This story is set on a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota during the 1970’s. "When I was fifteen, I got a job washing dishes at the Joliet Cafe,and that was where my first big break came" ( Erdrich 1). Then, Lyman went about managing and soon became part owner and of course there was no stopping him. Lyman has received a large insurance check after a tornado destroyed his restaurant. Henry, however, had two checks a week 's extra pay for being laid off, and from the Jewel Bearing Plant. "Two week 's extra pay for being laid off, and from his regular check from Jewel Bearing Plant" ( Erdrich 2). Even though they couldn 't afford a road trip. They still managed to have the money to go on one. "We had just enough money for gas back home" ( Erdrich 2). The two brothers, Henry and Lyman, purchase a classic car together. They traveled everywhere in this automobile. Soon enough the summer was over and they were back where they started, “…Just in time, it turned out, for the army to remember Henry had signed up to join it.” ( Erdrich 128). They travel all summer long. When Henry was stationed in Khe Sanh Lyman wrote to him just so he could be informed about the car. " I wrote him back several times. I kept him informed all about the car" ( Erdrich 4). He noticed that something was wrong with his brother Henry. "I 'll say this, the change was no good. You could …show more content…
In Sonny Blues, all Sonny wants is for his brother to accept him and understand what he is going through. The reason in which he made those poor decisions. Throughout the entire story, Sonny cries for the affection of his brother. "that 's what 's the trouble. You walked the streets, black and funky and cold, and there 's not really a living ass to talk to, and there 's nothing shaking, and there 's no way of getting it out-the storm inside. You can 't talk it and you can 't make love with it and when you finally tried toget with it, and when you finally try to get with it and play it, you realize nobody 's listening. So you 've got to listen. You got to find a way to listen" (Baldwin 381). In my opinion, that 's the narrator’s biggest mistake. On the hand, in The Red Convertible, Lyman has his brother by his side. Then, his brother was drafted to go to war. When he came back from the war he wasn 't the same person. Lyman desperately tried to find a way to bring back his old brotherly connection. Lyman intention was to damage the automobile, so that his brother Henry would have no choice but to fix it. Henry Finally understood that what Lyman was trying to do was get his attention. Since Henry was alone during the time he was at war he knew how it feels. In the two stories