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Analysis The Red Convertible is a short story which holds a lot of meaning. It contains a deeper meaning than just two brothers and their car. The story begins in the 1970’s on an Indian reservation when two brothers decide to split the cost on a red convertible they had spotted driving by. They put a copious amount of work and time into the convertible. After completing their project they decide to hit the open road and travel around the country. All is well until one of the brothers is drafted into the war. The car becomes a much bigger part of the story after he is drafted into the war. Once Henry was drafted he insists that his brother, Lyman, keeps his key and claims the car as his own. Lyman simply brushes it off and puts the key into Henry’s room for his brothers pending return, refusing behave as though his brother will not make it home. Time passes and the …show more content…
car remains in practically in mint condition with Lyman only driving it occasionally. Three years go by then Henry finally returns. Lyman begins notice his brother is not behaving as himself, with his eyes not gleaming with the same joy they once did. Happiness has faded and fear has replaced it. Lyman’s want for his brother’s happiness to return, devises a plan to beat up the red convertible and see how long it takes Henry to notice. To the brothers surprise, a whole month passes by until Henry takes notice. Henry insists he fix it up. This action gives Lyman hope for his brothers happiness and well-being. All is not well, but is getting better with Henry’s mental health as he works on the vehicle. Lyman observes that he is becoming more content. When Henry gets the red convertible back into shape, the brothers take it out to the river. Henry tries again to give the car to his brother. They end up in a fight about it but it ends alright. Beers for both of them as they chat by the river. Henry is excited over their conversation and jumps into the river after exclaiming he has got to cool off. Lyman hears his brother say, “My boots are filling.” He hears this statement spoken as calm as day. His brother’s voice sounded void of any distress. Lyman realizes his brother is gone and decides to let the car be with him. The Red Convertible symbolizes the brother’s relationship.
As the story progresses, the car changes with their relationship. The car being put into tip-top condition before they travel together symbolizes where they are with each other at that point in time. Their relationship was strong and they were as close as could be. Next, Henry is drafted into the war. In the duration of his service the car is barely driven, yet remains in good condition. This can be related to the sparse letters they write to each other while Henry is away. Upon Henry’s arrival, the car is not driven or talked about. Only in the thoughts of Lyman, who is haunted by the new version of his brother. His brother is always on the lookout, anxiously awaiting for something to happen. This represents the emotional disconnect Henry has due to the war. Lyman wants his brothers condition to improve and beats the car up so Henry can fix it. Once again the car is beautiful and the brothers are having a good time near the river. When Henry dies, Lyman lets the car go with him. His brother is gone, as is the relationship they once
had. The Red Convertible opened my eyes furthermore to the effects Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can have on families and their relationships to one another. Good stories seem to never lack a deeper, more purposeful meaning. There will always be something you can learn or take away from them. It all depends on how an author wants the reader to perceive the underlying message. A respectable author has a way of grabbing the reader’s attention and causes them to think and reflect on what the deeper moral of the story may be. I can honestly say that is what this story and this author did for me.
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.
Lyman tells the reader that Henry’s face is “more peaceful” (139). The Red River is known to the boys, after growing up in the area, Henry knows the water will not only be high, but also full of the winter trash. He tells Lyman that “It’s no use” (189) and that he is giving him the car. Henry knows he will not being going home with Lyman tonight. After Henry jumps in to the river he calmly states “my boots are filling” (140) before he goes under the last time. Lyman is frantic and goes in after him. However, once out of the river we see his resolve when he “walks “ to the car. He cannot continue to search the water for his brother, so he sends the one link they will always have, the car. The car lights still search even as it goes under the
In the story of “Red Convertible” Henry owns a red convertible, which is his pride and joy. But after his departure and return from the Vietnam War, both he and the convertible have changed. Henry, as noticed by the narrator, Lyman, “was very different, and… the change was no good.” So Lyman, thinking “the car might brin...
One of the themes that support the Oldsmobile being the central point of the story is brotherhood/family “I owned that car along with my brother Henry Junior, We owned it together until his boots filled with water on a windy night and he bought out my share” (Erdrich 358). It shows how close the two brothers were to share a vehicle with each other and be fine with the ownership. The two brothers did not plan on buying the car when they saw it. It was like love at first sight with the boys and a spontaneous decision to purchase the car “That car reposed, calm and gleaming, a FOR SALE
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.
Erdrich, Louise. "The Red Convertible." The Story and Its Writer. 5th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.
As you can see, Lyman is inventive, clever, and hard working but he cannot, eventually, help Henry overcome his damage from Vietnam. Lyman attempts to bring Henry back to spiritual life by the connective link they share in owning a shiny red Olds convertible together, but Henry’s hopes and dreams slowly fade out. As for Lyman, he destroys the car in the end because it no longer represents success and good times to him. Instead, it represents the white world, which has destroyed Henry. He recognizes the big sacrifice that Henry has made for him on behalf of the white culture, “ He bought out my share”. By submerging the car beneath the water he completely disconnects himself from the white culture and confirms his status as a Native American when he says, “Lyman walks everywhere he goes”.
The main characters in the short story, Lyman and Henry Lamartine, are Native American brothers that have a nearly inseparable connection through a car; a red convertible for which the story gets its name. The brothers’ journey begins when they decide to go up to Winnipeg one day. This is where the two brothers first realize their dream. They see the car for the first time; a car that “reposed, calm and gleaming, [with] a FOR SALE sign in its left front window” (1). This vehicle is the embodiment of freedom, the freedom the boys yearn to experience. Although there are many symbols throughout the story, the largest of them is this red convertible. After making the abrupt decision to purchase the car, they use it to escape from the hard, impoverished life that they were raised in. They spend the summer traveling to Chicken, Alaska and across Montana, Idaho and many other U.S. states. The convertible serves as a source of happiness for both brothers and represents their independence. The convertible made them feel like they never “[had] to sleep hard or put away the world” (2). They left behind the unfair and lackluster quality of living from the reservation and got a taste of their dream, however
Your number is up! Louise Erdich’s short story “The Red Convertible”, written in 1984, shows the difficulties a family experiences while dealing with a son in The Vietnam War. The affects the war has on Henry and how his personality changes when he returns home are of vital importance throughout the story. The red convertible symbolizes happiness before the war and destruction after the war, while leading to a sorrowful result.
This story started off as a happy story. It took place in the late ‘70s in North Dakota. The narrator, which is Lyman Lamartine, owned a red convertible that he shared with his Native American brother Henry Junior. When they were teenagers, Henry took full ownership of vehicle. The story inquires into details the relationship between both siblings. They had a great childhood in which they shared things together. Then, Henry has moved on to the military. That’s when his demeanor changed completely. The theme of the story is very touching and life changing (Erdrich, 2004).
Anyway, why this car is so important is because, it helped me through very tough times. It helped me by taking me away from all of the negative things that had come towards me, and gave me the power to feel happy again. This car was also my only form of entertainment
Generally, a person’s entire preconceptions of Indigenous peoples are based upon how they have been represented to them throughout their life. Representation involves a degree of individual explanation that leads to distinctions in meanings of a particular topic. Our own perceptions and understandings are influenced by the media’s representation of particular issues. Representations are imperative as they sometimes have the ability to call our very identities into question. We struggle over them because they matter – and these are contests from which serious consequences can flow. They define what is ‘normal’, who belongs – and therefore, who is excluded (Hall, 1997, p.10).
My Dad’s little british-racing-green MGA is apart of my favorite memories and apart of my most memorable failures. His car has been a part of my life since the day I was born. My earliest memories are of countless hours with my Dad driving merely for the fun of the wind in our hair. This car, the car he purchased after his high school graduation, brought me more experiences than I’ve ever thought I’d have.
For Thao, the car is a symbol of his newfound independence. Automoblies are significant representations of the American dream because of “the unrestrained capacity to move,” which became equated early in the American cultural imagination with personal reinvention and self-determination. Those who could control their own movement were deemed self-sufficient, independent agents” (Heitmann & Uhlman). For Thao, he is no longer restrained by the gang to follow his dreams. The last scene in the movie, at 1:50:00, is the true embodiment of the American Dream.