The Effects of Vietnam War in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdich

1837 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary devices used in the red convertible by louise erdrich

: An Analysis of Louise Erdich’s “Red Convertible” The “Red Convertible” by Louise Erdich is a realistic short story which presents readers a picture of the effects of the Vietnam War on American Indian families, which reflected the existing situation of Native Americans at that time. Erdrich is of Chippewa Indian decent and is well known for her psychological depth in literature. In the story “Red Convertible” we (as the readers) follow along as Lyman narrates the blissful times of his youth to the tragic death of his brother. Two young brothers, Lyman and Henry set off on an adventure with their new red convertible. On this trip they form a deep bond as brothers. The red convertible is a symbol of their relationship, it reflects the state of the brother’s relationship as it goes up and down. Their bond loosens when Henry is drafted into the War and returns a different person. Louise uses her story to help today’s readers understand the effects of war on families in the 1970’s. The character Lyman is the younger brother of Henry. From a young age Lyman has always been able to take care of himself. Lyman describes himself as “lucky” and having a talent for “always making money” (306). At fifteen he starts out as a simple dishwasher at the Joliet Café. He manages to work his way up to owning the restaurant by sixteen, but tragedy struck and Lyman lost it all. Lyman was a smart young man, he had the restaurant insured. His characteristics are those of a boy trying to grow up too fast. He seems as if he’s in a hurry, trying to catch up to someone. Could he be comparing himself to his older brother Henry? Or could he simply be training to take care of the family as a foreshadowing of Henry leaving. Henry is Lyman’s older brothe... ... middle of paper ... ...rce Personnel's Mental Health, Job Burnout And Other Organizational Related Outcomes." Journal Of Occupational Health Psychology 16.1 (2011): 3-17. PsycARTICLES. Web. 5 May 2014. Sherman, M. D., Sautter, F., Lyons, J. A., Manguno-Mire, G., Han, X., Perry, D., & Sullivan, G. (2005). Mental health needs of cohabiting partners of vietnam veterans with combat-related PTSD. Psychiatric Services, 56(9), 1150-2. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213070832?accountid=8366 Aldwin, C. M., Levenson, M. R., & Spiro, A. ( 1994). Vulnerability and resilience to combat exposure: Can stress have lifelong effectsPsychology and Aging, 9, 34– 44. Works Cited AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name: Name of Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g. Print). LastName, First, Middle. "Article Title." Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Vietnam War Dbq Essay

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    i. Difficulties faced by soldiers due to the nature of fighting in the Vietnam War - Personnel had difficulties with transportation supplied with adapted vehicles back seat faced rear to provide additional fire power (Source A) – It appears as if the government didn't worry enough to supply men with safe and capable equipment - Threat of traps led to fear as vehicles had to be parked on street at night (Source A) o Check for traps each morning became a daily ritual particularly in fuel tanks (Source A) o A request for a locking fuel cap was denied because weren’t entitled to one” (Source A) • What circumstances would have needed to arise for them to be entitled to one? The Offensive full guard was set up (24hrs a day), personnel got no sleep and were constantly on alert (Source A) – How significant would this have been in the personnel’s mental frame of mind?

    Read More

  • Mark Atwood Lawrence´s The Vietnam War: A Concise International History

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mark Atwood Lawrence’s The Vietnam War: A Concise International History shows readers an international affair involving many nations and how the conflict progressed throughout its rather large existence. Lawrence starts his book in a time before America was involved in the war. It starts out with the French trying to colonize the nation of Vietnam. Soon the United States gets involved and struggles to get its point across in the jungles of Indo-China. Much of the book focuses on the American participation in helping South Vietnam vie for freedom to combine the country as a whole not under Communist rule. Without seeing many results, the war drug on for quite some time with neither side giving up. This resulted in problems in Vietnam and the U.S.

    Read More

  • The Red Convertible, by Louise Erdich

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    By spending so much time caring for the car, Lyman was caring for his brother. Little did Lyman know that his brother was going to come back a changed man and those changes were going to hemorrhage Henry's relationships.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Brothers' Relationship: The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view then in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period. During this time period it would be the fourth time Americans went to war in that century which made it tough for Americans to give their supportS (Schlesinger 8). Most Americans did not know why the country was getting involved in Vietnam as well as what the United States’ agenda was. This dilemma ties into the short story, “On the Rainy River” which is a passage from Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried.

    Read More

  • Katy Crisis Case Studies

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore, prolonged stress included adverse psychological and physical health effects as well as the increased risk of premature death (Denollet, J., et al.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of The Red Convertible

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    A key symbol in this story is the red convertible. The vehicle as a whole symbolizes the strong bond that was once held between the brothers. The color red has many different meanings. In some Native American cultures the color red means beauty, faith and happiness but sometimes it means blood, violence, and energy. Within the story there were two brothers that loved each other dearly. They had love for each other and everything was great between them. One day Henry lost his job and his brother Lyman had already had money saved up and they went to Winnipeg to get away and there they saw the car, the red convertible. Since both of the brothers were so close, they decided to buy the car. Both brothers loved the car just as much as they loved each other. The color of the car symbolized the love these two had for each other because the color was bright and vibrant and the car represents the strength of the actually bond between these two. After they made their trip to Alaska the car needed repairs. At the same time Henry was called to serve his country. When the car needed repairs, so did the relationship between the brothers. When Henry returned, he was not well and suffered from PTSD.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Vietnam War By George Herring

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vietnam War (1954-1975) is considered as one of those big wars of the modern world that has been acknowledged and studied by countries in the world. Especially, in regard to the United States, starting and ending war in Vietnam was an unforgettable experience that has left a priceless lesson in its foreign policy, and of course a lot of loss, physically, mentally, and property. “The Legacy of Vietnam” article of George Herring basically summarizes how the Vietnam War led to an end in failure of America and what consequences it left behind.

    Read More

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In U.S. Vietnam War Soldiers

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...

    Read More

  • American Horse by Louise Erdrich

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...

    Read More

  • The Red Convertible

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Native American culture, the red is the color of faith, and represents communication. The short story The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich is more than an emotional story about the lives of two Chippewa brothers who grew up together on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. Erdrich uses metaphor, symbol, vivid imagery and a simple writing style to allow the reader to understand the text while also providing the opportunity to read a lot into the story.

    Read More

  • The Hurt Locker

    2637 Words  | 6 Pages

    Seal, Karen H., Daniel Bertenthal, Christian R. Miner, Saunak Sen, and Charles Marmar. "Bringing the War Back Home: Mental Health Disorders Among 103 788 US Veterans Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan Seen at Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities." Archives of Internal Medicine 167.5 (2007): 476-82. Print.

    Read More

  • The Many Father Figures of Treasure Island

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

    Read More

  • Short Summary of Vietnam

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.

    Read More

More about The Effects of Vietnam War in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdich

Open Document