The short story is the first person narration. It renders the viewpoint of Lyman, who is one of the protagonists. The author uses this technique to provide readers with more background information. Moreover, Lyman’s intuition throws light on Henry’s – his elder brother – emotional state, his feelings hidden beneath a so-called mask that he puts on upon his return from the war.
Lyman proved to be an especially sensitive young man, thus he can be considered a reliable narrator. He felt exited speaking about the convertible he had purchased together with his brother and shared for several years. A great part of the story is given to delightful memories of the car and the trips brothers went on together with nothing to care about. Things had changed then. Lyman painfully admitted his separation with Henry, when the latter had been drafted into the army. The convertible plays the role of the farewell gift and Henry’s anticipation of him never coming back home. He did come back; still it was not the same Henry, whom Lyman knew from his childhood. The last straw was the picture of Lyman and Henry in front of the car. Tacked on the wall, the picture was staring at Lyman, and he grew scarred and uneasy. He took off the picture, hid it as far as he could simply never to look at it anymore. Lyman could not stand it at the same room with him. The picture inevitably exposed him to all the changes about Henry that Lyman refused to give a thought to. Finally, Lyman was trapped silent gazing at the river current after his brother disappearance. He could not distinctly apprehend Henry’s suicide. So terribly shocked was Lyman, that the only thing he was able to do was driving the car into the river to follow Henry.
Lyman’s sensitivity presupposes a great amount of symbols used in the story. Symbolism speeds up the end of the story and prepares readers to the tragedy long before the culmination. The red convertible has its role in each and every meaningful paragraph throughout the story. It symbolizes the bond between the brothers. More than that, the tone the author uses to describe the car shifts from optimistic to depressing depending on Henry’s mental state: from “large as life” the car turns into a shuffle of metal and plastic. The same is Henry. Outgoing and gregarious before Vietnam he become depressed and completely worn out. Lyman ruins the car to provide his brother with something to do. He believes that it will bring Henry back to the normal life. Lyman cannot imagine the scale of invisible wounds that his brother like any other soldier was suffering despite the war end. The red colour was chosen for two reasons. On the one hand, it symbolizes life, energy of youth, a desire to be trendy and show off a bit – everything typical for joyful and peaceful life. On the other hand, the red turns into the ominous colour of blood and war, which haunts Henry until his is gone.
Another symbol as the aforesaid picture. It alludes to the consequences of the war, relentless to young men. Despite whatever efforts, no one could save Henry from committing suicide. No one could really share his pains and sufferings. This picture was the shadow of the war. Thus, it frightened Lyman.
The river is one more important symbol. It is the stream of life or better time. The current is swift. It devours lives of individuals with no traces left. At war soldiers are heroes; nevertheless, the government does not care about their destiny afterwards. Peaceful life is going and running for common people, but not for former soldiers. Therefore, why Henry jumped into the river seems now comprehensible.
When Henry returned from Vietnam, every one noticed, that he became jumpy and moody. He was completely different and strange: he would spend all days long glued to the TV set, but never indulged himself into strolls and fun anymore. They did not hear him laughing. Instead, he was silent and quiet. He was apparently thinking over the horrors of war, as if his mind was still somewhere away on the battlefields. Henry realized that no one could comprehend him and share it with him. He also was unable to escape from his thoughts and finally it made him go mad. To a certain extend his madness was invisible until the end. Admitting his suicide, a reader realizes that Henry’s jump into the river was not accidental. Most probably, he decided everything in advance before engaging himself to car repair. The last drive that he went out with Lyman was his farewell to everything he knew before the war. The brothers told to each other about girls, fought and laughed and behaved themselves the same way they used to before Henry were taken away with the army. Still, for Henry there were the last hours. He felt that the time had come to put an end to all this and without thinking much, he immediately rushed into the river. He was tranquil when he started to sink. “My boots are feeling”, said he indifferently. (“The Red Convertible”)
The war is always a tragedy. Vietnam is still an utterly hated conflict for a vast number of American families. During the war time there was a phenomenon of a press soldier. The press exposed a biased opinion that the United States should win the war. But the government manipulated the press to cut out leading articles in accordance with the political needs. However, other editions emphasized the futility of the conflict. Many veterans confessed later that they had sometimes no idea what they were fighting for. Moreover, the American society in general protested against Vietnam war.
Karen Louise Erdrich was one of the numerous authors, directors and others, who portrayed the war with its warts. The core of her short story “The Red Convertible” is the destiny of a former soldier, completely ruined by the war and driven to suicide. By telling this story, the author rendered the acute pain of common people, who had to drag out miserable existence with no attention of the press or the government, because virtually they were not soldiers since the military conflict had been over.
Works cited
Erdrich, K. L. “The Red Convertible”. Retrieved from <http://www.napavalley.edu/people/LYanover/Documents/English%20121/English%20121%20Louise%20Erdrich%20The%20Red%20Convertible.pdf>
