Red Convertible by OConnor and Guests of the Nation by Erdrich - Essay Example

Red Convertible by O’Connor and Guests of the Nation by ErdrichPeople from different parts of the word have gone similar struggles during tough times such as war time. There are differences among the different cultures that are part of America and their native lands in which many current American citizens came from. Two cultures which struggled in the past different battles are the Irish people and the American Indian cultures. Two stories about the lives of two cultures of these two groups are Red Convertible by O’Connor and Guests of the Nation by Erdrich (1984).

Red Convertible is about the Indian soldiers affected by war and Irish soldiers in Irish struggle for independence against the England. These stories are analyzed in this essay along with the current status of the Indian American culture. The story the Red Convertible talks about the experiences of two Indian brothers one summer prior to one of the going to war. The story focus on the experience these two adventurers had with a red convertible which was the first convertible car to arrive at their reservation.

The red convertible to them was a symbol of freedom and let them escape from the struggle their people were facing. It provides insight into the tribal lifestyle and how these two learned to enjoy the simpler things in life such as nature, family, culture and loyalty. Following that summer one of the brothers went to war. He struggled with psychological problems and could not cope with everyday life after he came back as damaged goods from the war. The brother tried to sheer his sibling up by restoring the red convertible, but to no avail.

War left scars in his which could not be repaired.The second story dealt with Irish army platoons and how the war can create friendships and destroy life and how these memories can last a lifetime. The story centers around a small group of Irish soldiers and a couple of English soldier prisoners under their care. For months they lived together in a shack sharing stories and becoming weird friends even though they were enemies. The stories goes in detail about the struggles these people went through during the war and how by sharing each other lives the men took compassion and understood what each other was enduring.

In the end despite the relationship these people had build the Irish soldiers were forced to kill the English prisoners who had become their friends under order from their superiors. These stories showed the type of struggle different cultures have gone through under tough situations. The similarities between lies in that despite the culture the people belong too war devastated their lives. True human emotion and hope was seeing when the brothers shared time and when the enemy soldiers communicated with each other and spoke about their lives.

The Indian culture in today era is still facing many challenges. Poverty and subhuman condition was part of the struggle the stories described. In the Indian Reservation of Pine Ridge Ogala Lakota life is very tough. The people are living on a median salary of under $3,500, 85% unemployment and 97% of the families are under the federal poverty line (Linkcenterfoundation, 2006). These Indians keep themselves alive and are able to enjoy due to their rich culture, their faith and their family unity; traits which help their ancestors and other people from other cultures survive in the past.