: 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich (Erdrich 134-140) is a story of lost youth and innocence told through the eyes of a brother powerless to help. The title itself invokes imagery of youth and freedom. In the beginning one might think that this story is about Lyman, the narrator, who tells this story in the first person point of view. However, as the story unfolds the reader is allowed to see that the focus is not truly Lyman (himself), but the loss and struggle of his older brother, Henry Junior. Like Lyman, Henry begins a happy, carefree young man. Nevertheless, we see him transform into a beaten man with no hope. This is done mostly through the author’s use of symbolic imagery of the “The Red Convertible”.
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.
Lyman, on the other hand, appears to be in fear for his brother, when he’s at war in the same way he fears for the car. While Lyman is the...
The Vietnam War was not a “pretty” war. Soldiers were forced to fight guerilla troops, were in combat during horrible weather, had to live in dangerous jungles, and, worst of all, lost sight of who they were. Many soldiers may have entered with a sense of pride, but returned home desensitized. The protagonist in Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible,” is testament to this. In the story, the protagonist is a young man full of life prior to the war, and is a mere shell of his former self after the war. The protagonists in Tim O’Brien’s “If I Die in a Combat Zone,” and Irene Zabytko’s “Home Soil,” are also gravely affected by war. The three characters must undergo traumatic experiences. Only those who fought in the Vietnam War understand what these men, both fictional and in real life, were subjected to. After the war, the protagonists of these stories must learn to deal with a war that was not fought with to win, rather to ensure the United States remained politically correct in handling the conflict. This in turn caused much more anguish and turmoil for the soldiers. While these three stories may have fictionalized events, they connect with factual events, even more so with the ramifications of war, whether psychological, morally emotional, or cultural. “The Red Convertible,” and “Home Soil,” give readers a glimpse into the life of soldiers once home after the war, and how they never fully return, while “If I Die in a Combat Zone,” is a protest letter before joining the war. All three protagonists must live with the aftermath of the Vietnam War: the loss of their identity.
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In the book The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien gender stereotypes of women who fought in the Vietnam War are represented through some of the short stories. One short story in particular is "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" which describes a woman who participated in the Vietnam War and went beyond some of her gender roles that were placed on her. In this war women had certain roles they had to fulfill with many of them being non-traditional ones. This paper will discuss the concept of Cultural Studies in literature about the Vietnam War.
Not many people can relate to Louise Edrich’s story, “The Red Convertible.” It may be fictional, but there is more to it than a story to entertain the readers. The Red Convertible is about Lyman and his changed older brother, Henry who comes back from his service with Post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder can last for years or be lifelong. In Edrich’s “The Red Convertible,” the characters and plot conveys the theme “what doesn’t kill you, makes you wish you were
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.
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.
Seal, K. H., Bertenthal, D., Miner, C. R., Sen, S., & Marmar, C. (2007). 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), 476-482. doi: 10.1001/archinte.167.5.476
While in the sense of the convertible, the ability to move is the essence of freedom, at the same time much imagery of movement in the story symbolizes a kind of indifference in nature, an unstoppable movement incipient in the universe that, conversely, accounts for our powerlessness. Ultimately, for Lyman, he can never retain his brother due to this irresistible movement in nature. This kind of pessimistic sense of loss and inevitability is most clearly expressed in the last line, where Lyman describes the sound of the water as perpetually “going and running and going and running and running” (400), the repetition of words used to convey the sheer relentlessness of nature...
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.