The Red Convertible

The Red Convertible In the criticism by Pratima Dutta “Erdrich's the Red Convertible” she presented valid arguments that Louise Erdrich, the author of the story “The Red Convertible”, is a nationalist of the Native American culture despite her frequent use of symbols of the western civilization in the text of the story. Pratima claimed that the tragedy of Henry was in his inability to resist the influence of the western civilization, though she failed to address contradictory evidence in the story “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, that makes Pratima's claims less convincing and weak. In the story “The Red Convertible” the narrator's voice belongs to Lyman Lamartine who describes his relationships with his brother Henry and their ownership of the red convertible Oldsmobile that served as a reflector of their relationships in a certain period of time throughout the whole story. Louise Erdrich has built the plot of the story around the red convertible Oldsmobile, that was in the spotlight both in the very beginning of the story and in the end, and she had very good reasons for it.

Pratima Dutta wrote in her criticism piece that, “The red convertible, although extremely western in its resonance, is the only native link between Lyman and Henry” (121). Her statement precisely highlights the importance of the red convertible in the story and it's significance to the both brothers Lyman and Henry. The red convertible had a great influence not only on the lives of both brothers, it also had a great value for the author of the “The Red Convertible” Louise Erdrich. She grew up near Sioux Indian reservation and was raised in between the western and Native American philosophies of life, which she deeply incorporated into her stories, so deeply, that even Pratima Dutta stated that, “According to the Native American critics, she is not a true Native American writer and does no justice to Native American storytelling traditions. Erdrich has also been