Summary Of The Rich Brother By Tobias Wolff

When one is described as “rich,” he or she is assumed to exhibit many distinctive qualities: a plethora of wealth, a beautiful home, a luxurious car, and in most cases a tendency to spend his or her wealth on personal possessions. Tobias Wolff’s short story, “The Rich Brother,” boldly presents the aforementioned word in the title of the poem, displaying it to readers before they even begin to read the story. The story recounts the experiences of two brothers, and readers could at first conclude that either brother is the “rich” brother; however, this word can undertake either a positive connotation or a negative connotation, depending on the perspective. While readers might at first describe Donald as "rich" due to his wealth in generosity,

Donald, however, is deep in debt and struggles to find work (324). By beginning with this description of the contrast between the brothers, the narrator instills the idea in readers that Pete is indeed the richer brother. The idea that Pete believes he deserves every bit of money he gains from his work introduces the idea that his richness is displayed by his selfish behavior, therefore presenting a negative connotation associated with the word, “rich.” This is also exemplified as the brothers discuss their dreams in the car; Pete explains that a dream becomes a “nightmare” when he does not possess any money (327). Pete’s longing for money displays his focus on material possessions due to his richness, which prevents him from seeing the value of other positive aspects of his

One case where he lacks generosity is in his encounter with Webster, a man who proclaims that he is in need of help due to his family’s unfortunate circumstances (330). Though Pete appears to listen to Webster’s stories of his gold mine and the illnesses of his daughter and wife, he never actually considers the idea that Webster could be telling the truth (333). Always attempting to “brush him off” or “biting his lip,” Pete disrespects Webster and acts selfishly toward him, displaying his unhelpful attitude toward those of a lower class (330-331). The only reason Pete accepts Webster’s requests for help is that he expects Webster to compose a story that is “original” and “different”; when Webster disappoints Pete in this regard, Pete tunes him out and loses interest in all that Webster says (332). If Pete had not been selfishly rich, he might have truly cared about Webster’s story and offered to help with some of his predicaments. Another case where Pete displays his selfishness due to his richness is in his final encounter with Donald, in which he allows Donald to remove himself from Pete’s protection and dangerously stand on the side of the road (335). Prompting Donald to act in this way by exclaiming, “I’ve got you on my hands for good,” Pete displays to Donald and to readers that Donald will only stand in the