Escanio Santos 1

Jose Escanio Santos

Prof. Lisa Shuchter

English 102 – Literature and Composition

25 October 2018

PTSD Effects on Veterans and Their Loved Ones

In a study conducted in the 1980s, it was found that 15 out of 100 (15%) Vietnam

War veterans hade PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) during, or directly after the war.

In a later study, it was found that 30 out of 100 (30%) of veterans had PTSD at some point

during their lifetime (PTSD: National Center for PTSD). In Louise Erdrich’s story, “The

Red Convertible,” Lyman Lamartine and his older brother Henry are practically

inseparable, until Henry is drafted into the Vietnam War and returns home with a bad case

of PTSD. The PTSD not only effects Henry, but Lyman and the rest of their family. PTSD,

specifically from war, has long term effects on not just the veteran, but the loved ones that

surround them. Erdrich shows through symbolizing and foreshadowing the strong bond

that Henry and Lyman share, the memories they made together before and after the war,

and the unbreakable bond the car holds between the brother’s relationship, even while

Henry continues to fight his enteral battle.

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The Vietnam War was an ongoing, twenty-year battle between the communist Viet

Cong of the North and the South Vietnamese and the allied United States. The United

States entered the Vietnam War under the Truman Doctrine, designed to stop the spread of

communism. The Vietnam War is considered the fourth deadliest war in American history,

with over 58,000 American deaths (“Vietnam War”). The war started in the fall of 1955

and didn’t end until late spring of 1975. Over two million Americans were drafted for this

war from 1954 to 1973, when the United States was active in the war, up until their

withdrawal under President Nixon (Valentine). The fighting continued in Vietnam for two

more years after the United States withdrew, ending in 1975 when the North Vietnamese

conquered the South, making Vietnam the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (“Vietnam War”).

As veterans returned home, it was found that many had developed PTSD, including Henry

in “The Red Convertible.”

The bond that Henry and Lyman share is symbolized through the old red convertible

that the two owned together. Lyman and Henry’s loving bond is remains strong up until

the death of Henry one “windy night” (Erdrich 241). The bond the brothers shared was

mainly thanks to the car they shared together. The brothers drove their car everywhere

together, taking long road trips on their reservation, and throughout the country. “We went
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places in that car, me and Henry” (242). However, when Henry returns from Vietnam with

PTSD, he is a completely different person. “When he came home, though, Henry was very

different, and I’ll say this: the change was no good” (244). Henry would hardly interact

with anybody, including Lyman, but then Henry finally asks Lyman to go out with him on

a drive. “‘Let’s take that old shitbox for a spin.’ Just the way he said it made me think he

was coming around” (245). Even with Henry’s bad case of PTSD, the car was able to

uphold the bond the two-shared despite Henry being distant; showing it was a key reason

for the brother’s strong bond.

Lyman and Henry spend lots of time doing things with each other and enjoy every

minute that they are together. In “The Red Convertible,” a main motif of the story is love.

Lyman and Henry make many memories together with their car and enjoy every minute

they spend together. “Some people hang on to details when they travel, but we didn’t let

them bother us and just lived our everyday lives here to there” (242). Even after Henry

returned home with PTSD, the two enjoyed one last time in the red convertible. “The trip

over there was beautiful. When everything starts changing, drying up, clearing off, you feel

like your whole life is starting. Henry felt it, too. The top was down, and the car humped

like a top” (246). Lyman and Henry didn’t think about the way things had been since Henry
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returned, they lived in the moment and enjoyed their time together just like old times. They

live in the moment and cherish having the other with them.

Erdrich uses the literary element of foreshadowing throughout “The Red

Convertible.” From the first paragraph of the story, she writes, “I owned that car along with

my brother Henry Junior. We owned it together until his boots filled with water on a windy

night and he bought out my share” (241). Henry’s boots filling with water is the major

example of foreshadowing in the story. Henry’s boots filling with water foreshadows his

death in the river, and Henry buying out Lyman’s share foreshadows the car no longer

being Lyman’s. Another main example of foreshadowing in the story is Lyman describing

how he walks everywhere, and Henry owning the car now. “Now Henry owns the whole

car, and his youngest brother Lyman (that’s myself), Lyman walks everywhere he goes”

(241). Henry owning the “whole car,” refers to Henry dying, and Lyman driving the car

into the river and letting it sink at the end of the story; which leads to Lyman having to

walk everywhere since he no longer has the car. When Henry dies, the car goes with him,

symbolizing the end of the bond between Lyman and Henry.

The color red is often associated with emotions and feelings. It is seen as the color

of: love, anger, passion, adventure, and many others (“The Meanings of Red”). The
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convertible that Lyman and Henry own in “The Red Convertible” happens to associate

with both the color red, and the emotions and feelings that Lyman and Henry have with not

just each other, but with the car as well. The color red symbolizes the motif of love,

bonding, and passion between the car, Lyman, and Henry. Erdrich chooses the color red

for the convertible for this reason, knowing that it will help show the theme and emotions

of the story.

“The Red Convertible” is a story of bonding and love between brothers, shown

through symbolization and foreshadowing. The car itself symbolizes the bond and love that

Lyman and Henry share with each other, and with the car. Meanwhile, the color red

symbolizes the emotions that the car carries between itself and the two brothers; love and

passion. Even though Henry’s PTSD changed him drastically, the two brothers were able

to reignite their bond one last time through the red convertible; which came to end just like

Henry’s life, and the brother’s bond.

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Works Cited

Erdrich, Louise. “The Red Convertible.”

“Red: The Meanings of Red.” Colormatters.com, J.L. Morton.

https://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/red

“PTSD: National Center for PTSD.” Ptsd.va.gov, U.S.

Depart of Veterans Affairs, 3 October 2016. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-

overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp

Valentine, Tom. “Vietnam War Draft.” Thevietnamwar.info, The Vietnam War, 25 July 2013.

https://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-draft/

“Vietnam War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, LLC.

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history