Deadly Cultural Clashes In Comparison to a Story by Louise Edrich

“The Red Convertible” is an interesting story due to its characters, plot, and the general background that the author was motivated by to write this story as well as many of her other works. “The Red Convertible” deals with the relationship between two brothers of the Chippewa Reservation. The story focuses on how their relationship changes over a period of time and discretely how the red convertible car they both bond over reflects those changes in their relationship throughout that period. Sadly, these changes are not good as they focus on the effects Henry Jr. has after he serves in the Vietnam War. Lyman, his younger brother, is also affected and tries many things to help his brother go back to his “regular old-self” but in the end he is just not able to. The story rich in a Native American background and difficult sentiments many readers can connect to, Enrich brings out themes combining both matter., Louise Erdrich uses symbols that convey the experience of the individual who deals and lives with complex cultural aspects or in between a cultural clash in certain circumstances, through this story of a Vietnam veteran in a Chippewa reservation.

Although, the story’s main focus are the changes in the brothers and their relationship, the red convertible car is an important part as a representation of that relationship and opens the way to other significant symbols later in the story. The car first appears in the very begging as Lyman states he was the “first to drive a convertible on [his reservation]” and “of course it was red” (Erdrich 25). At first, the brothers are inseparable as they take a long road trip a whole summer by themselves in the car. However, when Henry comes back from the Vietnam War, he can no longer have a n...

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...come fully loyal to his roots. Their misfortune and fortune simultaneously seem to come from a culture that allows no other culture to dominate their ancestry. However, in the end that culture helps them both heal or find peace as well find their place or a home within that culture and society overall.

Works Cited

Allan Chavkin. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 176.(2003):180-181. Print

Brian Sutton. “ Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 176.(2003):163-165. Print

Nora Barry and Mary Prescott. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 176.(2003): 84-92. Print.

Erdrich, Louise. “The Red Convertible.” Readers for Writers. Ed. J. Madden. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012. 25-33. Print.

“Branch” . The Herder Symbol Dictionary. 1st ed. 1986. Print

“Hair”

“Red”

“Willow”