In Louise Erdrich's short story, "The Red Convertible", she demonstrates how going to war has an effect on ones self. The main character, Lyman, has a younger brother named Henry who went off to war. When Henry came home after serving in the war, he was a changed man, not the same as before he left. And it was not a change for the good but rather a change for the bad. War does affect ones mental health and the affect it has on a family as a whole.
             In the beginning of the story the author shows how before Henry went to war, that his brother and him had a good relationship. They took a road trip together one summer in a red convertible that they had purchased together. They had a great summer, met a girl, and even took her to her home in Alaska where they would stay for awhile. After that summer they would return home in time for Henry to leave for the Army.
             Henry was gone from home for about three years. And in those three years Henry was changed dramatically, his brother explains, "When he came home, though, Henry was very different, and I'll say this: the change was no good." (237). The war took a toll on Henry. The mental anguish a war must put on ones self is great. Another comment Lyman makes shows how different he is, "But he was quiet, so quiet, and never comfortable sitting still anywhere but always up and moving around. I thought back to times we'd sat still for whole afternoons, never moving a muscle, just shifting our weight along the ground, talking to whoever sat with us, watching things." (237). Henry was now a lonely man, who sat alone not wanting to be bothered by anyone.
             How Henry was now after the war was hard for his family to deal with. They talked about taking him to a doctor but there were none on the reservation in which they lived. And there were afraid to take him to regular hospitals in fear that they would keep him. The only th
             ...