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 * Clara Callan **

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**Name:** Rebekka Boss

**Course Name:** ﻿ENG3U1- 04 **Teachers** Name: Ms. Maronski **Date:** Wednesday, December 1, 2010

**Description:** Isu Book report on the novel "Clara Callan."

Clara Callan, is a unique novel written by Richard B. Wright in 2001. It gives the reader an in- depth look into the lives of two ordinary sisters with very different aspirations. The book takes place shortly before the Second World War and reflects the political insecurity of the time and personal insecurity in the lives of both these young adults.
 * ISU: Book Report on “Clara Callan” **

“Clara Callan,” is one out of twelve other books written by Richard B. Wright. It was one of his most celebrated works and won many awards including the Giller Prize and the Trillium book award. The book consists of letters and Journal entries written between two sisters, Clara and Nora Callan. These two sisters don’t have much in common and chose to lead very different lives. Nora the youngest of the two is lively, spirited, ambitious and a social butterfly. The book starts of with her moving to New York City from her home town of Whitfield, Ontario. She does this not knowing if she would find work, but with the sole purpose of following her dreams and becoming one of the best in her career as a radio announcer. Her sister Clara has more of an independent, reserved personality. She lives all alone in the house where she spent her childhood days and prefers to read books on the front porch or write poems about her latest experiences. Things get tough for Clara after being raped and becoming pregnant with the rapist child. She turns to her younger sister for help and it is evident that the two sisters are growing closer through the course of the book. When both girls fall for and pursue affairs with two married men, they find another way to relate to each other. Neither relationship is perfect and the book describes the sisters similar struggles. The book is a wonderful novel to relate to because these two women weren’t different from us. They are just two normal siblings trying to stop time from flashing past and are trying to follow their dreams wherever it may take them.
 * Summery of the Novel **

Richard B. Wright is a Canadian author born on March 4th, 1937 in Midland, Ontario ("Nicholas"). He graduated from the Ryerson Polytechnic Institute with a degree in radio and TV arts in 1957. He later on settled down and married Phyllis Wright in 1966. They had two sons named Christopher and Richard. The first book he wrote was a children’s book called, “Andrew Tolliver.” By 1976 Richard had achieved the position of English teacher at Ridley. He wrote his award winning book “Clara Callan in 2001 and received many prizes such as the Giller Prize, Trillium Book Award and the Governor General’s award. The Times said, “This is a most gorgeously involving novel… with an ending that pops with surprises.” Richard B. Wright is still writing appreciated books today but has now settled down in St. Catherines ("Richard B. Wright").
 * About the Author Richard B. Wright **

** ﻿ ** (Alexander) Alexander, Stephany Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_167722_35.html?ktrack=kcplink. "Adultery Statistics and Divorce." Article Alley. Article Alley, 31 May 2007. Web. 13 Dec 2010. .
 * Useful Sites: **

(Bornath) Bornath, Lynn. "Richard B. Wright." Canadian Books and Authors. Canadian Books and Authors, 16,4,2010. Web. 8 Dec 2010. <http://www.canadianauthors.net/w/wright_richard_b/

(Cooke Agency) "Richard B. Wright Clara Callan ." The Cooke Agency. The Cooke Agency. , 11/01/2010 . Web. 10 Dec 2010. http://www.cookeagency.ca/books/Wright-R_Clara-Callan.htm.

(Nicholas) Nicholas, Dinka. "The tender trappings of success." Quill and Quire. Quill & Quire, September, 2004. Web. 8 Dec 2010. http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/profile.cfm?article_id=6292.

(Richard) Wikipedia contributors. "Richard B. Wright." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free encyclopedia, 2 Nov .2010. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_B._Wright

(Singler) Singler, Ryan. "The Effects of Adultery." Ezine Articles. Ezine Articles, 13 Dec 2010. Web. 13 Dec 2010. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Effects-of-Adultery&id=1675234

(Wikipedia) Wikipedia contributors. "Effects and aftermath of rape." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 25 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_and_aftermath_of_rape

The setting of the book is mainly Whitfield, Ontario. This is where the sisters Clara and Nora grew up. It is a very small town with a little church and a population of next to nothing. The novel is made up of letters written between Clara, the hometown girl, and Nora, the ambitious sister that moved to New York. The setting really enhances, and does not take anything away from the story itself. The story goes back and forth between the very small town and the huge city of New York. Through the exchange of letters, it really gives a clear view between the things both Nora and Clara struggle with while they live in these places. Clara struggles with things like the gossip in her town. She feels as though there are always people looking over her shoulder, ready to criticize her. An elderly neighbor, Mrs. Bryden, from across the street has a very annoying habit of worrying about Clara too much. Clara is a very independent woman and feels smothered when she is cared for by others after being on her own for so long. This smothering is shown often, but one clear example is when Mrs. Bryden comes over to tell Clara ``she had seen no lights on until late last night.`` (61.) She was worried and wondered if Clara was ill. Clara of course thanked her for worrying about her but showed her annoyance with it later on. This is something that is only visible in the small town, in New York for example, Nora does not struggle with this problem at all. Most of the people don’t know her and the rumors only travel around a couple of people since it is very unlikely that the whole city will get involved in someone’s private business. There are other instances where the town gets very involved with something that is really only Clara’s business. The rumors spread very quickly in this town, as seen through Clara’s affair with a married man from Toronto. Clara has no control over these rumors and can do nothing to stop them. The principal of the school she teaches at knows about the affair it soon after. He calls her to his office and tells her it would be better for her to put a stop to this relationship before things got out of hand. At this point she hadn’t told anyone about her relationship, yet the principal and the rest of the town knew all about it. The little town life made it a comical and complicated book because Clara is torn between the face she puts on for her neighbors and the person she really is.
 * How does the setting enhance the story? **

Throughout the story, both Clara and Nora had life changing events happen to them. However the changes in Clara were very evident while the changes in Nora weren’t as big or noticeable. Clara started off as a very independent and naïve woman who was often in her own world and had not intentions to conform to society. She did not mind living alone and was often alone in her own world of books and poetry. As the story’s plot unravels, this tentative side of Clara changes. There are two main events that caused this change in Clara. The first event is the rape which she experiences on May 25, 1935. Although Clara was already quiet before this made Clara Callan an extremely introverted person. Since her sister had moved away and the town was known for its fast traveling gossip, she had no one to confide in about her horrific experience. She went through this terrifying time alone and all she could do was go home and continue to live her life while working thought the emotional and physical aftermath of the attack. She turns to the Bible for help. Although she does not believe anymore, it is the only thing she can turn to for the support she’s lacking from people. Clara’s desperation is visible through this quote “could not get back to sleep and so I read. Chose the Bible. Even though I no longer believe, the words somehow still comfort me.” (64.) This shows that she truly has become an introvert, coping with her problems by herself and feeling as though she has no one in the world to talk to. The second event was her affair which had a big effect on her personality. At the beginning of the story she held back on things like spending money, or keeping up with the newest fads. In one of the last chapters however she buys a phone, takes her driving test, and even buys a car. “Absurdly proud of myself today. At 3:25 this afternoon in Linden, I was granted permission to operate a motor vehicle…” (289.) Nearing the end of the book one could see the clear change from a held back, naïve girl into an introverted but spontaneous woman who did not care what society thought of her.
 * How do the characters change and what events cause these changes? **

There were many parts in this book that made me more than uncomfortable. The book was very detailed about thinks like Clara’s rape, her affair, and the abortion she had to go through. There was a chapter where she was having her abortion done. She had become pregnant because of the rape and was now forced to deal with the consequences on her own. Clara goes all the way to New York and stays with her sister while getting the procedure done so as to avoid the town hearing about it. When they go to the doctor’s office they try to cover up as best as they can who they are. They do things like wearing hats, and going at night instead of broad daylight to avoid anyone that might see them coming or going from the doctor’s clinic. Clara even goes as far as wearing a wedding ring to give the impression that she is married and to cover up the fact that she was pregnant out of wedlock. The abortion was a tough part to read. It is not a comfortable thing to be thinking about yet it was still so much worse back then in comparison to how it is done today. She describes the feelings she has after she comes out of her induced sleep. She says ``I had a dull ache between my legs and there were napkins there. So the tramps seed had been scraped from me… I felt a rush of blood from within.``(85.) The idea of having an abortion is terrifying to me and to hear terms like `scraped` being used in that context definitely made it an uncomfortable part for me to read.
 * Where there any parts of the story that made you uncomfortable? **

This book had two effects on me. The book is written about two very independent women and I love the sound of that. I want to be free enough to make spontaneous choices, and do crazy things like jump on a train, or plane and go anywhere and just take in everything. I love that Clara had that freedom. My only problem was that she seemed to take it for granted. Yes there are huge responsibilities in life, like paying bills, keeping your job, and so much more, but we only live once. I am not saying throw everything out the window, I am saying spend your life carefully but enjoy every minute no matter where you are. Clara seemed to complain so much when she could have been more of a positive voice in the story. It would have been wonderful to hear of her adventures in different parts of the world, the funny people she met or things she tried. There’s such an amazing world out there why not take in everything while you can? The thing I did not like was that both sisters had affairs with married men. They made it seem so normal. I am a Christian and I see it as absolutely wrong. It is not just that my belief is against it, it is also my conscience yelling a clear “No.” The men Clara and Nora are with have wives and children. These men turn to Clara and Nora because they are not satisfied with how their lives turned out but at the same time instead of trying to fix their broken relationships, they are spending time with women that are easier to handle or be with then their wives. In the process both Clara and her lover and Nora and her lover hurt multiple people. Clara and Nora hurt mostly themselves, but the family of their lovers as well. The family may have problems, but if a man is married there is nothing that is supposed to come in between their relationship. There are always problems but if the husband and wife do not take time to fix things there is no hope for a healthy relationship. The two men in these affairs should never have turned from their responsibilities as a husband and father to their families.
 * What effects did the Story have on me? **

This book is very unique to Canadians. The locations have very much to do with this. Whitfield, Ontario is about one hour away from Toronto. This makes it so real to me. My house is also one hour away from Toronto. This made me compare many things that Clara talked about. One thing that kept coming back and made me laugh to myself is when Clara complains about the cold house. This is exactly what I hate as well. We have a fire place and I love wood fires but it is horrible in the morning. Usually I’m the first one up, and with not enough time to make a fire, let alone wait for it to heat up so I can sit in front of it, I spend my mornings in a cold half asleep state of mind. It doesn’t help when I walk out the front door dressed in as much as I can possibly wear, but still get on the bus with frozen toes, hands and face. Clara is also a teacher of a tiny little school. This reminds me of our elementary field trips to Woodland. I loved going there to see where children many years ago had sat and learned. I always thought it was way better back then and wanted to live like people did generations ago but now I know better than to wish for such a thing.
 * How is the location unique to Canadians? **