Essay on The Rich Brother by Tobias Wolff

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.

Despite the fact that it is depicted as the elder sibling is irritated with always saving his sibling he understands he cannot live without it. Pete, "He drove fast, hunched over the wheel, conscious of the way he was hunched and the shallowness of his breathing, refusing to look in the mirror above his head until there was nothing behind him but darkness" (Wolff 98). Pete cannot face seeing his sibling in his mirror since he would be compelled to turn around since he loves his sibling and stresses over his wellbeing. Pete battles with this since he can't live without him feeling that Donald is his obligation. Not at all like "The Rich Sibling," "Sonny's Blues" the older brother does not require the younger brother to always get into circumstances that powers him to play hero. He needs his young sibling to be freer and discover his purpose in life. Despite the fact that he opposes to the life his younger sibling is taking. The narrator still wants his brother to

This idea relates to the story of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and all of his brothers, where family competition is a big component to the meaning of each story. Most biblical and present day examples of sibling rivalry are due to jealousy between one and another. In The Rich Brother, Donald is perfectly content with his life. Even though he is mostly wandering around aimlessly, he is genuinely happy and is optimistic. Pete on the other hand is successful; he has money, a family, and has a real role in society. Yet, he is still somewhat empty and striving for a feeling of completeness. By seeing his younger brother who he perceives as stupid, immature, and a nuisance, as happy as he was, Pete became jealous of Donald’s happiness and contentment with his non-materialistic life. Even though Donald wasn’t successful in any configuration, he seemed fulfilled and that upset Pete. Even after Pete left Donald alone at the end of the story, Pete still felt incomplete, and he seemed to regret leaving his brother out to die. Wolff was trying to get the reader to see that Pete would never live a satisfied life because of how he always looked at the glass half empty. Whether he thought of picking Donald up from the religious farm as a way to spend more time together, rather than a burden, he could have turned the experience into a joyful one. If Pete had been more optimistic

“Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk” (Susan Scarf Merrell).Merrell, an American author and a creative writing and literature teacher at Stony Brook Southampton, states that since the early days of your youth to the end of our story our siblings are there throughout our whole journey. Life is like a play; parents pass on during the first half; while ones children come in during the second half; but siblings are there throughout both acts. Tobias Wolff’s, The Rich Brother, portrays the relationship between two brothers that are complete opposites; yet they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else will ever be able. Tobias Wolff makes use of pathos and

Family is a very significant word that symbolizes strong relationships and the challenges that are overcome between the members. “The Red Convertible” and “The Rich Brother” are perfect examples of strong family ties in different ways. “The Red Convertible” and “The Rich Brother” are stories that display functionality in families, overcome challenges within families, and have common characteristics among families. The stories explore very different relationships of brothers, yet similar characteristics of interactions between brothers.

How does this story impact your life with your input with the siblings or your own siblings? Did it open your eyes a little bit to how you treat them? The brother was stronger than Doodle. The brother had taken it upon himself to help Doodle become stronger before school started. In the scarlet Ibis, the brother was a good brother because he helps Doodle walk and opens him up to the idea of trying new things, he messes with Doodle but he doesn’t mean to hurt him, and his behavior with doodle after he walks is a lot better. The brother was a good brother because he helps doodle walk and opens him up to the idea of trying new things.

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.

John D. Rockefeller once said, “Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.” Since the beginning of mankind, humans have been responsible for each other, their family, society, world, and much more. The theme of responsibility is prominent in Tobias Wolff’s “The Rich Brother,” a story that revolves around two distinctive brothers, each rich in his own way. Pete is a happily married, successful businessman, while Donald is a simple, spiritual man searching for his soul. When Donald gets fired the farm he lives on, no one but Pete can save him from his financial trouble. While driving back home, the brothers engage in a variety of arguments about the past and the present, illustrating their

He also has his recourses. The conflict between Sonny and his older brother is that his older brother tries to guide him and he never listens. The conflict between Donald and Pete is that they are both polar opposites personality wise. Pete tries to Help Donald and Donald always finds a way to mess it up giving money away and putting others before him. Both sets of the brothers lost their parents so they are all they have. As the oldest Pete and the Narrator from Sonny’s blues feel responsible to become the caregiver for their little brothers. They feel that their little brothers are their property and if they fail than they also failed themselves. The differences between Pete and the narrator of “Sonny’s Blues” Is Pete doesn’t know how to help his brother as well as Sonny’s brother helped him. Sonny got back on his feet because of his brother help. Pete was way harder on Donald. Donald was sick when he was younger and maybe Pete was jealous because Donald got all the attention growing up due to his illness. Pete was very fed up with Donald’s actions. The brothers may not see eye too eye but they love each other and at the very end they need each

The author started off the story with giving out the kind of life that the brothers were living in. Throughout the story, the author built the moral life that the brothers were living too. By looking at their way of living, no one would have taken them for brothers. Pete is known for his soulful and warm at heart. Pete has a stable life where he has a loving family and financially successful to support his family. In the case for Donald, a complete opposite from Pete seems to struggle with his life. “Was still single. He lived alone, painted houses when he found the work and got deeper in debt to Pete when he didn’t” (324). He was

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

Sibling rivalry is generally seen as a normal part of life, since no two siblings are the same. Consequently, the extent of the sibling’s opposition is overlooked, creating problems that tend to follow them into adulthood. In “The Rich Brother,” Tobias Wolff confirms this notion using Brothers Pete and Donald, whose differences influence their current relationship. Throughout the narrative Wolff reveals the evolution of independence, finances and, perspective placing them at the root of almost all of Pete and Donald’s conflicts.

In Tobias Wolff’s 1985 short story “The Rich Brother,” we are introduced to two brothers. According to Wolf, you cannot even tell that they are brothers because of their physical differences, but as the story goes into more detail we can tell that they are different in every aspect. One of the major differences is that one is wealthy and the other is always in need of financial assistance. The older brother, Pete, is a successful real estate agent while his younger brother, Donald, works as a painter whenever he can. The two brothers are very different in their belief about what is valuable. Pete is a man that has worked hard and values what he has acquired. His brother Donald, on the other hand, values sharing whatever he has. Even if

Just as history repeats itself, so does the cycle that is Pete and Donald. Donald once again takes advantage of his brother’s loyalty when on the drive home from the farm the brothers pick up Webster, a hitchhiker and conman. Webster spins a tale too good to be true but Donald can’t see anything other than dollar signs when Webster offers him a share in his gold mine in Peru. Pete, as most adults would have, can see the scam through Webster’s tale immediately and tries to help Donald see the truth by offering up multiple snarky comments and direct questions for Webster to answer. It’s just not enough though as Donald gives away Pete’s $100 to Webster in good faith for a share in the mine. This is a much larger issue than the fact that Donald just gave away Pete’s money and feels justified and blameless. The other issue is Pete’s - past experience should have taught Pete that Donald is incapable of understanding the value of other people’s money or material items, which is part of the reason he was asked to leave the farm.

Competition and the drive to better than your opponent can distract you entirely from what is important in life. Ever since Willy’s sons have been young, he hammered the concept of competition into their minds. He started when he would reward whoever he felt was more successful with more attention and praise. So, when one of Willy’s sons, Biff, was in high school, he was the star quarterback of the football team. Willy gave him so much praise for this that it often left his other son, Happy, in the shadows. However, Happy wanted to receive praise and attention from his father too, so he began to try to get Willy’s attention and try to compete with Biff for attention. For instance, when Willy asked the boys to steal materials to build the stoop, to get some praise, Happy quickly asked, “I lost weight, Pop, you notice?” (Miller 50). Still, Happy didn’t receive the same attention as his brother. So, this habit continued into adulthood. When Willy would praise Biff and talks about how Biff is going to be magnificent, Happy familiarly interjects trying to get the attention Biff is receiving by exclaiming “I’m getting married, Pop, don’t forget it. I’m changing everything. I’m gonna run that department before the year is up. You’ll see, Mom” (Miller 133). So throughout his whole life, Happy focused on trying to receive the praise Biff was getting. This is why Happy ended up