Behold the Dreamers

Behold the Dreamers

by

Imbolo Mbue

Clark Edwards Character Analysis

Jende’s employer, Clark is a workaholic, matter-of-fact, and authoritative investment banker at Lehman Brothers. Clark is the husband of Cindy Edwards and the father of Vince and Mighty. Clark has worked at Lehman Brothers for twenty-two years. He grew up in Evanston, Illinois, though his family briefly lived in Arlington, Virginia before going west, and has a twin sister named Ceci. His father was a professor at Northwestern University. At the time in which the novel takes place, his father is recently celebrating his eightieth birthday. Clark’s parents live in California, while his sister, Ceci, lives in Seattle with her children. Clark attended Stanford University and spent a year abroad studying in Paris. He entered Stanford as a physics major, wanting to become a professor like his father. He changed his mind, however, when he realized how much more an investment banker makes compared to an academic. He still writes poetry to comfort himself. After his wife’s death, Clark decides to move to Virginia with Mighty and work on forging stronger familial bonds. In Virginia, he will head a firm that lobbies for credit unions. His parents are also moving from California to be closer to him and Mighty.

Clark Edwards Quotes in Behold the Dreamers

The Behold the Dreamers quotes below are all either spoken by Clark Edwards or refer to Clark Edwards. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Sustainability of the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Chapter 15 Quotes

“Because right now we're pulling these tricks and the SEC's playing dumb, but you know as well as I do that if this shit falls apart and the chaos starts spreading they're going to throw us out for the public to crucify, by claiming they didn’t know a damn thing, and we all know it's a lie.”

Related Characters: Clark Edwards (speaker), Jende Jonga, Tom
Related Symbols: The Doublers
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“First it was my father…he thought he had the right, you know?” Cindy said.

“Drag my mother into that abandoned house…force her… do it to her by force…don’t give a shit about…not care for a second about what would happen to the child…”

She sniffled, took another sip of wine, and wept.

“And the government…our government,” she moaned, slurring, tears running down her cheeks, snot running down her nose. “They had the right, too. Force my mother to carry the child of a stranger. Force her to give birth to the child because…because…I don’t know why!”

Related Characters: Cindy Edwards (speaker), Neni Jonga, Clark Edwards, Vince Edwards
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“At his age, all I wanted was the life that I have right now. This exact life, this was what I wanted.”

“It is a good life, sir. A very good life.”

“Sometimes. But I can understand why Vince doesn’t want it. Because these days I don’t want it, either. All this shit going on at Lehman, all this stuff we would never have done twenty years ago because we stood for something more, and now really dirty shit is becoming the norm. All over the Street. But try to show good sense, talk of consequences, have a far-long-term outlook, and they look at you as if you've lost your marbles […]”

“And I know Vince has got a point, but the problem is not some system. It is us. Each of us. We've got to fix ourselves before we can fix a whole damn country […]”

Related Characters: Jende Jonga (speaker), Clark Edwards (speaker), Vince Edwards
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

Many would be convinced that the plague that had descended on the homes of former Lehman employees was only a few blocks from theirs. Restaurateurs, artists, private tutors, magazine publishers, foundation directors, limousine drivers, nannies, housekeepers, employment agencies, virtually everyone who stood along the path where money flowed to and from the Street fretted and panicked that day. For some, the fears were justified: Their bread and wine would indeed disappear, along with the billions of dollars that vanished the day Lehman died.

Related Characters: Jende Jonga, Neni Jonga, Clark Edwards, Cindy Edwards
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

“What are you going to do now?” he asked her.

“Something really great," she said, sounding more upbeat than she had in the morning. “I've got over twenty years of experience, honey. I'm not worried. I'm going to take a month and relax before I start a job search.”

“You should do that.”

“I will, maybe go see my sister in Florida. That's the good thing about a life with no husband or children—no one to hold me back, make me feel as if I can't go where I want, whenever I want, do what I want. I'm going to enjoy myself in Sarasota, and when I come back, I'll dust off the old résumé.”

“You will get a new job very fast when you return,” Jende said. “Mr. Edwards will surely tell everyone that you were a good secretary.”

Related Characters: Jende Jonga (speaker), Leah (speaker), Clark Edwards
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis:
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Behold the Dreamers PDF

Clark Edwards Quotes in Behold the Dreamers

The Behold the Dreamers quotes below are all either spoken by Clark Edwards or refer to Clark Edwards. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Sustainability of the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Chapter 15 Quotes

“Because right now we're pulling these tricks and the SEC's playing dumb, but you know as well as I do that if this shit falls apart and the chaos starts spreading they're going to throw us out for the public to crucify, by claiming they didn’t know a damn thing, and we all know it's a lie.”

Related Characters: Clark Edwards (speaker), Jende Jonga, Tom
Related Symbols: The Doublers
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“First it was my father…he thought he had the right, you know?” Cindy said.

“Drag my mother into that abandoned house…force her… do it to her by force…don’t give a shit about…not care for a second about what would happen to the child…”

She sniffled, took another sip of wine, and wept.

“And the government…our government,” she moaned, slurring, tears running down her cheeks, snot running down her nose. “They had the right, too. Force my mother to carry the child of a stranger. Force her to give birth to the child because…because…I don’t know why!”

Related Characters: Cindy Edwards (speaker), Neni Jonga, Clark Edwards, Vince Edwards
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“At his age, all I wanted was the life that I have right now. This exact life, this was what I wanted.”

“It is a good life, sir. A very good life.”

“Sometimes. But I can understand why Vince doesn’t want it. Because these days I don’t want it, either. All this shit going on at Lehman, all this stuff we would never have done twenty years ago because we stood for something more, and now really dirty shit is becoming the norm. All over the Street. But try to show good sense, talk of consequences, have a far-long-term outlook, and they look at you as if you've lost your marbles […]”

“And I know Vince has got a point, but the problem is not some system. It is us. Each of us. We've got to fix ourselves before we can fix a whole damn country […]”

Related Characters: Jende Jonga (speaker), Clark Edwards (speaker), Vince Edwards
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

Many would be convinced that the plague that had descended on the homes of former Lehman employees was only a few blocks from theirs. Restaurateurs, artists, private tutors, magazine publishers, foundation directors, limousine drivers, nannies, housekeepers, employment agencies, virtually everyone who stood along the path where money flowed to and from the Street fretted and panicked that day. For some, the fears were justified: Their bread and wine would indeed disappear, along with the billions of dollars that vanished the day Lehman died.

Related Characters: Jende Jonga, Neni Jonga, Clark Edwards, Cindy Edwards
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

“What are you going to do now?” he asked her.

“Something really great," she said, sounding more upbeat than she had in the morning. “I've got over twenty years of experience, honey. I'm not worried. I'm going to take a month and relax before I start a job search.”

“You should do that.”

“I will, maybe go see my sister in Florida. That's the good thing about a life with no husband or children—no one to hold me back, make me feel as if I can't go where I want, whenever I want, do what I want. I'm going to enjoy myself in Sarasota, and when I come back, I'll dust off the old résumé.”

“You will get a new job very fast when you return,” Jende said. “Mr. Edwards will surely tell everyone that you were a good secretary.”

Related Characters: Jende Jonga (speaker), Leah (speaker), Clark Edwards
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis: