Literary analysis

In the short story, "The Red Convertable," there are two brothers who find a convertable on the side of the road and spontaniously decide to buy it. They both loved the car and went on many trips together. They spent an entire summer just driving around the country. More importantly, when Stephan was suffering from post tramatic stress the car was what brought him back to his old self. Stephan and Marty experianced many exciting and happy memories do to this peice of technology. The red convertable gave them freedom and adventure therefore they were able to experience true happiness. According to Thoreau, this happiness that the two brothers experinced was single handedly due to the freedom and self reliance that the car gave them. The two brothers had no worries, and experienced life as it came to them. The two brothers “just lived our everyday lives here to there.”(136) They did not care that they were on a trip; they went with the flow. There was no money to worry about, no appointment to attend, and no one to impress. This freedom allows them to truly enjoy life and the company of eachother and the car. For example, Marty was sitting in the shade of a willow tree and, “it was comfortable. So comfortable. The branches bent down all around me like a tent or a stable. And quiet, it was quiet.”(136) The solitude that the brothers had under the tree was due to the freedom that the car gave them. He was able to feel peaceful because of the lack of worries and responsibilities that they had on the trip. Stephan and Marty were able to experience happiness and pleasure from each other and from their trip because of this peice of technology. If they had planned a route to go on then they would be constantly comparing their trip to their planned trip to see if they were “on schedule.” However, by having no cares about where they are and when they are there, the two brothers are able to truly experience the beauty of life and be carefree. The car was not just a tool but a part of their lives by allowing the brothers to be where they want and when they want with no worries.

The red convertible was not just a machine that got them from one place to another but an important character of the story that gave them adventure, bonding, and peace. The adventure that they experienced was all due to the car. The car allowed them to be free from their home on the Chippewa reservation. It took them many places, for example almost the entire state of Montana and even up to Alaska for a while. One thing was certain where ever they went it was always better than the last place. The two brothers always traveled “on to greener pastures.”(137) Leaving one place was never sad for the two brothers because they knew that as that chapter ended a new one would start. This amazing adventure that man and machine went on together brought each one of the three closer together. The car was at the center of the brothers bond. This became evident at the end of the short story when Stephan was experiencing post traumatic stress. Marty decided the only way to reverse the effects of the war was to remind him of his former happy days with the red convertible. However, one cannot just jump back into a memory, Stephan needed to get reacquainted with the car just like old friends. Therefore, Marty took a hammer to the car and destroyed it so he could fix it up. After working on the car day in and day out, Stephan started to become himself again. The ultimate success came when Stephan said to Marty, “Lets take that old shitbox for a spin.”(141) It was just like the adventures they shared before the war. The two brothers would finally be back together and enjoying each others company like before. They start to casually talk at the river and when they start arguing about the car Stephan finally laughs. “For some reason this cracks me up and so we’re really laughing for a while then, and then we drink all the rest of the beers one by one and throw them into the river to see how far the current takes them,”(144) This shows their carefree lifestyle is back and they are just enjoying one another’s company. It goes to show that the car can be more than a tool for transportation. The Red Convertible was not only a character that helped the brothers experience true happiness and adventure, but a symbol of brother hood and bonding. When Stephan and Marty are finally happy again, Stephan decides to go for a swim in the rising river. He ends up drowning and Marty cannot do anything about it. He decides that since his bonding with Stephan, and his good times with Stephan were over, it was necessary to kill the car too. It says, “The wires short out. It is all finally dark.”(145) The darkness is the car’s lights shorting out and as the car dies so does the relationship between Marty and Stephan because Stephan literally is dead. Marty could never have taken the car and used it all by himself. It was always their car; there were many instances were the two brothers tried to give the car to one another but they were never successful. This was the one thing that brought them together. The car furthermore symbolized this bonding of Stephan and Marty. Now that Stephan is gone, Marty’s adventures and bonding with him are over. As a result the car is gone. The car is much more than technology and a way to get from point a to point b. It can be something that gives happiness, adventure, or bonding.