My Brother's Keeper

        This story is an interesting one as it deals with jealousy between two brothers after the death of their father. The older brother is jealous of the younger brothers athletic ability and how fast his new family accepts him and likes him. This is a change of pace compared to the other stories we've read this semester which typically have to deal with race. This story can relate to most people as in most families if not all there is some sort of sibling rivalry. Although this story does not deal with race it still deals with the idea of wealth as the younger brother is more spoiled while the older brother gets in trouble just trying to get by. A quote from the story showcases this, "I don't like hating people, but when him step in through the door with him new bag, new shoes, new shirt, and new pants, and me sitting there in the living room with no shoes tear up, tear up, I hate him even more." This shows how the younger brother gets spoiled while the older brother can do nothing but sit back and watch and wish he'd get noticed. In addition to sibling rivalry it shows us how without families knowing they sometimes pick favorites, typically not as one sided as this but they typically show more love toward one child without even realizing. All in all, this story was a nice break from the usual issue of racism and was very relevant to me since I am not an only child.

Comments

  1. Jenson EdwardsNovember 23, 2020 at 7:38 AM

    I also talked a lot about jealousy and how money played a role in that of his brother. You can clearly see the sibling rivalry between the two because they are so different, and one is treated far better than the other. The older brother Paul continues to push the younger brother David away because he is from a different ethnic background, but also because he is the "favored child." In postcolonial terms, you can see in the story that David continues to gets his way because of who he is - a white, male American- and how Paul does not.

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