Brotherly Love

The short story, "The Rich Brother," by Tobias Wolff represents the same concept that everyday people all over the world encounter. This portrays how having siblings can be an enormous part of a persons life. The rivalry between siblings is often very competitive, but at the same time similar to magnets. When they are not connected it may seem they are independent and whole, but when examined closely it is obvious they are really relying on each other to function properly. Although Pete and Donald's life are separate and completely different, they are in fact very dependent on each other.

What causes sibling rivalry can be many different things. I know firsthand about sibling rivalry. I have a younger brother name Christian. He is seventeen and a junior in High school. We fight like cats and dogs. Even though he is six foot one, we still try to wrestle. When I come home from college on the weekends, my brother and I will go out and do something. Most of the times we go out to eat. Christian and I have a connection between the two of us that no matter where the other person is we will still fight with each other. Then we will be best friends the next day. No matter what we are doing, we both have our own opinions about things. However, coming from a divorced family puts a strain on my brothers and my relationship. Neither of us wants to hurt either of our parent’s feelings in anything we say or do. So instead of our fighting with our parents, my brother and I take it out of each other. There are three things that cause sibling rivalry. First off, fighting for the parent’s attention is something that happens with all siblings. Secondly, fighting with the other sibling. My brother and I fight all the time, but at the end of the day, we both love each other. The last thing that causes sibling rivalry is comparing one another.

Today in America, an estimated 80% of the population has at least one sibling. While it is true that no two families are identical, the relationship between siblings plays a central role in their development and growth. Younger siblings for example, might be prone to mimic the actions of their older siblings, viewing their older siblings as faultless and heroic figures. On the other hand, older siblings are often viewed as authority figures and are seldom questioned. They might develop as friends with an inseparable bond or as bitter rivals seeking supremacy over the others. Regardless of the nature of their relationship, siblings that share a household are forced to interact with each other more than any other friend or family member. Sibling

There are many rivalries between siblings and Everyday Use by Alice Walker teaches us this. For example, in the short story, the narrator states that “This churn top is what I need” (pg 1318). Dee thinks she deserves everything. When she wants something, she gets it because she thinks she is the favored child. Parents often favor one of their kids and get them whatever they want while the others have to sit and watch the mom and dad care about that kid more than them. According to Spratling, the negative consequences of the family favorites are more common in politicians and athletes. Sometimes favoring a child can have positive affects on that child, but then cause them to feel bad for their siblings.

One can say my relationship with my sister is umm... complicated; one minute we’re fine and the next we want to rip out each others eyeballs. But yet, so many other siblings are like that too, so my sister and I are nothing spectacularly out of the ordinary. In fact, one can say we have a healthy sibling relationship, because of this weird love-hate complex. One great example of an average sibling relationship comes from Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, where Jem and Scout Finch have a very iconic sibling relationship. My relationship with my sister is extremely similar to Jem and Scout’s relationship.

There was also a time when my younger sister came after me with a kitchen knife, which I figure evens the score for me attempting to asphyxiate her with a pillow when I was about five or six. With absolute astonishment, my parents, after 2 brief periods of separation and even acquiring divorce papers, re-discovered their love for one another and are now one of the happiest and most secure couples I know. Even my sister and myself get along great now, often confiding in each other with our personal issues.

The fights we had throughout the years, the late conversations about life and the little inside jokes that we have are the foundation of who I am today. They give those little quirks, they give me the feistiness and zip to my personality. They make me, me and I thank them for that. When I look back on the arguments and the fights I laugh because I think about where we are today and how funny we would find the situations. Without my sister's I wouldn't know how I would be sane to this day. They keep me level headed and mindful of my actions. Even on those days that I'm mad at them or their mad at me, I stop to think would my sisters be proud of this. Some days I even try a little harder most days and I see them falling off. Even though they don’t like to admit it they look up to me and I look up to them too. No matter how much we argue and fight our relationship has grown to where we have a respect for each that we know we only want the best for each other. We know that we wouldn't do anything to hurt each

Imagine having someone looking over you constantly. Well you do, and they are closer than you think. Other than your parents, if you have an older sibling they are doing this regularly in more ways than you think. A couple years ago I ran into this glass door on accident, so now every time I walk past a screen door my brother says ‘’Don’t forget to open it!’’ This is one way your sibling looks out for you. George may not have that kind of humor if Lennie messes up but he does just wanna protect Lennie. Older siblings may mess with you a lot but they just want to protect you from the world. For example George is very much like an older brother to Lennie.

When my siblings come to visit, my parent's attentions turns towards them and I feel like nobody really cares about me. Even though I would never actually sell my siblings, I sometimes wish that my parents would pay attention to me too. In everyday life, this theme of jealousy leading to hate and revenge is portrayed in movies, television shows, books, and our own individual

They are your competition, yet they support you. They are your enemy, yet when it comes down to it you end up fighting side by side. They hate you, yet love you more than words could say. Sibling relationships are among the most complicated and confusing things to understand. Complex sibling relationships are seen everywhere, whether you are reading or watching televison.

A sibling may help help you, but some have a special way of doing it. This is like the relationship between Darry and Ponyboy in S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. The Outsiders is about 3 boys, Darrold, Sodapop, and Ponyboy, and their friends as well. These boys are what are known as Greasers: low income kids who mostly belong to broken households. They are enemies with the Socs: people who jump greasers, and are the exact opposite of them.

Brotherly Love in The Unvanquished by William Faulkner Ringo and Bayard love each other like brothers despite not actually being brothers. The acted together in brothers in crime, in revenge, and in values. Both of them did everything together from a young age because they were raised together. The two of them stole mules, got revenge on men, and believed the same things because that is what brothers do. The only thing keeping them away from being actual brothers was their DNA.

Siblings influence development in a variety of ways by providing teaching and caregiving opportunities that result in greater cognitive, language, and psychosocial development in both older and younger siblings (Jenkins, 1989). Specifically, sibling relationships that depict a balance of nurturance and conflict have been found to provide children with learning opportunities that lead to greater perspective taking skills, different strategies to resolve conflict, as well as regulate their own emotions (Volling, McElwain, & Miller, 2002). For example, younger siblings have been found to be more socially skilled and have more positive peer relationships compared to children who lack the sibling experience (Volling et al., 2002).

“HEY!!! Leave that there, it’s not yours!!” I’ve hollered repeatedly since the day I started talking. No one understood why I always told my sister that, no matter what the object was, mine or hers, “It was always mine!” These are the things sister has put up with since the day I was born, from the crying to the walking, and now the talking. I never thought that we’d go days without one argument… but here we are, going weeks without an argument! Through those long nights spent doing homework, she was always there helping me with it. Who knew she would have this much patience with me?

In my family system, it is made up of my mother who is a widow; my father passed away at the age of 50 when I was only 16 years old. Then there is my brother David who is 28 years old. Although only two years younger than me, he is like the DNA replica of me, so much so that people get us confused with one another. While I have locs and he is completely bald people still get us mixed up (even members within our own family); we have gone the majority of adulthood telling people we are twins. Two years apart from my brother and four years younger than me is my 26-year-old sister Chanel. She is the baby of the family and the one we tend to walk a thin line with because she can flip out on us at the flick of a switch. When my brother and I discuss her random outbursts, we think she is just crazy but putting on my social worker