The Red Convertible

I enjoyed reading the story "The Red Convertible" by Louise Erdich. Everything that she added into the story fit and made sense. I especially like how she wove the red convertible into the story, it's quite symbolic of the relationship between Lyman and his brother, Henry. I also like how it shows the issue of PTSD, with regards to Henry. This story actually reminded me of another we have previously read in class, "Stones".

Lyman and Henry were almost inseparable before Henry went to war. They bought a red convertible together and that summer they took a road trip to wherever they felt like. During this roadtrip we are able to see the characterization of Henry as a life-loving, happy-go-lucky guy. It seems as though he has no care in the world and he never will. But when he returns, with his brother, from the trip he finds out that he has been drafted to go to war. After he returns from he war he is a completely changed person, he is no longer happy, he sits in front of the television biting his lip until it bleeds and he won't talk to anyone. Lyman, knowing that his brother loves the convertible, goes and beats up the car he kept in perfect condition so that his brother could go and fix it. Lyman knows that if Henry starts to fix the car then maybe he will turn back into his normal self. So once Henry fixes the car, grabs takes his brother and a case of beer and drives to the high water. So they get there and they drink and get into a little scrap which they later joke about. After this Henry jumps into the river and is swept away by the current, we can deduce that he committed suicide. So Lyman knowing that Henry isn't coming back, takes the car, puts it in neutral and allows the car to drive into the river, dying like Henry died.

So with this back story we can assume that the red convertible is very symbolic of the relationship between the brothers. It first symbolizes the bond of friendship bewteen the two brothers, they both bought it together and took equal care of it. Then is soon becomes symbolic of Henry's demise and also of how Lyman lets go of his brother.  Lyman went and beat the car to a pulp which represents how Henry's emotional state was when he returned. Then when Lyman allowed the car to roll into the river it was symbolic of his letting go of not only the car, but his brother as well.

This story, along with "Stones" , highlights the issues that arise from PTSD. Both Henry and David Max have been through war and have suffered with PTSD, though they both dealt with it differently. Henry committed suicide, we assume, and David Max became a drunk

So I truly loved reading this story, I can't quite exactly pinpoint one reason why I loved this story.