Claire's Strength

As the controversy revolving around Mohammad (Mo) Kahn’s memorial continues in Amy Waldman’s fiction novel, The Submission, I find a growing admiration for Claire Burwell. She remains the sole member of the jury who experienced a personal loss on that dreadful day when the towers fell on September 11^th: the death of her husband Cal. Nevertheless, she strongly supports Mo’s design for a memorial garden, even after the reveal of his Islamic ethnicity. As debates regarding the memorial continue, Claire stands behind her original selection, having faith in Mo’s design and looking past his identity as a Muslim. Through her characterization of Claire, Waldman shows what it truly means to not only stand up for the right thing, but to have the courage to stand up alone. Claire’s perseverance and belief in Mo’s design in the face of a society that stereotypes the architect as a terrorist and an extremist inspire me, and throughout the reading, she has become my favorite character. Even with the constant pressure from the media and other outsiders to withdraw her support for “the Muslim,” as society labels him, Claire refuses to change her original stance (94). With society’s view of Mo as simply “the Muslim,” Waldman implies the architect’s separation from the public, indirectly characterizing him as an outcast. Despite this depiction of the man whose design she supports, Claire continues to defend the loner. Conniving journalist Alyssa Spier thereafter claims Claire “‘is sleeping with the enemy,’” using the negative connotation of “‘enemy’” within a common cliché to create an accusatory tone toward Claire. She attempts to convince Claire that she has taken the wrong stance on the memorial issue. With this allegation, Claire finds herself internally conflicted, not understanding the “fear…keeping her from owning her beliefs” (122). Here, Waldman’s indirect characterization of Claire as apprehensive due to the media’s finger-pointing makes the protagonist even more real and relatable. I greatly identify with Claire’s efforts to remain strong in what she truly stands for and I found it rewarding to watch Claire pull through yet again. After numerous hurtful assertions regarding her character, Claire still confesses to chairman Paul Rubin that she “‘wants the Garden as much as ever’” (190). With this statement, Waldman indirectly characterizes Claire as determined and willing to do whatever it takes to build Mo’s memorial. I wish I could say that I saw more of myself in Claire, whose adamancy inspires me. I do not see myself as one who can resist conformity. However, Waldman has shown me and hopefully other conformers to stand behind what they believe in. She reminds them to do the right thing, even if they must do it alone. I too, encourage those who have conformed to a society that goes against their personal beliefs to have the audacity to defend their own opinions.