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The Red Convertible Stylistic Analysis

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What if your brother was your best friend? What if he went to war and came back a stranger? The story “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich emphasizes the idea that people can change but they will always come back to who they used to be. One of the main characters Henry goes to war and comes back very different and his brother Lyman tries to bring him back to his old self. Louise Erdrich uses symbolism, setting and characterization to demonstrate the struggles between Henry and Lyman. In the story “The Red Convertible” the author uses literary elements to convey the theme that things that make you happy always make you happy. The author uses symbolism to convey the idea that car Lyman and Henry bought together represents the old Henry. Lyman was looking for a way to bring him back to his old self, “I thought the car might bring back the old Henry back somehow. So I bided my time and waited for my chance to interest him in the vehicle” (64). Since Henry had come back from …show more content…

The author shows the events during time by telling us when this story took place“It was 1970, and he said he was stationed up in the northern hill country” (63). This is important because the Vietnam war was happening during this time. This story takes place on a reservation which is significant because it helps set the tone “I was the first one to drive a convertible on my reservation. And of course it was red, a red Olds.” (61). This is significant because it highlights the importance of the car. The story “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich uses characterization of Henry, symbolism of the car and the setting to convey the theme, something that once made you happy will always make you happy. This is important because the story very much reflects a family relationship that has been through a lot of struggles. The story also reflects how something that started to become good can turn into a

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