Louise Erdrich's short story "The Red Convertible" embodies numerous symbols that might be missed. By examining the beliefs of the Chippewa people, it is easier to pull a few of the symbols out of the story. While first scanning through there's to see that this story is about the relationship between two main characters who are Native American brothers living in North Dakota on an Indian reservation. The brothers are identified as Henry and Lyman. Lyman says something strange in the beginning paragraph "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" (358). This reveals there is something we do not know about that'll be explained later. .
The approach Lyman serves speaking of his luck shows that he has some positive energy flowing through him. As Lyman talks about his good luck because he got the insurance money to replace his restaurant we wonder why doesn't he do that? Instead of using the money to rebuild a passion he and his brother purchase a red convertible, which seems to bring a change to their lives and an inseparable bond. The color red represents Henry's desire to be free from what he knows is coming. To better understand the story, it helps to learn that in the Chippewa culture red is the color of faith, and represents communication so maybe it was Henry's way of keeping faith that everything would be okay as he left for the war. The car could be said to have been the way that the brothers communicated as they headed off to see new places in that red convertible and enjoyed the last few weeks that Henry would be free before leaving. The red convertible may also represent a remedial charm for Henry. From the Medicine Wheel we learn that in the Chippewa culture, charms were given to the injured or diseased and this charm was used in several ways to: arouse love, bring wealth, assure a successful journey, and to resist evil.
