Short Story

During a dinner, Uncle Harvey read the letter his brother had left. There, was written that six thousand dollars were in the basement and many properties were given to Peter’s brothers

In the short story “The Rich Brother,” Tobias Wolff presents two brother who seem as polar opposites. One brother is wealthy and successful while the other brother is poor and alone. With the many examples of how Donald is reliant on Pete, it seems Pete in no way needs Donald. However, throughout the story Tobias Wolff illustrates that even though Donald and Pete are brothers who are completely different from one another, both depend highly on each other.

With the stranger dead, the people of the community help themselves to his cheques. Money begins to exchange hands as goods are bought and deals are made. The progress of economic development comes to the village. No one is afraid to dig up the money that they have saved because as soon as the cheques are cashed there will be no worries, and the town can continue to "prosper." But as every man meditates on their "two of these excellent billets," they begin to feel that "they were too rich to speak to each other" (71, 72). Conflict grows between one-time friends as they argue over what is to be bought and sold. Greed has come to town with the artist and his witch's money.

The man said, “I was following you around, because we didn’t know where we were going. We thought you looked like you knew where you were going. I didn’t mean to scare. Every time I started to approach you to ask you for help, you ran away.”

Tom Walker sat at his bedside feeling rather melancholy for he had not much to do but be chided at by his notorious witch of a wife. They both lived in their humble abode of an apartment in the middle of a city but they had a sublime view that overlooked the scenery of the domicile's dumpsters. They lived poorly, just barely getting by to afford a couple gallons of gas. Tom grew a hatred for almost everyone around and had only a handful of “friends”, he believed that money was the most valuable and important thing in his life.

However, the story “The Rich Brother”, emphasizes that Pete is rich with a job in real state while Donald is jobless and is trying new things. Money has been a struggle for the youngest brother and depends on his brother, he doesn’t pay the money back. Pete doesn’t deny him money because he tries to help Donald not fall behind. One reason that Pete is furious at Donald is that he can’t save his money and gives it away to a stranger. Pete and Donald struggle to understand each other because they have different lives and standards. Pete is classified as high-class and Donald low-class, both are from diverse category

In Tobias Wolff’s short story, “The Rich Brother”, two brothers living completely different lives reunite when Donald’s car breaks down, and the wealthier of the two Pete, invites him to stay at his house. Not only is Pete a kind, sensible person but he is wealthy, married, has a sustainable job, two daughters, a sailboat, and a house near the ocean. Compare this to Donald, someone who owes Pete a lot of money, settles for what he can afford, and is always on the move, and Pete is the richer of the two brothers.

Pete being the rich brother, could not see that what he thought to be a dream, may not be everyones dream. Donald’s dream was to become very spirititual and to find the fate of his soul. Pete did not want to understand Donald’s point of view, because he thought it was less than worth his time. In Pete eyes, helping his brother had become a burden, and he just wanted to be done with him all together. Greed had become the face of Pete.

Using money that was embezzled from his father's firm, he checks himself into a fine hotel to live this life long dream. He wraps himself up in all the luxury that he knew would one day come to him. He dressed himself in fine clothes, ate in the dining hall, and went out on a night on the town with a college boy that he met. The atmosphere of living grandly unfortunately collided with the thought of going back to Cordelia Street when his money ran out.

Pete’s business life compels him to be smart, materialistic, and self-centered, while Donald “drifted from church to church, then joined a Pentecostal community that met somewhere in the Mission District to sing in tongues and swap prophecies” (Wolff 1). To put it differently, Donald is obsessed with the fate of his soul and has never held a job; therefore, he does not consider himself responsible for helping his brother or even saving the money he gives him. For example, when a man named Webster joins the brothers later in the story, he tells them how he found a gold mine in Peru and is selling shares. Donald irresponsibly gives Webster Pete’s money without asking him, and Pete reacts by saying, “A hundred dollars. Gone. Just like that. I worked for that money, Donald.’ ‘I know, I know,’ Donald said. ‘You don’t know! How could you? You get money by holding out your hand’” (Wolff 10). Donald’s humanitarian and spiritual society negatively affects his responsibility towards his brother whose money he gives away to Webster who might potentially be a liar. On the other hand, Pete is more aware when encountering strangers and more careful with money because his society forces him to be a reliable, responsible

In Tobias Wolff’s short story “The Rich Brother,” there is a focus on the character of Pete. The older brother of Donald, the polar opposite of Pete, shows his character throughout the story. Pete, perceived as a successful individual by standards of society, is frivolous with his earnings. He and his wife own a franchise in Santa Cruz, California. Along with their franchise, Pete and his wife own a home near the ocean and have two daughters. However, Donald possesses nor wishes to possess any of these extravagant items. Understanding Pete’s personality shows through the differences of the brothers. Throughout the story, Pete’s true character reveals his ingenuity. Pete’s character shows through his selfish actions and condescending thoughts

Words in the English language can have numerous definitions and connotations; the term rich is no different than the rest. The first definition most people think of when they hear the word "rich" is having loads of money, which is exactly what Pete has in “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff. This definition of rich and the title of the story lead many readers to assume that Pete is rich and his brother Donald is poor, but this is not necessarily the case. A person can also be rich because they supply a large amount of something that is needed, such as love or forgiveness. After further analysis and a different view of the definition of “rich,” it is discovered that Donald is in fact, the rich brother, not the monetarily rich Pete.

One sunny day on the busy streets of Chicago, a homeless man walked down the sidewalks scowling at nearby street peddlers. He went by the name of Richard Walker, better known as Rich, which was very ironic. He walked down the sidewalks through different people, catching sections of their conversation. “Look at Rich! Don’t give that old homeless man any money!” Although Rich was well used to it, didn’t mean he took it lightly at all.

Perowne realizes that he is in a palce in his life due the repetition of his own life, his parents were well rounded adults, they promoted cleanliness and education. Which allowed Henry Perowne to excel in his life. Along with this he realizes that the street sweeper and others alike them are in this place due to one thing leading to another. He may have been raised in a not well-off family, or maybe he is the slight variation within the family- maybe the rest of his family is extremely successful whilst he maintains as a street sweeper. Perowne can acknowledge these differences in environments, he is willing to put himself in the street sweepers shoes, and feel his underwhelming success, however, he ultimately acknowledges that it is not his place.

He had clearly heard I was easy prey and he swooped in for the kill. Seth was the typical rich boy. His parents worked long hours and as a result, their son was a stuck-up little snot. Every girl had a crush on the tall, blond-haired sleaze but he rarely tied up his loose ends, most of his relationships crashing and burning. He came up to me, asking me if I wanted to come over. He said he would give me a few bucks for a small price.