The Red Convertible

The Red Convertible is a story about the ups and downs of brotherly love. The way that the author presents the story is rather unique he uses the red convertible as a symbol of rebirth and death repeatedly throughout the story. The rebirth and death of the car match with actions taking place with the two brothers, Henry and Lyman.

One would think that since Henry and Lyman both worked so hard that they would have a car. Lyman says, “Don’t ask me why, because we never mentioned a car or anything, we just had all our money” (Lamartine, 365). It was not until they saw this red convertible that they decided to purchase a vehicle. Lyman was very excited the first time he saw the red convertible. The brothers had been to busy working and living their day to day lives that they did not spend much time together but this red convertible was the rebirth or start of something new for them. Lyman felt as if the car was alive.

They spent their summers traveling and enjoying each others company. The red convertible had brought the brothers closer together and was the link that created such a tight bond between the two. They had traveled so much that by the end of the summer they had got home just before it could break down. “We’d made most of the trip, that summer, without putting up the car hood at all. We got home just in time” (366). This would soon be the beginning of the end because soon after Henry would go off to be a Marine and things would not be the same from that day forward.

Lyman wrote his brother while he was away but he knew that Henry was not the letter writing type. Henry wrote back just a few times and Lyman kept writing even though he never got a response back. Lyman tried to keep hope alive, in his letters he wrote about the progress of the red convertible. The red convertible at this point in the story represents the brother’s relationship being put on hold. “Most of the time I had it up on blocks” (367).

After Henry retuned from the war their was a major change in him because of all the things that he had experienced not only being at war but by being captured by the enemy. He just sat in front of the television like a zombie and once while watching the television he bit his lip so hard that it started to bleed. His lip continued to bleed and he didn’t notice it, while he ate his food the blood mixed in with it and he continued to enjoy his meal.

While Henry was away Lyman worked on the convertible and got it back in tip top shape. Lyman thought that this car would once again bring the two back together but Henry had changed and no one knew if he’d ever be the same. Henry had not seen the car since he had returned and Lyman was getting fed up with