Should Uncle Clarence be forgiven?

Use this forum to discuss the September 2020 Book of the month, " "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.
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Gabby S14
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Re: Should Uncle Clarence be forgiven?

Post by Gabby S14 »

I think the author was making a point to show how not all people will be held accountable for their actions due to certain circumstances. While I don't agree with letting Uncle Clarance off the hook, I stand behind the author's intention to show how gray areas can lead some crimes to go unpunished. I still believe Uncle Clarance was a rapist or at least a molester, and this title should not be ignored. Unfortunately, because of his own trauma, he is still being babied by his parents. While he needs support, I believe he also needs accountability. He should have been the one to apologize, not his mother.
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Post by Rwill0988 »

The author consistently giving Uncle Clarence a pass for his behaviours, especially the attempted rape of Maureen, really bothered me. His trauma was real and it was clear he needed help but it sets up this idea that those have been traumatized in the past are given a pass on their actions. This isn't what happens in the real world. Having women comfort him right after he attempts to rape one of them was just awful.
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Post by Dzejn_Crvena »

valeriejane wrote: 17 Nov 2020, 10:27 This was the part of the book, I disagreed with. I felt this was not handled or addressed properly. Attempted rape was minimized and swept under the rug. There were no consequences for Uncle Clarence's actions and he was depicted as poor Uncle Clarence. He is a grown man. What about Maureen?
I agree.
It's the part that stuck with me after I read the book.
That part seems rushed and not resolved well.
I enjoyed everything in the book until that happened.
just call me "jane" :tiphat:
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

I think Maureen should have informed her in-laws way before the situation escalated, or done something to keep Clarence away from her. After that almost rape incident when he has that traumatic breakdown, we don't know exactly in what state of mind he is. If he is too far gone, I don't know if punishing him further would help. Otherwise, there needed to be consequences to his actions.
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Post by Valerie Garske »

I guess it was family and that complicates things. But silence is a form of agreement, although not always considered that way. Yes, she was silent in the beginning and now the silence is perpetuated. Good point.
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Post by Ruchi Raina »

I don't think Uncle Clarence should have been forgiven. Nothing could ever justify him trying to rape Maureen, and it was not in only one instance. He made persistent attempts to catch Maureen alone, and those were some well-thought-of plans. Just because he suffered some childhood trauma, his brother and parents let every misdeed of his slide. They made him an overly pampered man-child. So, I disagree with this part of the book. He should have been severely punished for such behaviour.
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Post by Kaushiki Parihar »

valeriejane wrote: 17 Nov 2020, 10:27 This was the part of the book, I disagreed with. I felt this was not handled or addressed properly. Attempted rape was minimized and swept under the rug. There were no consequences for Uncle Clarence's actions and he was depicted as poor Uncle Clarence. He is a grown man. What about Maureen?
Since you brought this up, I somewhat agree with you. Before that, I thought that Clarence was wrong, but now I am thinking that Maureen could also be at fault for not taking the right actions at the right time.
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Post by Mason Garrod »

I did feel that his attempted rape was swept under the rug far too easily in the novel, Maureen didn't seem to be affected by it very much afterwards and Lena was very quick to put her gun down and start pitying Clarence as soon as he started breaking down. I pitied him for his past and for the difficulties it left him with, but he should be receiving psychological help and definitely not allowed to be alone with anyone he has power over
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Post by Nivedita BookBee »

I legit hated this part of the book to my core. This guy is grown and he knows enough. PTSD or simply past trauma is never an excuse. Just think about it, a family member attempts rape at you, you probably would've gotten raped if the third person wouldn't have stepped in. Would you really have the heart to forgive a guy like that in seconds?! Hell no. This wasn't properly handled. Sexual harassment is still a heinous crime and he showed tendencies for that. He should be in therapy and get help.
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Post by Priyankaaa18 »

He should never be forgiven for his acts. The only thing that I didn't liked in this book was the fact that Clarence wasn't held responsible for his act. His past experience was considered as an excuse for his action, and nobody, not even Maureen blamed him. I know he had a hard time when he was a kid, but now he was a grown up adult who knew the difference between right and wrong but still he was forgiven for his mistake.
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

Nivedita BookBee wrote: 03 Jul 2021, 17:12 I legit hated this part of the book to my core. This guy is grown and he knows enough. PTSD or simply past trauma is never an excuse. Just think about it, a family member attempts rape at you, you probably would've gotten raped if the third person wouldn't have stepped in. Would you really have the heart to forgive a guy like that in seconds?! Hell no. This wasn't properly handled. Sexual harassment is still a heinous crime and he showed tendencies for that. He should be in therapy and get help.
Agreed. His family, especially his mother had this habit of coddling him and even when he did something wrong they'd all let it go saying he had a traumatic past. If they had done something at the right time, it wouldn't have come to this point.
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Post by Adego 002 »

Despite all the things uncle Clarence went through as a child, I don't think he had the right to do what he wanted to do to Maureen. I think he knew he may get away with it since he was much favoured by his mother.
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Post by Janet Kimetto »

Clarence should be held accountable for his actions. Despite what happened to him in his childhood, he's a grown man now and he knows what he's doing. If he's let off easy he'll always think he could get away with anything.
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Post by Alekhya Katreddy »

I resonate with everything that has been said so far. The past is not an excuse for that kind of behavior. I hate how that part is handled in the story. We don't even know if he's receiving treatment or he's lying curled up in a ball at his house. If the past caused trauma that affected him way too much to remain sane, shouldn’t his family have taken active steps towards his mental care rather than giving him a free pass for everything he's done?
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Post by Smriti Sawal »

Uncle Clarence definitely had mental issues due to childhood trauma but I do not understand any connection of why he was so obsessed with Maureen and attempted to rape her. Even if I did miss that connection, I still do not approve of forgiving him for what he tried to do. If he really was not in his right mind, the best way to deal should have been to get medical help which no one talks about in book.
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