Tobias Wolff’s rich brother
The Rich Brothers is the story of two brothers, their sibling rivalry, and their contrast in everything, including worldly success and failure. While Pete is rich and Donald is poor at the end of the story, we wonder which of the two is really rich in the true sense of the term.
Pete, the eldest of the brothers, is rich and successful. He exemplifies the dream of the American middle class: a nice family life with a wife and two daughters, a house, a sailboat and whatever else money can buy, from the success that his hard work in the real estate business could achieve for him. Donald, the younger brother is the complete opposite. He lives alone and survives by painting houses. Sometimes he lives in a Berkeley ashram and lives in financial debt.
Pete comes to rescue Donald from his difficulties and donates money to him right at the beginning of this story. The two are driving a car when Pete gives him $100. However, there is a subtle subtext of sibling rivalry in the background during their childhood and growing up as well. Donald, for example, reminds Pete that when he was a kid he wanted to kill him, to which Pete replies, “kids always do those things.”
Pete doesn’t bother or maybe doesn’t like to talk about his personal life with Donald, but Donald asks if he ever dreams about his little brother. Pete, in fact, has a recurring dream in which he is blind and needs the help of his brother. Perhaps, the author has metaphorically hinted at the inherent blindness to material success and the need for genuine spiritual assistance from people like Donald.
The story progresses even as we find out more contrasting features of the two brothers. A Webster character arrives who tells them a mythical story from his own dream experience involving a gold mine and greed. Donald gives away $100 that Pete gave him. But Pete throws him out of the car when he finds out what he has done.
Meanwhile, Pete wonders what he would say to his wife when she asked about his brother. Maybe he’s not worried. Material wealth has blinded his consciousness; his sensibilities: “And so, smiling, nodding to the music, I’d go another mile and pretend like I wasn’t slowing down anymore, that I wasn’t going to back down, that I was going to be able to keep driving like this alone.” , and having the correct answer when his wife stood in front of him at the door of his house and asked him: Where is he? Where is your brother?” (Wolff 269)
Wolff’s story parallels the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. One brother is spiritual, God-oriented, helps and reaches out to others, while the other is materialistic, has the least concern for God, and may even go so far as to try to kill or hurt his brother. The contrast in the characters of the two brothers forces us to ask who is the rich brother. The one who has money or the one who lacks material goods, but is endowed with human virtues? Who really needs whom? Does Donald really need money? If he really needed money, why would he give it to Webster without a second thought? Pete can only pretend that he doesn’t need Donald. He can only pretend that he can go it alone and will answer for his actions towards his brother.
The author through the contradictory characters of the two brothers has tried to investigate the true meaning of wealth. A person can remain dissatisfied despite all of his wealth, as shown through the metaphor of the dream in which Pete is blind and needs help. Donald is pious, happy, and doesn’t hold a grudge against Pete and is therefore quite capable of helping Pete learn to be a good person.
