Causes And Differences In The Rich Brother By Tobias Wolff

“No one would have taken them for brothers.” Truth be told, this is the main thought that can be drawn throughout the whole short story, “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff. From the very beginning of the story this is said to the reader, it’s clear that these two brother Pete and Donald are polar opposites of one another. The reader will discover from this that Pete and Donald no matter what time it was in their life, they had had problems with one each other. This would infer that Pete and Donald were in a dysfunctional relationship due to Pete’s success, Donald’s lack of success, their “abuse” incident, and their handling of Webster.
While sure they have their differences from one another personally Pete and Donald can be considered both …show more content…
Donald, in comparison with his brother he has a whole different look then his brother, the story had said, “Donald was bony, grave, and obsessed with the fate of the soul.” Saying this, it completely adds to the fact that people couldn’t believe that these two men are brothers. As well as these two brothers looking different from one another the story also emphasizes that unlike his brother Pete, who was married and had kids, Donald is , “the younger brother, was still single.” This probably shows why Donald was such a carefree person because he doesn’t have any responsibilities to deal with as an adult, while his brother had many responsibilities to look over throughout his life. In addition, “He lived alone, painted houses when he found the work, and got deeper in debt to Pete when he didn’t.” Thus bringing up another point because unlike the success of his brother Pete, who has his own Century 21 franchise, Donald made his living going from job to job, but mostly went out painting houses when he finds them available. As well as not being able to keep a job, it also mentions the thought of the multiple times Pete has bailed his younger brother, because of the mentioning of the debt he has.
Inevitably, the one thing that ties the two brothers together is how Pete keeps bailing his brother out of problems in his life. This time, however Donald is kicked out of a church compound and needs a ride home. While driving on their …show more content…
When Pete had first picked Donald up, he had given his younger brother $100, just so he can have it and because he wanted something to drink. Later on this money does come into play as the two stopped over at a Denny’s to get something to eat. This is where they come across a man known as Webster, who was described as, “ a red blazer with some kind of crest on the pocket, little black mustache, glossy black hair combed down on his forehead like a Roman emperor’s.” This description of Webster seems to be that he doesn’t look too bad just sort of normal. They end their argument about him, allowing him to ride with them and Webster told him of a sob story and how he had this treasure out in Peru. It was obviously all lies as Pete figured out quickly that Webster was a con man. When Pete woke up from a little nap he had noticed that Webster had left, and Donald explained how he let him out and he went to his brother’s house. When they need gas Pete insisted that Donald used the money he had given him to pay for the gas. Donald confesses that he gave it to Webster before he left. Pete came back in a furious speech by saying, “A hundred dollars, gone. Just like that. I worked for that money, Donald.” This adds on to the fact that the money Pete worked for was thought to be very important to him. Donald said, “I invested it. I wanted a share, Pete.” This made Pete almost blow a gasket and the two fought