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The Red Convertible Louise Erdrich Summary

2578 Words11 Pages

The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich The Red Convertible is a short story about two Native America brothers. The story investigates the evolution of their relationship. Several factors change the two brothers through the years but a red convertible car binds them together. Foreshadowing is quite prevalent throughout The Red Convertible. Erdrich writes, "We owned it together until his boots filled with water on a windy night and he bought out my share." (Erdrich 445). This passage seems quite odd and confusing in the first paragraph of the story. Later the reader comes to understand that Henry’s boots actually fill with water as he drowns in the river, followed by the red convertible. Conflict in The Red Convertible revolves around Henry and Lyman’s relationship as brothers and the car they purchased together. The war changes Henry and he doesn’t even want to drive the car even though Lyman has kept it in good shape. …show more content…

The author presents the setting in a hazy and almost secretive way. She presents the facts like people are starving and they will be killed if they get out of line but never states the exact camp or location. The mood in the story is chilling but it is told in a numb and mundane way. Fear is the driving force as it consumes all that Rosa does, every second of her existence. The fear continues throughout the story and culminates with horrific rage when Rosa can only watch her worst fears become reality. Exposition in The Shawl begins by identifying the characters as freezing and starving as they travel. The exposition is used to great effect to keep the reader engaged as they learn ambiguous details on the journey to discovering the full realization that the characters in a Nazi death camp. Setting the stage early in the story, the exposition in The Shawl in terrifying and pushes the reader to question if they even want to read any

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