“The Red Convertible” is a short story by Louise Erdrich written in 1984. The story is about a Native American Culture family. The two brothers in this story are Lyman and Henry who takes a road trip all over America and Canada. They take their journey in a red Oldsmobile convertible. This symbolic story takes off on many adventurous journeys threw America, Canada, and Alaska. The brothers meet a woman on their journey that has symbolic meaning in this story. The red convertible symbolizes the relationship between the brothers. The author uses a lot of symbolic meaning in this short story.

Louise Erdrich contrasts the old way of life versus the new. The author uses many other metaphorical symbols: convertible, the road trip, and the dance Henry does before his death. The color of the car also symbolizes many things. Lyman’s brother Henry had a big and sharp as a hatchet, like the nose on Red Tomahawk. Also when the brothers took their final journey Lyman says, “We started off east, toward Pembina and the Red River” (Erdrich p.271).

The convertible appears in a bright red because, while driving the car, Henry feels he is in the white mans war. (Erdrich p.268). When

When Henry and Lyman first bought the car and drove to Alaska, they stopped at a willow tree to rest. Here, the author uses a lot of symbolisism. They were lying under the willow and Henry was asleep with his arms thrown wide (Erdrich p.267). The author lets the readers know that Henry is going to die later in the story by stating, “Henry is asleep with his arms thrown wide”. This statement is a symbol of Henry dying because the author states that he is on the ground with his arms open wide like a person unconscious. The willow tree in the story also has symbolic meaning. The author writes, “The branches bent down all around me (Lyman) like a tent or a stable. Lyman describes in Alaska as living like an animal in nature”: “You never have to sleep hard or put away the world” (Erdrich p. 267). Note how life-affirming this experience is, as compared to the glimpses of the white world (fanshawec 4). This symbolic writing shows how Lyman is still in touch with his native culture even though he is interested in the white culture. Even though Lyman is benefiting from the white culture for things like his cafe, the car, working at the American Legion Hall, and the television, he is still aware of the betrayal of the natives by the whites. They embrace nature which recognizes that everything is alive and that one must locate oneself in nature as one of many creatures sharing the earth which is opposite of domination (fanshawec 3). This symbolizes the whites taking their land and freedom away from the natives. When it was time for Lyman and Henry to leave Alaska, they told Susy and she took down her hair to show the brothers how long it was. Henry jokes around by putting her on his shoulders and everyone laughs. This shows how the brothers value laughter. This is significant in the story because when Henry gets back from the war, he can no longer laugh.

Henry back to his normal self. Lyman also hoped that the car would bring back memories of their adventures. The transition of the story is when Henry returns from war damaged and Lyman finds himself looking to the white culture to heal Henry by damaging the car and fixing it, which is a symbol of success by the

Some topics in this essay:
Henry Lyman, Red River, Lyman Lyman, Legion Hall, Lyman Henry, Louise Erdrich, Vietnam War, Canada Alaska, Native Americans, River” Erdrich, white culture, henry lyman, native culture, white culture lyman, red convertible, lyman henry, culture lyman, fanshawec 2, culture white, war lyman, symbolic meaning, native culture white, american legion hall, betrayal natives whites, henry returns war,