TOPIC:  Select Henry in “The Red Convertible” OR the young boy in “Araby” and discuss how the setting functions in the story to influence or develop the character.  Be specific in the function used and the development of character–do not narrate.  You must use textual references to support your ideas.

Student 1

“The Red Convertible” is set during the time period of the Vietnam War and also has a shifting physical setting of Lyman and Henry traveling through places like Montana, Canada, and Alaska, before eventually returning home to their reservation. The constantly changing setting at the beginning of the story does well to show what life is like for the brothers before Henry is drafted. Henry is adventurous, friendly, and playful. It is early that Lyman remarks, “Then my brother Henry did something funny. He went up to the chair and said, ‘Jump on my shoulders.’ So she did that, and her hair reached down past his waist, and he started twirling, this way and that, so her hair was flung out from side to side.” (106). The story uses setting not only to show Henry’s carefree and joyous attitude, but to also show how well he gets along with people, like Susy and Lyman.

When Henry is drafted and suffers the horrors of war and imprisonment, he becomes a changed man. Trauma from the destruction he’s seen and the violence he’s endured has forever shaped him in to a quiet, reserved, and restless person. “He’d always had a joke, then, too, and now you couldn’t get him to laugh,…” (107). Going from enjoying a pleasant and fun atmosphere to being thrown in to an entirely different world full of constant dangers has forever left its mark on Henry. His changes are felt by everyone around him, “They got to leaving him alone most of the time, and I didn’t blame them. It was a fact: Henry was jumpy and mean.” (108). The fact that the family lives on a reservation restricts Henry’s access to quality mental healthcare. Lyman explains, “There were no Indian doctors on the reservation,…” (108-109). Lyman also further explains, “We were afraid that if we brought Henry to a regular hospital they would keep him.” (109). Their access to any kind of quality healthcare being quite limited, Henry’s situation is never allowed to truly be treated because of the limitations of his environment. If Henry had never been drafted, he likely would have stayed largely unchanged, just like Lyman. We see that he still has parts of his old self, a desire and nostalgia to travel with his brother once again in the red convertible. Lyman notes that, “The trip over there was beautiful. When everything starts changing, drying up, clearing off, you feel like your whole life is starting. Henry felt it, too.” (112). The change in setting to familiar, beautiful scenery has a positive effect on Henry, at least temporarily until the tragic conclusion. Their adventure though several states and some of Canada had an ultimately beneficial effect on Henry, it gave him good memories and highlighted the brighter parts of his personality, but the Vietnam war and his home reservation ultimately crushed his entire being and overpowered any hope for a return to old times.

student 2

In the story, The Red Convertible the author uses the setting as a focal point to reflect Henry as a character and put insight into his experiences. At the beginning of the story, the author makes the setting a reservation. Being In a reservation is a significant part of who Henry is because reservations tend to be seen as decrepit, neglected, and usually hopeless. However, Henry goes against what the Reservation symbolizes and is a happy and cheerful person. With this, we can infer that Henry is someone that can look past the bad things in life such as the reservation, and continue to have a smile on his face. But, another part of the setting is the period which is the post-Vietnam war. After the Vietnam war Henry is no longer this happy and joyful person. It is insinuated that Henry developed PTSD due to joining the war. Thus we can say that because of the time period it remolded Henry’s perspective of life and made him a shell of his past self. A great example of how the setting was used to develop and give a deeper meaning to Henry was when he was driving after the war. It states “It was spring…The trip over there was beautiful. The river was high and full of winter trash when we got there. The sun was still out, but it was colder by the river.” The season stated is an example of how the author uses it to reflect upon the mental state of Henry. The season is used for the setting but also as symbolism. Spring means life and going back to how things were back in the past. So during spring, Henry looked like he was going back to normal. However, the reality was that he was still living in the winter. Winter symbolizes something frozen, not wanting to change and barren. This connects with Henry because he went from this “spring” feeling to a “winter” feeling at the end of the story. Thus showing that Henry can never go past his trauma and that he is frozen in place due to his PTSD.