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Glen Medved
7 February 2012
The symbolism in Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible" is not as simple as one
may think. There is an apparent link between the symbolic value of the car and its
correlation to the stability of Henry and Lyman's friendship, a correlation that can also be
considered outstandingly complex. The average reader could put the two and two
together and view it plainly. However, when one looks further into the actual symbolism
the car itself holds, one is left with a surprisingly complex story, a story so masterfully
crafted and perfectly composed that it keeps one wondering about the author's initial
intentions behind the detailed structure of the story. As you are given the story at face
valueand now being aware of the overt symbolism in the storycontinue to look
The most important symbol in the story is the red convertible itself (this is your
According to Bussey, "Erdrich's use of symbolism in this way gives her story depth and
complexity and enables her to communicate ideas and character developments without
lengthy explanations." Throughout nearly every point in the story, the red convertible is
whom I also agree with, states that the car is ultimately a source of comfort and
connection between Lyman and Henry (Kryhoski). One critic thinks that "Erdrich
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associates the red convertible with Henry's state of mind," basing it on the belief that
"Erdrich correlates Henry's emotional disrepair with the condition of the red convertible"
(Sutton). I do not completely agree, the red convertible is revolving not only around
Henry and his "state of mind," but it is revolving around Lyman as well. Nevertheless,
the car's dynamic condition is symbolic of Henry and Lyman's relationship because it
reflects the status of their friendship; it initially represents their close companionship
(Bussey). Bussey gets the point across very well"a seemingly simple story, but the
The first road trip occurs for Henry and Lymana summer of freedom,
friendship, and good memories (stage one). "We went places in that car, me and Henry.
We took off driving all one whole summer" (Erdrich 394). Here occurred a summer of
freedom and happiness, and as Bussey correctly displayed in her critical essay, it initially
"represents their close companionship." The first stage out of five, as shown here,
represents the best point in the brothers' life, but with a correlating symbolic pattern. The
car itself was bought in new and good condition to them, able to be driven, just as was
their friendshipa close and strong bond, in motion. One critic went as far as saying that
"the Henry that departs the reservation, the Henry of the summer trip in the red
Henry is deployed to Vietnam during the war, a period where Lyman is separated
from him, where Lyman regards his existence even with no returning letters (stage two).
"I kept him informed all about the car. Most of the time I had it up on blocks in the yard
or half taken apart, because that long trip did a hard job on it under the hood" (Erdrich
396). At this point, Henry and Lyman are separated. Henry is somewhere in Vietnam
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fighting a war, Lyman is writing to him in hopes of getting in touch. Just as Lyman
regards Henry's existence (albeit no returning letters), he also regards the car, which was
always "meticulously maintained" (Sutton). The friendship still stands, although not
physically together, they are still together in mind. As Bussey argues, "the convertible
symbolizes the brothers' reaching out to each other." You can see this obviously reflected
through Lyman's point of view with him anxiously sending letters, thus debunking
Sutton's critical viewpoint about the car solely revolving around "Henry's state of mind."
Henry has returned messed up and possesses disturbing qualities, rendering him
broken (stage three). Lyman wants to change this, so he takes apart the car in hope that
Henry begins to work on it. "I thought the car might bring the old Henry back somehow"
(Erdrich 397). After seeing him return in a bad mental condition, Lyman feels nostalgic
about their past. That drives him to reach out to his brother through an unusual method.
"The car is then violated, just as Henry has been violated, as Lyman smashes it with a
"now methodically damages it, hoping that Henry will decide to repair the car and in
doing so will begin to repair himself." They are rendered distant at around this point so
Lyman intentionally damages the convertible "because he saw the car as his brother's
only change of regaining his sense of self" (Bussey). Just as the car is now taken apart
into pieces, you can also metaphorically apply that to their friendshipa weak bond, and
damaged.
Henry has the idea to start working on the car again, and begins to repair it every
day, eventually fixing it into a barely workable condition (stage four). "After that I
thought he'd freeze himself to death working on that car. He was out there all day. He
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was better than he had been before, but that's still not saying much" (Erdrich 397).
Bussey states: "When Lyman damaged the car, cosmetically and mechanically, he
demonstrated his willingness to risk not only a prized possession but also his relationship
with his brother (symbolized by the car) for his brother's happiness." It's shown here that
Henry fell for Lyman's bait. Although it took over a month, Henry finally gives in and
at this point the car's barely working condition reflects their barely functioning
one hand, it has a chance to live on, and on the other, it has a chance to break apart and
fall.
Henry and Lyman go off on one last road trip (stage five). At the campsite, they
quarrel intensely but end up in a wild fit of laughter. Eventually, Henry dances around in
a foolish manner (with subtle, disturbing qualities at play here) and they both have their
final moment. Henry jumps into the Red River to cool down but ends up drowning to
death. "Although Henry does recover partially, the damage that has been done to his
spirit is irreversible, and he chooses to drown himself in the red river. After his brother's
death, Lyman sacrifices the red convertible to the red river. After Henry's death, it serves
no further purpose" (Dutta). Here lies the final tie of friendship between the two brothers,
being reflected upon the condition of the car. Just as Henry is assumed to have drowned
to death, Lyman sees the car as a final sacrifice. With Henry gone forever, it is time for
Lyman to do the same for the car, and so he pushes it into the water and leaves it to rest
there indefinitely.
The last couple paragraphs display a poetic ending with seemingly apparent
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symbolic undertones. "I walk back to the car, turn on the high beams, and drive it up the
bank. I put it in first gear and then I take my foot off the clutch. I get out, close the door,
and watch it plow softly into the water. The headlights reach in as they go down,
searching, still lighted even after the water swirls over the back end. I wait. The wires
short out. It is all finally dark" (Erdrich 400). The car is destroyed, left in the water never
to return to Lyman's life. The same goes for the friendshiptheir bond is nonexistent,
over forever, impossible to bring back to any extent. "The car undergoes a sort of death,
Was Erdrich attempting to display something subtle here? Should the symbolism
of the car (and its condition) pertaining to their attachment be treated at face value, or
should we look further into it? One might say you're only setting yourself up for failure
by doing so, but it's assured that you will find yourself discovering more than just a
meaningless coincidence as you continue to read in between the lines. You will find
yourself unraveling a twisted mess of details and end up with something of a solved
puzzlean evident display of organized connections (with or without intent) that make
you feel like you just successfully linked two points. In other words, "connecting the
dots." Not only that, but you will ultimately find out that you've dug the hole enough to
uncover and possess an actual treasurethe precious truth that only few know and
Works Cited
Bussey, Jennifer. "Critical Essay on 'The Red Convertible'." Short Stories for Students.
Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. Literature Resources
Dutta, Pratima. "Erdrich's 'The Red Convertible.'." Explicator 61.2 (Winter 2003): 119-
121. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 121. Detroit: Gale,
Erdrich, Louise. "The Red Convertible." Literature and the Writing Process. Ed.
Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk, and Linda S. Coleman. 9th ed.
Korb, Rena. "Critical Essay on 'The Red Convertible'." Short Stories for Students. Ed.
Jennifer Smith. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. Literature Resources from
Kryhoski, Laura. "Critical Essay on 'The Red Convertible'." Short Stories for Students.
Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. Literature Resources
Sutton, Brian. "Erdrich's 'Love Medicine.'." The Explicator 57.3 (1999): 187+. Literature
Henry is deployed to
Vietnam during the Half-taken apart, Still stands, together
3 possesses disturbing
qualities, rendering
him broken. Lyman
wants to change this,
so he takes apart the
into pieces
(intentionally).
and in the negative
spectrum.