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In American culture, the color red symbolizes faithfulness and a medium of communication. In the short story, ‘The Red Convertible’ by writer Louise Erdrich, the red color is associated with the bond of brotherhood through a red Oldsmobile that they had bought together in their youth.
The story revolves around the relationship of the two brothers, Henry and Lyman, who kept the Oldsmobile as a symbol of communication between them. The car reminds readers of the good time the two brothers had before Henry participated in the war and the effects he carried along with him when the war was over.
The story begins with the journey of two brothers in their Oldsmobile to Alaska. This reflects a good time in their lives as they made the road trip on this car. The readers are made to think about the strong bond of the two brothers speeding away to Alaska on their car.
The impression readers get is that the Oldsmobile adds strength to their relationship and keeps them united. It was on this shiny red convertible that these brothers made their journey. However, when they reached home from their journey, Henry realized that the call for duty has come and he needs to participate in the war of the USA with Vietnam (Madden 241).
The call to serve the military immediately draws the readers to think that Henry would be moving out from the life of his brother and his beloved Oldsmobile he cared for so much care. This notion becomes true when Henry agrees to leave for the military service leaving the car under his brother’s authority.
As the car is the symbol of communication between the two brothers, this act denotes that there would be no contact or connection between the two brothers during the time of war as that he would be doing the job he has been asked to do for his country (Madden 242).
When Henry returns home after the war, he has merely no interest in the car and his brother. The author shows that he has been affected by the horrors of the war and chosen to stay disconnected with the world. Because the car formed a bond between the two brothers, lack of interest towards Oldsmobile meant that Henry also felt less attached to his brother.
There was no riding like the old times, and lack of such activities proves that there was no excitement in the lives of both of them. This feeling of being neglected makes Lyman destroy the car by banging it up with a hammer so that he could seek his brother’s attention (Madden 245).
Once again, the car is used by the author to describe the relationship between the two brothers. Just like the car, their relationship was also banged up. Though Lyman did destroy the car, it is just an indication of how the relationship between the two brothers is. After seeing the ca,r Henry responds by saying, “before going to the war, the car ran perfectly well. Now I assume it won’t even start” (Madden 245).
When Henry says the following words, it is for the first time that he showed concern for his Oldsmobile. He had been neglecting it since arriving from the war, but after seeing the terrible condition of the car, he spoke up. The author here is trying to make a connection with Henry and the Oldsmobile. Before the war, the car was as lively as Henry was. It was described as a shining car earlier on in the book (Madden 241).
But now the car also looks like it very has. It looks helpless and torn out just like its owner who complains in a distressing voice that it might never work like once it used to. On the part of Henry, he reacts to the situation as a soldier who has given hope with life. He might not ever be once he used to be just like his brother. He might never be able to enjoy his life again riding his car in a similar fashion with his brother just like he once used to do.
Seeing the car bang=ed up, Henry decides to fix it. The author is trying to indicate that Henry might have realized his mistakes and the way he was acting after coming from the war and is trying to fix the relationship with his brother. Because the car stands as the symbol for their relationship, fixing it would only mean that Henry is trying to get back to his brother Lyman. Henry finally tells Lyman to go for a ride with him.
This is a clear indication that Henry is coming to terms with life and his brother. oGr the first time as he invites him to a ride with him. It makes the readers think that maybe everything will get back to normal between the two brothers, just like at the start of the book (Madden 246).
But just then when the two brothers are talking between them, Henry jumps into the river. He probably thought that he could never recover from the war and so it was best to end his life there. Lyman, as a result, lets the Oldsmobile ran r together with his brother (4. This part of the book makes it so interesting.
The author has, throughout the book, shown the relationship of the brothers through the car. So if Henry did drown himself, then there was no purpose of the car for the layman. The author is trying to show that all forms of communications are over with the car drowning with Henry (Madden 247).
The Red Convertible is a story with a lot of irony in it. Everything revolves around a car that the two brothers bought, repaired and together drove off. It was something that had bonded them together in good times and automatically became an association of communication between them.
The author kept the car as a symbol to describe the ups and downs between the lives of two brothers. The Oldsmobile also went through the same stages of joy and disparity as its owners. During the start of the book, it was shiny, and in the latter part, it was just as broken as the owner of the vehicle Henry.
It kept passing through different stages, defining the life of the two brothers. In the end, when it was impossible to bring them any closer, it was best that it also drowned ending all forms of communication between the two brothers. It did play its part well till both were together and very much in communication or off communication.
Works Cited
Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. New York: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.
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