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Intellect verses Emotion,

Historical Breadth Through Empathy, Interaction and a Call to Action

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

ponderings occurring in O’Brien’s story.

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
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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.

O’Brien’s itemizes a preponderance of artifacts of the period compared to Erdrich’s scant

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
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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

story it intends to be comprehended intellectually by “bringing quiet thought to the subject.”

(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
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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

the end of his story.

Ultimately the impact or impression of America during wartime is experienced more

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

Erdrich, Louise. “The Red Convertible.” Hirschberg and Hirschberg. 113–19.

Hirschberg, Stuart and Terry Hirschberg, eds. Discovering the Many Worlds of Literature. New

York: Pearson Longman, 2004. 112 & 628. Print.

“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.

Web. 30 Jan. 2011.