The Rich Brother Tobias Wolff Analysis

What would provide for a satisfying life: to be rich with money, or to be rich by the means of spirituality? A majority of people would choose to be wealthy in the terms of finances. Although, the definition of rich is not limited to being abundantly supplied with funds, and a great amount of people forget that. In "The Rich Brother" by Tobias Wolff, Pete lives by the definition of being financially successful while his other brother, Donald, displays one of the repressed meanings of rich: bountiful in the virtues of life. Most people believe that the definition of rich is about how much money one has, leading to the belief that Pete is the rich brother, but in actuality, Donald is truly the rich brother because of his inner contentment. …show more content…
In this short story, Pete is that average person. Superficial readers decide that Pete is the rich brother because he "worked hard and made a lot of money" to provide his family a car and a home beside the ocean (324). In addition, he also had the opportunity to take up sky diving, a choice Donald would never have an option of deciding (324). Unlike Pete, Donald does not have a family and tends to become "deeper into debt to Pete when he didn't" find work to pay his dues (324). Presenting his thoughts on the importance of having a steady income, Pete strikes at Donald with his words due to his aggravation during the car ride. Pete declares that all Donald has "ever done is take. All [his] life," meaning for the words to sting him (335). He also states that he only has nightmares when he does not dream of "sex and money," but "mostly money" (327). It is evident that Pete is constantly concerned with money even as he is sleeping, signifying how high he values wealth. Even though having an income is important, a day will arrive when one realizes that their expensive goods are no longer providing any