV when Henry was gone, “I was also sorry I bought color because with black-and-white the pictures seem older and further away”(The Red Convertible, Erdrich-4), in this paragraphs Erdrich uses the color TV to represent the presents ,and mentions he would have rather bought a black-and-white in order to remember the good times with his brother henry. His family knew Henry was damaged from war, and couldn’t take him to a hospital. In a sentence his mom mentions “They don’t fix them in those places…they just give them drugs.” Layman tried everything to repair his brother. He completely destroyed the Red convertible to see if it would catch Henry’s attention. Layman’s plan successfully worked, Henry saw the car and got angry at his brother and decided to fix the
The Red Convertible, written by Louise Erdrich, is a short story written in the first person perspective of a Chippewa Indian named Lyman. It portrays the story of his brother, Henry, who joins the Marines and fights in the Vietnam War. Before recruiters pick up Henry, Lyman describes him and his brother’s road trip in their brand new red Olds. Lyman explains Henry’s characteristic during their joy-ride as friendly, joking, and fun. Returning from their road trip, Henry leaves for Vietnam. When he returns, Henry is not the same joyful man that he once was before he had left. Louise Erdrich’s short story, The Red Convertible, follows the life of Henry who is as funny joking guy. Although war has changed him, and it was not for the best. Louise Erdrich’s theme for The Red Convertible is that war can devastate peoples’ lives.
During the war, Henry was taken P.O.W. and spent time in a Vietnamese prison. When he returned home, Lyman said, "Henry was very different...the change was no good," (463). Henry was constantly paranoid and evidently mentally unstable as a result of his wartime trauma. When the family had exhausted all efforts to help Henry, Lyman thought of the car. Though Henry had not even looked at the car since his return, Lyman said, "I thought the car might bring back the old Henry somehow. So I bided my time and waited for my chance to interest him in the vehicle." (464)
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.
“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
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.
It is said that when a man returns from war he is forever changed. In the short story, “The Red Convertible,” Louise Erdrich demonstrates these transformations through the use of symbolism. Erdrich employs the convertible to characterize the emotional afflictions that war creates for the soldier and his family around him by discussing the the pre-deployment relationship between two brothers Henry and Lyman, Lyman's perception of Henry upon Henry's return, and Henry’s assumed view on life in the end of the story.
In “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich the two main characters Lyman and Henry are brothers that have an amazing relationship with one another. In the beginning of the story Erdrich writes about how Lyman and Henry bought a beautiful red convertible; and together they went on plenty of road trips and bonded over the car. On the other hand, the two siblings in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” don’t have that same sibling bond. The siblings in “Everyday Use”, Maggie and Dee, are complete opposites. Dee is extremely vain, snobbish, and outspoken while Maggie is coy, insecure, and more down to Earth. Although Maggie and Dee aren’t as close as Lyman and Henry, they still have a very close relationship even though it seems as if they’re from two different planets. In the stories “Everyday Use” and “The Red Convertible”, the characters share multiple traits such as: loyalty, good heartedness, and empathy; the authors of both stories convey their characters in a way that makes the reader feel a sense of sympathy for them.
The author starts the essay with an interviewee and adds in the first fragment about V-1 rockets. Then the interviewee's story mixed in with a biology fragment. The author uses this type of fragment to relate to subjects farther down the essay which makes each fragment relate to the content. Fragments that are used help to explain human nature, insides and outsides, everything affected by past, secrets, cause and effect, and development. All of these factors can go with the stories of Heinrich Himmler, Gebhard (Dad of Himmler), Laura (story in beginning), Heinz, Wernher von Braun (rocket scientist), Helene (author met at Metro station), and Leo. The author also uses examples of homosexuality, torture, child-rearing practices, parents/family, and also relates it with the stories and the fragments. Knowing that this essay has a lot of subjects that the author writes on, can make this piece seem confusing. Knowing that all of the issues will be tied together in some way, makes the essay more understandable. To use an example to tie together the fragments one can see that V-1 rockets are potentially destructive, complex, conveys images of strength, outcome unpredictable, inside guides outside, and that it has a target or destination which shows that in some way each fragment can relate to torture, human nature, cause and effect, parents and family, and many others. For example, Himmler is complex, conveys images of strength, his outcome is unpredictable, and he is potentially dangerous to the jews. In some way, all of the topics are put together with the fragments. To use another example to connect the fragments one can see that cells and DNA are used to show development through the book.
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 reader is put in the middle of a war of nerves and will between two men, one of which we have grown up to learn to hate. This only makes us even more emotional about the topic at hand. For a history book, it was surprisingly understandable and hard to put down. It enlightened me to the complex problems that existed in the most memorable three months this century.
This book truly explores the generations because her story takes place over the course of fifty years, in the lives of three generations of related families.” Erdrich’ writes at the “edge” of the genre of the novel” (Stookey 31) with this, the reader is able to get an idea that Erdrich is not a normal author. A normal author that does not do the normal protagonist especially with this story Love Medicine. Throughout this story she explores topics that most families could encounter departure, returns, journeys through life, harsh moments that any normal human may encounter through their life. As well as characters, experiencing dissolution of family, something that is unusual about Erdrich is that each character tells stories in their own voices. The character’s stories all seem very realistic, living in North Dakota, being and confronting the harsh life of being a Native Americans. One Story from Love Medicine is the “The Red Convertible” which talks about two brothers which seem to be very close, one of the brothers leaves to the war and when he comes back he seems very affected, he is depressed, and not the same as he used to be. His brother tries to get to him back but cannot do so and his brother ends up killing himself. With this, she presents
As readers, we want to not only understand what we’re reading, but we also want to find a way to group what we’re reading into a genre. Because of this desire, as readers, we sometimes run into issues when reading complex novels, such as Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson. Carson composed a, what we presume is, a fictional novel made up of poetry. By using poetry, Carson is able to convey meanings more complex than simply using the typical prose form. However, Carson also claims that her novel is an autobiography in the title. This autobiographical statement has been confusing readers since its initial publication. Why do we question Carson titling her novel an autobiography? Likely, this inclination is due to what we’ve been told an autobiography has for the entirety of our academic lives. Typically, for a piece to be considered an autobiography it must contain accurate, truthful, comprehensive, chronological, and in some cases: upbeat content. Carson’s writing takes on a more novel-like structure in terms of how the story is told, but still claims to be some form
However, the easily overlooked similarity is the concept of love. This emotion is merely overlooked. Through this similarity, it becomes evident that love not only is something yearned for by humanity, but also a temptation so strong it can blind us to reality. This blindness can cause the pain of death. Love can cause people to do crazy things, and if you are Lieutenant Cross, even make you treat a pebble as if it were a tongue. Frank’s love for Mary Ann, as innocent as it may seem, exists as a love for a married woman. Love and lust are dangerous beasts, ones that we as readers must be weary of, for if we are not, we may find ourselves sharing the same fate as Frank, death by
When new soldiers go to fight in a war, they never know what’s coming. Although events are preserved in stories by the veterans, nothing can capture the real thing. Seeing everything up close and personal can change a person dramatically. Soldiers may never be the same after traumatic events such as these. Wars test a person and shows how strong not just physically, but mentally, one is. Stephen Crane, throughout his novel, The Red Badge of Courage, creates three distinct tones by utilizing the stylistic devices of imagery and figurative language, which reinforce Crane’s fearful, unworthy and courageous attitude on the realities of war. In the novel, fear is one of the very first tones viewed as one begins the reading.
“The Factory”, by Mary Dilworth, utilizes the colors red and brown to demonstrate the narrator’s hatred toward the factory and her husband. The wife describes her disdain for the factory when she states that she often “imagined it without its red bricks,” (1). This suggests to the anger that the wife feels. The wife also implies how boring and drab Eric is by comparing him to “brown leather shoes,” (2). This hints at the hatred she feels for Eric. The wife describes the way the factory looks as it is on fire and the happiness it brings her when she indicates that the sky was “a brilliant red,” (3). This demonstrates her love for the destruction of the factory. The use of color throughout “The Factory” allows the wife to convey her emotions