"Love in L.A." vs. "The Red Convertible" - Compare and Contrast

The stories "Love in L.A." and the "Red Convertible" compares and contrasts in a couple ways. In both stories the car is used to progress through problems and to start problems. The setting, plot, characters, and other factors make both stories have common features and differ. Jake in the "Love in L.A." and Henry from "Red Convertible" both compare dramatically, though they contrast also. Settings in both short stories differ from country to city. In both stories the car causes conflict but also bring the characters together.

In "Love in L.A.", Jake crashes into another car. This causes a huge conflict between him and a fine looking women named Mariana. Jake flirts with Mariana and lies to her to keep her mind off of the car damage. Mariana seems to be flattered but Jake is only interested in getting away clean. He hands all false information to her. Now I feel that Jake can be compared to Henry in "The Red Convertible". Henry is the older brother between him and Lyman. Henry is drafted in Vietnam and is shaken up badly. He is not himself anymore. He acts very strange until Lyman destroys the car that the two cherished. Henry fixes the car back up and seems to be almost normal again. Henry only lied to his family by acting normal. He goes insane and drowns himself in the lake. I compare Jake and Henry by the lies they both told. They contrast by the lies being told in two different forms. Jake lied through being sly and persuasive and Henry lied through acting normal.

The setting in both short stories compare in the time era. In the story "Love in L.A." the era was not mentioned, but Jake was driving a 1958 Buick. That being the only clue to what the time period this is taking place, one can only assume. In the "Red Convertible" Henry was drafted into Vietnam. This means the time period was 1970. Both stories are close to being the same time. The differences in the setting are in location. "The Red Convertible" takes place on an Indian reservation in the Idaho/ Montana region. Jake in "Love in L.A." was cruising down the freeway in L.A. L.A. is a very crowded, and city like area.

The plot of both stories is similar in certain ways. Jake and Henry both feel bad after their experience. Henry feels the need for suicide. Jake doesn't quite feel that bad about him self but feels pity for what he has done. Lyman and Mariana are both cheated by the partnering character. Lyman is cheated through lies and lost life of his brother. Mariana is cheated through lies as well and is now stuck with false information. Jakes experience though was much different then Henry's. Jake had to only deal with a small fender bender which was easily settled. Henry had to deal with the pain of seeing people dieing and suffering along with serious mental issues.

Both stories had it comparisons and differences. With the Henry committing suicide at the end and Jake just feeling like a scumbag, it shows that characters deal with issues very differently. The seriousness and significance of these issues contrasted greatly, but little similarities like the way characters acted and locations were able to be compared.