Essay Questions

Explain the complex symbolism of the red convertible.

The red convertible begins as a symbol of the brothers' youthful innocence and preoccupation with the joys and thrills of life. They buy the sparkling, gleaming vehicle on a whim while traveling through town, and in the age of the red convertible, they live on whims, traveling across the country wherever the wind might take them, even driving a random girl all the way up to Alaska. The shine of the car represents their vague hopes and dreams, taking them to far-away, wonderful locations.

When Henry goes off to war, however, the car's symbolism begins to shift. It still represents youthful innocence, but now the brothers are growing up. Lyman devotes much of his time to maintaining the car, which has the added meaning of working to maintain his innocent dreams and way of life, perhaps longer than he should. He is trying to preserve the car for Henry upon his return, which also carries a deeper meaning: he wants Henry to keep into adulthood the youthful qualities he used to exhibit as a teenager.

When Henry returns, however, he has no interest in the dreams of a teenager, having been traumatized by the horrors of war. Accordingly, he avoids the car until he realizes that it has been damaged, and then he puts in much effort to restore it to its former glory. This is wishful thinking, however, as the reader finds out when Henry takes it on a ride and tells Lyman that it was only for him. On that trip, Harry jumps into the river and presumably drowns, and Lyman sends the car into the river after him. The sinking of the car to the bottom of the river demonstrates the finished evolution of the car's symbolism: now it only represents the death of youthful innocence and the remembrance of tragedy.

Explain Lyman's reaction to the picture of Henry.

After Henry fixes up the car, he invites Lyman to take a ride with him. Bonita, their younger sister, takes a picture of the occasion for them to remember. On the trip, however, Henry throws himself into the river, and Lyman sends the convertible to the bottom of the river as well. Later, looking back on the picture, Lyman has various reactions. At some point after the fact, he tacks the picture up on his wall to remember Henry, since at that time he says he "felt good about Henry at the time, close to him" (111). Some time later, however, Lyman sees the picture as accusatory and pessimistic, revealing a side of Henry he doesn't want to dwell on. He might feel guilty about his role in Henry's death, or might simply want to remember Harry as he was before the war - regardless of his motivation, Lyman wraps the picture up and stows it in his closet.