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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…
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
Two brothers, Lyman and Henry, had very little in common other than their blood. One day they decided to catch a ride to Winnipeg. The car was introduced while these two were doing some sightseeing in the city. They spotted the red Oldsmobile convertible. Lyman, the storyteller, almost made the car a living thing when he said, "There it was, parked, large as life. Really as if it were alive." (461) The brothers used all of the money they had, less some change for gas to get home, to buy the car. The car's significance was the bond that it created between the brothers. The purchase of the vehicle brought these two together with a common interest: the car. Once the bond was formed, the brothers became inseparable, at least for a while. The boys spent the whole summer in the car. They explored new places; met new people and furthered the bond that the car had created. When they returned from their trip, Henry was sent to war. He left the car with Lyman. While Henry was gone, Lyman spent his time pampering and fixing the car. Lyman saw the car as an extension of Henry. Lyman used the car to maintain an emotional bond with his brother who was thousands of miles away.
Whereas, when Henry was drafted, not to face his feelings and fears he offered his half of the car to Lyman. Clearly, this was his way of using the car to communicate, as Henry said to Lyman, “Now it’s yours” (326). Also, this could also be considered as a means to try to ease Lyman’s pain. Nevertheless, Lyman fought for the relationship without speaking the words. Besides, what’s more Lyman could not deal with the fact that Henry may not return, and he also used the car to communicate by rejecting his offer saying, “Thanks for the extra key,”(326). By the same token, they were using the car, by giving it up, as a symbol of their love; however, neither wanted the car without the other brother. In any case, without the car to connect them, they are in a break-up
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...
In short story, “The Red Convertible” the different types of theme play a huge role in bringing the story together. The story is told from one of the brother’s, Lyman Lamartine, point of view about how he and his brother, Henry had partial ownership in a red convertible Oldsmobile car. The red convertible Oldsmobile car plays an important role as it represents the centralize point of the two brother’s relationship throughout the whole story. Louise Erdrich’s different themes help understand the relationship of Lyman and Henry through the red convertible Oldsmobile. Although, the red Oldsmobile is the central point of the story, hence the title of the story, the different themes of brotherhood/family, war, and neglect support the Oldsmobile becoming the central point and bringing the story together.
In the Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich, the main character Henry loses his hold on reality. The story takes place in North Dakota on an Indian Reservation where Henry lives with his brother Lyman. Henry and Lyman buy a Red Convertible that later in the story illustrates Henry’s lack of ability to stay sane. The brothers take a summer trip across the United States in the car. When they return, Henry is called to join the army, which turns out to be the transitional point in Henry and Lyman’s personal life. The Vietnam War changed Henry’s appearance, psyche, and his feelings about the Red Convertible.
Henry and Lyman, two brothers from North Dakota, are full of happiness and take adventures in their red convertible before the Vietnam War begins. Lyman always finds ways to accumulate money such as shining shoes and selling bouquets for nuns. Lyman said, “it seemed the more money I made the easier the money came” (358). Soon after those jobs, Lyman also works at a restaurant called the “Joliet Café” and he quickly becomes the owner (359). A devastating tornado strikes the town and destroys the café. Therefore, Lyman receives a substantial sum of money. However, Henry does not seem to have the fortunate luck that Lyman experiences. Henry gains his portion of the money to purchase the convertible from “two checks - a week’s extra pay for being laid off” (359). Together the boys travel to Winnipeg and spend all their money to become the owners of a beautiful red convertible. Henry gains money and buys Lyman’s portion of the red convertible. Lyman and Henry spent the summer traveling around the northern part of the United States. The brothers are carefree and have nothing else to
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
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).
When Lyman describes the first time he saw the red convertible, the reader can assume he is baffled, and moved. "The first time we saw it! I tell you when we first saw it." (443) Lyman is remarkably overwhelmed he can't get the adjectives out to describe it, he just repeats himself in a humorous way. Both brothers are astound when laying eyes on this shiny red convertible. "There is was, parked, large as life. Really as if it was alive." (443) Lyman and his brother Henry are deeply affected when they examine this car, it brings some sort of happiness to them they cannot explain, and eventually decide to spend all their money on it.
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”.
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).
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
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.
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.