The Rich Brother

“The Rich Brother”

Sibling Rivalry, co-dependency and brotherly love are psychological issues in “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff’.

“The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff examines the paradox of sibling rivalry and the love that exist between brothers. Sibling rivalry predominately originates from resentment that can drive contention between even the closet relationships. Sibling rivalry stems from the older brother Pete. Pete believed his mother displayed more affection for his younger brother Donald. The conflict developing from their youth has gone unresolved allowing anger and guilt to build in each of them. The animosity and sibling rivalry continues into their adult lives mainly because of their dissimilar beliefs on how to live one’s life. Although, Pete and Donald’s life are separate and completely different, they are in fact very dependent on each other. Sibling rivalry creates extreme contention in a relationship but also co-dependency. Despite the resentment either brother may have, both brothers need each other, and brotherly love prevails over their rivalry.

Sibling rivalry may have begun with Donald’s birth due to the seven-year age difference. Pete felt with Donald’s birth, he received less affection. Until Donald’s birth, Pete received all of his parent’s affection and attention. Sibling rivalry continues on Pete’s part primarily because Pete still resents the favoritism Donald received. Donald’s mother appears over-protected, but Pete only observed his mother showering Donald with extra attention and himself with none. This feeling is noted when Pete sarcastically tells Donald “mom was in a state every time you burped” (Wolff 329). Pete faults Donald, and not his parents for feeling neglected. As a result, Pete inflicted Donald physical pain when he used to hit Donald on his stitches. Pete’s parents were unaware of the resentment Pete concealed as a child. Pete would abuse Donald when left to baby-sit. Alfred Adler was one of the first theorist to suggest that birth order influence may personality. He argued birth order can leave an indelible impression on an individual's style of life, which is one's habitual way of dealing with the tasks of friendship, love, and work. According to Adler, firstborns are "dethroned" when a second child comes along, and this may have a lasting influence on them. (Adler).One speculates if they had known about the abuse, would they have intervened by their attentive nature toward Donald or shown Pete the love he craved.

Another reason the sibling rivalry continued into adulthood is Pete does not full accept or apologize for his cruel and merciless behavior. Donald needs an explanation for Pete’s horrific behavior. David Levy introduced the term "sibling rivalry" in 1941, claiming that for an older sibling "the aggressive response to the new