Summary Of The Red Convertible By Louise Erdrich

“I came to a clear conclusion, and it is a universal one: To live, to struggle, to be in love with life--in love with all life holds, joyful or sorrowful--is fulfillment. The fullness of life is open to all of us” (Betty Smith). Betty Smith, born as Elizabeth Lillian Wehner, grew up in Brooklyn, New York as the daughter of poor German immigrants. At the time, child labor was legal and Smith began work at the young age of fourteen to help support her family. Smith’s life in the slums and her experiences during the Great Depression greatly influenced her writing. Most of her novels depict families struggling to survive on a low income. Another idea Smith explores in her novels is what part women should take in the world. In Smith’s lifetime, women were granted the right to vote and other significant rights that many did not agree on. In her books she created strong female leads that defy the bubble women were placed in at the time. Smith’s novels became highly popular with many Americans because she depicted the struggles of life in poverty that many people could relate to. Betty Smith was one of the most influential writers of her time, and her works impacted American culture in several ways.

A soldier’s heart is a past term used to describe someone with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), specifically given to someone who fought in the Civil War. Someone with a soldier’s heart experiences fear on a higher level. They may even find certain things that wouldn’t be scary to someone with a stable mind terrifying. Symptoms can be re-experiencing trauma, emotional numbness, and sheltering away from other people. After completing the book, “Soldier’s Heart,” by Gary Paulsen, I truly believe that Charley Goddard suffered from PTSD during and after fighting in the Civil War. Charley was only 15 when enlisted and had no idea what he was getting himself into. He was attracted to the high paying salary and the thought of being considered a man. Charley believed that the shooting war would be a fun adventure and the experience of a lifetime. It wasn’t

One of the earliest well-known opponents of Great Britain was Patrick Henry. Throughout his life he gave many speeches supporting the American Government, ultimately making a name for himself. During a time of uncertainty for the colonists in 1775, Henry still supported his opinions on American Democracy. In his opinion, the only choice left was to go to war with Great Britain. In order to gain the colonist's approval, he issued a marvelous speech persuading the colonists to go to war. Throughout his speech, Henry used many rhetorical appeals to convince the members of the Viginia Convention by using ethos, pathos, and logos.

Going through a traumatizing event such as rape may alter a victim 's life, including those of their family. To recover from such an incident finding justice can be the best resort. Geraldine the victim in “The Round House” was raped and found covered in blood. Life on the reservation means that Geraldine will never be able to seek justice against her rapist. Her son, Joe, the protagonist in the novel further explains how he feels at the young age of thirteen. In the novel “The Round House” written by Louise Erdrich depicts the story from the perspective of Joe. Joe’s point of view outlines the development of his childhood. The themes of the novel tie together to tell the story of Geraldine 's rape. The novel “The Round House” incorporated three themes which include the discrimination on native women, the Judicial System, and having to grow up too quickly.

In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the archetypal mother figure of Olive Hamilton, who is modeled after the author’s own mother, is sharply contrasted with the novel’s antagonist, the ultimate anti-mother figure of Cathy Ames. This juxtaposition of characters highlights not only Olive’s loving, selfless nature, but also Cathy’s diabolical, egocentric one.

Patrick Henry, former governor of Virginia, bravely spoke on the 23rd of March, 1775, at St. John’s Church, introducing his strategies to end the American Revolution in victory. The speech was so inspiring that it ignited a massive flame of patriotism. Americans began to greatly support his political ideology. Due to his stirring choice of words, the phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death!” impacted the listeners, making his remarkable words yet known to this date. Henry’s use of ethical appeal, logical and emotional appeals, as well as rhetorical devices, touched the audience. His persuasive techniques were the reason behind his exceptionally successful speech.

Louise Erdrich, author of “The Red Convertible,” is the daughter of a German-American father and a Chippewa Indian mother. They were both employed at the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school and from an early age, Louise was encouraged by her father to write stories. She says that “my father used to give me a nickel for every story I wrote” (Madden 241). After years of writing, Louise received the National Book Award for Fiction in 2012 for her novel “The Round House.”

Most people struggle with figuring out who they really are. The short story "Everyday Use,” written by  Alice Walker, emphasizes this aspect of individuality. It is about an African- American mother and her two daughters. The story concentrates on the lives of two sisters named Maggie and Dee(Wangero). Maggie is portrayed as a homely and ignorant girl, while Dee is portrayed as a beautiful and educated woman. For some of my family the search for individuality is an ongoing process. In fact, my family and the family in “Everyday Use” share similarities and differences when it comes to actions of young people, the treatment of children, and relationships between family members.

Certain circumstances can change a person for the better or for the worse. In “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, she demonstrates how the Vietnam War completely altered a young man’s personality. Two brothers, Henry and Lyman, who has an inseparable bond in the beginning of the story were portrayed also as best friends. The two of them travel everywhere in a glossy, red convertible they bought together during the summer. The red convertible shows the unique connection they have together. As time passes, their relationship quality becomes damaged because of a series of factors, including a war Henry was sent off to. In a person’s life, certain aspects can be a trigger for life altering changes. Henry and Lyman’s relationship experiences dramatic changes from buying a convertible and taking it on road trips, to Henry becoming a unfamiliar face to his family.

Louise Erdrich has a certain tone in the novel The Painted Drum, Jean Wyatt argued that the transformation of the protagonists’ process central to this novel is not described at all (Wyatt par. 1). Rather, the narrative

Before Henry deployed, he and Lyman were very close, as is shown by their many trips in the red convertible. A memorable trip was when they picked up the hitch hiker Susy headed to Alaska.“Then my brother henry did something funny”(Erdich 94), this shows the pre war henry that had a social side that people enjoyed when around him. But when Henry returned, he and Lyman spent a less time together. “We had always been together before Henry and Lyman. But he was such a loner now that I didn’t know how to take it. (97)”.

The selected paragraph is the end of Patric Henry’s speech. His gave a speech to the people in Virginia and tried to encourage people to be prepared to fight. In the end, after all the arguments, he restated and emphasized the main theme of his speech.

Yet, Louise Erdrich’s poem, “Advice to Myself”, she talks about feminism and how women need to make their way in the world, she tends to focus a lot on multiculturalism including conflicting religious beliefs. Most of her poems and books are mainly about supernatural happenings with odd events. She is important because from her novels more readers have begun to appreciate that contemporary Native Americans have important stories to tell that go beyond retelling their ancestors’ rich creation myths and legends. Her life accomplished experiences and culture beliefs within her writing. After all, she is a poet and novelist of Chippewa and German descent, Erdrich has become one of the most important authors writing Native American fiction in the late twentieth century. Many writers would mine this observation for tragedy, but Erdrich instead turns to healing. In book after book, she finds ways to resolve the extremes of life while never shying away from hard facts: death, pain, guilt, and

“Now that you have started reading this essay, you and I are now connected by a web of connections.” This is what Susan Griffin, author of “Our Secret”, a chapter taken from Griffin’s insightful book A Chorus of Stones, most likely would have declared. Griffin argues that, “all of us, especially all of us who read her essay - are part of a complex web of connections” (265). She implies that people are part of a “larger matrix” and have a “common past” (265). The “common past” between people that Griffin asserts can be proved by examining the unique paragraphs in the chapter. In “Our Secret”, Griffin recounts her own life story to the life stories of others, including Heinrich Himmler, Heinz, a painter, a friend, Holocaust survivors, a homosexual

Throughout one’s life, one tends to adapt to the traditions of their family, and gain a significant bond with their loved ones, including their siblings. However, that connection a person gains can either be diminished or forgotten due to a sense of different mindsets between family members. The two stories “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff and “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin indicate that sibling rivalry occurs when each member does not understand or acknowledge their sibling’s perspective, and this builds a wall barrier between the siblings.