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Red Convertible - By Louise Erdrich

            Perceptions & Deceptions: Life before and after Vietnam for Henry .
             Have you ever wanted to take the summer off from work and escape from reality in order to travel around the world without having any worries? Well this is what Henry and Lyman in the "Red Convertible" by Louise Erdrich decided to do one summer. Henry and Lyman are two brothers who grew up on the Indian reservation. They perceive life on the reservation as an ongoing circle with a harmonious atmosphere. During their trip to Montana and Alaska Henry and Lyman's idea of a carefree life is only reinforced, but when Henry is sent to Vietnam this perception is surpassed by a new reality and changes Henry's reactions to the surrounding circumstances. .
             Henry and Lyman grew up on the reservation where life was peaceful and harmonious. The two brothers had a very close relationship growing up together and were able to expand their adolescence and simplicity with the purchase of the red convertible. A red convertible was not the typical car you would expect to see on the reservation but Henry and Lyman saw the car and bought it on a whim. They traveled to many different places with the car. The red convertible only let the two brothers enjoy their summer by taking them to many comfortable and peaceful places other than the reservation. One of the places they traveled to was filled with willows. "I remember I laid under those trees and it was comfortable. So comfortable. The branches, bent down all around me like a tent or a stable I felt good." (Erdrich, 284). This exemplifies Lyman's sense of harmony and displays the carefree attitude that Henry and himself were both experiencing. .
             During the rest of the trip through Montana and on to Alaska, the boys" experiences only reinforce their attitude towards the carefree atmosphere. While visiting Montana, the brothers came across a hitchhiker. Henry just has the girl hop in the car without even asking her where she was headed.


Essays Related to Red Convertible - By Louise Erdrich

1. Red Convertible

The Red Convertible, a short story written by Louise Erdrich, challenges the reader's mind with numerous uses of imagery. ... Louise Erdrich begins her short story by telling the reader about an object that turns out to be a representative for numerous things throughout the story. At the start of the story, Henry and Lyman had gone up to Winnipeg and come across a red convertible that neither one can take their eyes off. ... Erdrich, foreshadowing this drastic change, switches from talking about flowers of the summer to sharp hatchets of war. ... Henry's physical and mental state...

  • Word Count: 419
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Red Convertible

The Red Convertible? Erdrich In the short storyThe Red Convertible? by Louise Erdrich, the red convertible symbolizes the bond between the two main characters. ... The two brothers purchase a red convertible together with their own hard earned money. ... The red convertible helps reveal the plot of the story in several ways as well. ...

  • Word Count: 472
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Red Convertible And Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

COMPARE AND CONTRAST Dissecting the short stories, The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich, and An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, by their use of characters, settings and points of view, and plot structures to help distinguish how the writers illustrate their short story. In The Red Convertible, the main character is Lyman Lamartine. ... Louise Erdrich uses many truths to help develop the setting of her fictional story. ... Louise's character, Lyman, starts of her story by telling the reader how he owned a red convertible until his brothers boots filled with water....

  • Word Count: 1504
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Symbolism in The Red Convertible

Louise Erdrich's short story "The Red Convertible" embodies numerous symbols that might be missed. ... 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 red convertible may also represent a remedial charm for Henry. ... Erdrich uses the beliefs of the Chippewa people to teach us things about the actions of the people. ... The red convertible was originally the car that the brothers imagined a new life with, which made them free, and shortly they returned to ...

  • Word Count: 839
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Red Convertible

Unable to Cope in Erdrich's "The Red Convertible" In the short story "The Red Convertible" Louise Erdrich writes about two brothers who were Chippewa Indians, living on a reservation in the 1970's. ... Lyman and Henry bought a red convertible together and traveled all summer in it. ... Lyman had beat up the red convertible hoping that Henry would snap out of where- ever he was. ...

  • Word Count: 663
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The Red Convertible

In The Red Convertible, by Louise Erdrich, the conflict is the relationship between Lyman, the narrator and Henry, his brother. Before Henry went off to war, the brothers were close but when he returned, he had changed, and Lyman was unable to recapture that old relationship. The story begins with ...

  • Word Count: 357
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

7. political science

"The Red Convertible", A symbolic Story "The Red Convertible" is a short story by Louise Erdrich written in 1984. ... They take their journey in a red Oldsmobile convertible. ... The red convertible symbolizes the relationship between the brothers. ... Louise Erdrich contrasts the old way of life versus the new. ... When Henry gives the red convertible to Lyman, it symbolizes Henry's death. ...

  • Word Count: 1471
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Family Ties

Louise Erdrich's short story "The Red Convertible- tells of how the toils of war transform Henry Junior into a quiet man, and how a red convertible and a loving brother named Lyman can make him want to live life again. Erdrich starts with two brothers who have a carefree summer ahead of them and a shiny red convertible to take them wherever they desire. ... Erdrich uses imagery by showing the color of the convertible. ... When Henry returns, he does not even think of the red convertible. ... This is why he buries the red convertible with Henry. ...

  • Word Count: 1194
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

9. reservation life in litreature

Two of the more prominent Native American authors in the last twenty years are Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie. ... However Erdrich and Alexie's depiction of characters is suggestive of the prevailing diversity about the Native American people and their culture. ... Erdrich in The Red Convertible and Alexie in This is What it Means to Say Phoenix Arizona each address issues of gender and cultural roles among contemporary Native American populations. ... The main characters of Eldrich's The Red Convertible can be paralleled to the main characters in Alexie's This Is What It Mea...

  • Word Count: 1165
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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