"The Red Convertible" is a story about love, loss, and identity. The main character, Lyman, is a Chippewa Native American living on a reservation with his family: Henry (his older brother), his mother, and Bonita (his younger sister). Lyman's love for his family, especially for his brother, is obvious throughout the story. He recounts the story of the red convertible, which comes to be a very important element (as one might guess from the title of the story). His gift for making money allows him to jointly buy a beautiful new red convertible from the dealership with Henry, allowing them to drive all over the country in their youthful, carefree innocence. The narrator's description of those days is wistful, wishing to relive the memories of contented, stress-free days of youth.
Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiking girl named Susy, whom they take to her home in Alaska. They stay with her family for a while, and the brothers have never felt freer. The episode of Susy releasing her hair and Henry twirling her around is important for Henry's storyline: at this point in his life, he is joyful and lighthearted, foreshadowing his eventual shift in character.
This scene is juxtaposed with the following events, during which Henry goes off to war, being forced to mature far too rapidly. While Harry is away, Lyman acts as if nothing is changing with his brother, writing him letters often and keeping their car in perfect condition, despite the fact that Henry tried to give the car entirely to him before his departure. Lyman's actions convey a clear message: he wants to keep things exactly the way they are. The symbol of the red convertible is in full effect here: while Henry is off at war, separated from his youthful innocence, Lyman is spending his time polishing it up, trying to keep it alive in the face of stark reality in order to allow Henry to share in it again.
When Henry returns, however, he has no interest in the car. He has become mean-spirited and bitter as a result of the war - symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). His youthful innocence has clearly been lost at this point; he spends most of his time in front of the TV, and his health is in such a state that his family debates taking him to a hospital. Nothing seems to interest him anymore. In desperation, Lyman bangs up their convertible and waits for Henry to notice, trying to get him interested in something active. Henry does notice eventually, and in anger he begins to fix up the car. At this point, Lyman sees a spark of Henry's former self - he does still have a desire to live as he did before the war, but he can no longer figure out how.
Henry finishes fixing the car and asks Lyman to take a ride with him, as they did before the war. Bonita takes a picture of them, which will come to haunt Lyman, as Henry's face already seemed depressed and unhappy. They go on the ride down to the river, but something is irrevocably different about the situation now. Henry isn't enjoying it like he used to, and as a result, Lyman isn't either. At the river, Henry breaks down and confesses that he doesn't know why he can't enjoy it anymore, revealing a deep-set depression. They start drinking and roughhousing, and Lyman catches a glimpse of the old Henry before Henry starts acting wildly and dives into the river. He seems to have a brief moment of realization before he is lost forever to the current. Lyman dives in after him but can't find him, and when he climbs back out, he sends the red convertible into the stream, representing his complete loss of youthful innocence. Now the sentence at the beginning of the story makes sense: Henry has bought out Lyman's share of the car and now owns it completely.
