Kryhoski is currently working as a freelance writer. In this essay, Kryhoski considers Erdrich's work in relation to the author's heritage.

On the surface, Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible" is definably tragic. A closer examination of the story, however, reveals a work mirroring Erdrich' s background. Influences of a catholic upbringing abound, yet the body of the work is steeped in Anishinaabe tradition. These influences, in tandem, paint a different picture for the reader. With a little research into Erdrich's past, the reader uncovers a work with a spiritual, vibrant quality in the guise of what is really not a tragedy at all.

Fundamentally, the structure of "The Red Convertible" is in keeping with an oral tradition. Although the narrator (Lyman) clearly identifies himself in the first paragraph of the work, his account maintains an oral quality. Lyman's narrative follows a pattern Nancy Peterson, in her work...