The Convertible: An Introduction
The author mentions a title at the beginning of the novel that piques the reader's attention. This is when the person reading the piece asks himself/herself questions about the object being referred to as convertible. Many objects, in terms of their forms and appearances, may be adapted or transformed. Furthermore, simply mentioning the subject's color conjures up a slew of images in the reader's imagination as he or she tries to sort out what might not only be convertible but also read in color. The author also tells the reader about Henry's younger brother Lyman in the first line, which adds to the tension. Before continuing to the next line which does the elaboration, readers find themselves inquiring about who the younger brother is and the connection he may be having to the two. The text revolves around the car and the impact it had on the lives of both the author and his brother, Henry.
Questioning the Narrator's Money
Also, at the beginning of the second paragraph, there is the question that the writer poses making an inquiry into how he may have gotten the money to make a purchase of his shares of the vehicle. “How did I earn enough money to buy my share in the first place?(103)” Instead of delving directly into the answer to the same, he creates another suspense by stating that his talent was always making money which does not suffice to fit the question he posed. It is apparent that one’s talent cannot be merely making money but engaging in an activity they may be talented in to get money. “My one talent was I could always make money (103).” The story is about the way in which the narrator lived his life, the items he owned, and the people that were in his life inclusive of the way in which they used to relate. However, the central theme on which the narration is based is how the red car was linked to the narrator, his brother, and the friends they had in the course of their lives.
The Narrator's Peculiar Perspective
In most cases, the narrator refers to himself in the story as though he was just someone else or rather an eye-witness to the instances being described. This gives the implication that he finds it quite difficult to make himself a part of the story he's narrating, which serves to pose more questions. Often people are happy to recount stories and enjoy being the center of the story as it is about their lives. “Now Henry owns the whole car, and his brother Lyman (that’s myself)...(103)” There are instances in the story that the person feels ashamed to talk about, which is the reason as to why he talks about himself as if he were just another person altogether. Take the case of losing ownership of the car after Henry, who happened to be his elder brother, bought all the shares of the car even the ones that were owned by the narrator. In so doing, the narrator lost his rights to the vehicle, thus making him walk wherever he went as opposed to the prior case where he would hop into the vehicle and drive to the preferred destination. “Lyman walks everywhere he goes (103).”
The Irony of Money and Loss
It is ironical that the narrator brags about his capability to make money, which he continually calls a talent yet he loses possession of the only thing he ever valued because of money. Lyman feels terrible that he lost ownership of a car yet in the same narration he talks about how he was lucky and knew ways to make money. He employs countermeasures to make the loss of the vehicle less painful by explaining how they first bought the car. He uses imagery to form images of the things he is describing; when making descriptions regarding the car, he gives vivid descriptions that make the readers feel as though they are envisioning the object he is talking about. He also speaks of the instant where he and his brother met a girl in Montana. “All her hair was in burns around her ears (106).” By so saying, the person reading the text feels as though they are seeing the girl by themselves and not through the narrator’s eyes.
Humor and Similes
Also, there is humor in the text. In giving the description of the girl they had met by the roadside in Montana, he uses her physical appearance to make her look somewhat funny to look at; “That girl was short, so short her lumber shirt looked comical on her, like a nightgown (106).” Just by reading this part, there is not only the formation of the image of the girl but also the urge to laugh at the girl’s appearance. However, the use of the word "like" in the above-quoted piece of text indicates that the author also applied similes.
