The Red Convertible

A detailed Summary of The Red Convertible

"The Red Convertible"?A Connection Between Brothers

The problematic moment in the short story, "The Red Convertible", by Louise Erdrich, is the death of the older brother, Henry Jr., by suicide. It is clear to see the dramatic change that he undergoes after the war and there are many events that foreshadow his death?when his boots fill up with water.

The main character in the story is Lyman Lamartine, the lucky younger brother. He has a knack for making money. He even becomes the manager of a local restaurant at the age of sixteen. Henry, on the other hand, is not so lucky as he is called to fight in Vietnam. Lyman makes the comment at one point, "I always had good luck with numbers, and never worried about the draft myself. But Henry was never lucky in the same way as me" (Erdrich, 1030). Before the war, the two brothers have an extremely close relationship with one another. The one object that brings them closer together is the red convertible. They each paid their share of the car and own it together. "We went places in that car, me and Henry. We took off driving all one whole summer" (1029).

At the end of the summer, when the boys return home, is when they find out that Henry has been called to war. Before

drifting away in the river. Again, his soft-spoken last words are, ?My boots are filling? (1034). He doesn?t panic or scream for help at all. He is comfortable with it because it is what he wants?to be free. The Vietnam War had a profound affect on those who served in the armed forces. I know this first hand because I have an Uncle who fought in the war. He is an alcoholic and sometimes doesn?t even know who I am, or other close family matters for that matter. It is a very sad thing to see someone suffer from memories of the many horrible things that happened during that time period.

Henry returns home from Vietnam for the final time three years later after "the enemy caught him" (1030). The war changes him for the worse. Although it is not said that Henry was tortured in Vietnam, we are led to believe he was because of the drastic transformation of his personality. He has become very quiet and restless. He doesn't joke or even laugh anymore. If he does, it is in such a strange way that it makes those around him very uncomfortable. It is as if he were someone else. It is very difficult for Lyman to see his brother in this position, especially when he mentions the time before when they "sat still for whole afternoons, never moving a muscle, just shifting our weight along the ground, talking to whoever sat with us, watching things" (1031). Henry has become evil in a way. The only time he seems interested in anything is when he watches the color television. Although, Lyman explains that he actually is not comfortable or content while watching T.V. ?He sat in his chair gripping the armrests with all his might, as if the chair itself was moving at a high speed and if he let go at al he would rocket forward and maybe crash right through the set" (1031). One evening while watching television, he completely bites through his lip and acts as if he doesn't even feel it. The only explanation is that he is going crazy from the haunting memories of Vietnam.

he leaves, he gives full ownership of the car to Lyman. I believe Henry does this just in case he doesn?t come back home. Lyman knows this is the reason as well, but he tries avoiding the thought and says laughing, "Thanks for the extra key. I'll put it up in your drawer just in case I need it" (1030). Lyman doesn?t want to entertain the idea of losing his brother at all.

At the end of the story, when Lyman lets the car roll into t

Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam Lyman, River Henry, Vietnam War, Henry Lyman, Henry Jr, Henry Vietnam, Lyman Henry, Lyman Lamartine, red convertible, Connection Brothers, wake wake, Louise Erdrich, wake wake wake, story lyman, lyman remember, henry war, henry jr, 1033 lyman, 1030 war, boots filling 1034, car lyman, vietnam lyman,

Approximate Word count = 1633
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English