Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
The power of the government upon the lives of the characters in “If I Die in a Combat
Zone” by Tim O’Brien and “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich takes place during 1968–
1970. (115, 628) Both stories have protagonists that are used by the state for combat in the
Vietnam War. Although both authors were born in Minnesota, the stories’ cultural settings differ
greatly. (Hirschberg) O’Brien explicitly details the permutations of the war from a prairie town
through rhetorical introspection. The war is persistently front and center in every thought and
association. Erdrich’s drama focuses on the relationship between two brothers and their car. The
war is ancillary to their story and the social context of marginalized Native American Indians is
peripheral. The complexity, ambiguity and stress of that brief period of American history are
fully realized through the emotional impact of Erdrich’s dramatic story. The reader experiences
more empathy, interaction and a call to action with Erdrich’s characters than the intellectual
The comparison of the openings of the stories shows O’Brien’s character informing the
reader about war through presidential candidates, his induction notice, the merits of war and the
possible outcome for the Vietnamese. Erdrich’s character Lyman is describing his restaurant
work, the acquisition of the car and road trips with his brother. Lyman mentions that Henry’s
“boots filled with water on a windy night” (Erdrich 113) is an obscured mystery that
immediately hooks the interest of the reader. The car is personified with the description of it
being in “repose.” (Erdrich 114) Readers who have experienced the pride of ownership of a
vehicle identify with a car as a family member. The universal iconic image of the road trip
2
evokes joy and freedom and a general feeling of camaraderie. The reader is empathetically on the
road trip with the brothers. Engaging the reader with the events in the story is an act of
participation. Despite the casual and relaxing activities itemized in O’Brien’s opening the
protagonist’s overarching deliberation permeates everything and does not invite empathy easily.
Details of O’Brien’s activities are cursory or ancillary to the war topic and not intended to draw
in the reader. Intellectual philosophizing is unlikely to peak empathy in the reader. Erdrich has
engaged the reader to feel empathy for the characters including the car.
references. O’Brien’s listed items as the ambiguous political climate with the approaching
election, the uncertain purpose of the war, draft dodging, enthusiastic recruits, student protests
and the distinction between a liberal and a pacifist or preserving the order in a community are all
recognizable and topical. The reader picks them up and puts them down without further
involvement. When Erdrich reveals that Henry signed up for the army instead of being drafted,
the reader is compelled to reason why. This provokes the reader to recall what they know about
the character. This activity deepens the reader’s further interaction with the story. The reader
already knows Henry is out of work and has limited prospects. This can infer the coercive nature
of the military. Although not universally common knowledge, it comes as no surprise that the
U.S. government could be taking advantage of Henry’s tenuous position. The finding of a 1988
study of post-traumatic stress disorder specifically upon Native American Indians reinforces this
aspect. The Department of Veterans Affairs concluded in its study “American Indian Veterans
often joined the military as a way to obtain opportunities for education, jobs, and travel not
otherwise available to them.” (Matsunaga) The additional evilness of this exploitation connects
his allegiance to a nation that has perpetrated genocide against his race. This association captures
3
the immoral beginnings of the nation. The reader sympathizes with Henry’s doomed character
profile. This profile along with his indentured service is an indelible image of the history
depicted in the story and extends even further back in time. Henry’s unexplained enlistment
ended up as an enriched portrayal of political pressure. Erdrich enlisted the reader to complete
the picture with minimal but resonant hints. Erdrich has made the reader interact with the story.
Erdrich has also provided an inferred insight into the complex nature of military enlistment at the
time.
The protagonists in each story return from combat. O’Brien’s character continues to
ponder the meaning of it all. He doesn’t seem to be doing anything overtly different from the
beginning of the story. There are no strong definitive conclusions or lessons. As an essay like
(O’Brien 628) Last April on PBS NewsHour, author Tim O’Brien was interviewed for the 20th
anniversary of his book “The Things They Carried.” He says he was compelled to express what
it felt like to be “twenty one and in a war that he despised.” He spoke about writing during the
45-minute breaks after marches in wartime and knows that even if he had not submitted to the
draft he would have ended up writing about his experiences if he had fled to Canada. (Art Beat)
This seems to indicate that his propensity is to document. The provided information conveys the
full range and experience of a moment in time, but due to the near analytic essay style of
O’Brien’s story, the reader’s interaction with the material is limited. Introspection is done in
isolation. When contrasted against the drama of Erdrich’s story, its ending resonates with the
reader “feeling” the complex effects of the Vietnam War. This reverberation occurs because of
the reader’s empathy and the definitive concluding statement. The tragic suicide of Henry is
palpable. The reader is even provided with an experience of closure by finally finding out what
4
was meant by his foreshadowed watery boots. This knowledge of Henry gave the reader an
opportunity to walk in his shoes. Henry and the car dying together in the river evoke the phrase
“being sold down the river.” That phrase originates from slavery and implies betrayal. Although
a throwback to a previous era, it is also relevant to the unconscionable sacrifices made by its
citizens for its war. Erdrich has provoked a call to action. These are wrongs that need to be
corrected. Although O’Brien has clearly indicated that war is wrong, there is less indignation at
fully through dramatic hints rather than an abundance of direct references. The deep historical
significance of Erdrich’s tragedy encompasses more than the presented time period.
Works Cited
Hirschberg, Stuart and Terry Hirschberg, eds. Discovering the Many Worlds of Literature. New
“The Matsunaga Vietnam Veterans Project.” Psychological Trauma for American Indians Who
Served in Vietnam. Department of Veterans Affairs. 31 Jan. 2007. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
O’Brien, Tim. “If I Die in a Combat Zone.” Hirschberg and Hirschberg. 628–32.
“Tim O’Brien’s ‘The Things They Carried’ Turns 20.” Art Beat. PBS NewsHour. 28 Apr. 2010.