A Thousand Acres

A Thousand Acres

by

Jane Smiley

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Thousand Acres makes teaching easy.

Loren Clark Character Analysis

The son of Harold Clark and the brother of Jess Clark, Loren is a minor character in the text, in spite of his close ties to Jess, Harold, and Larry. Unlike his brother, Jess, Loren is a faithful, hardworking son, and spends all his time helping his father work the farm. Loren corresponds to the character Edgar in King Lear.
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Loren Clark Character Timeline in A Thousand Acres

The timeline below shows where the character Loren Clark appears in A Thousand Acres. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 1
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
...also has a sister, Rose. Her other neighbors are the Clarks, who have two sons, Loren and Jess. The narrator’s father is friends with Harold Clark, Loren and Jess’s father. (full context)
Book 1, Chapter 2
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
...of a homecoming party for Jess in the spring of 1979, when she runs into Loren Clark at the local bank. As Loren and the narrator talk, they discuss several important... (full context)
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
On Valentine’s Day (a few weeks before the narrator’s meeting with Loren), Rose is diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 34. As a result, the... (full context)
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
...held to celebrate Jess’s return. The narrator notices the differences between Jess and his brother, Loren. Both are handsome and have similar mannerisms, but Jess hasn’t aged as clearly as has... (full context)
Book 1, Chapter 7
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
Ginny hears Ty driving back: she sees that he’s found Harold and Loren. Another car pulls up, carrying Marv Carson and Ken LaSalle (Larry’s lawyer and friend). Pete... (full context)
Book 2, Chapter 11
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
...he’s back in town, but Jess says he doesn’t know. He also mentions his brother, Loren, who’s been acting odd lately: he won’t even talk about whom he’s been dating. (full context)
Book 2, Chapter 15
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
...is thinking about changing around his will. Ginny knows that Harold’s current will probably favors Loren over Jess. Jess jokes that Harold is probably going to leave his entire farm to... (full context)
Book 2, Chapter 17
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
...favorite child is, and he replies, “Me.” Jess notes that Harold is always suspicious of Loren for trying to “take over.” Nevertheless, Loren and Harold are very alike in temperament, and... (full context)
Book 3, Chapter 21
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
One day, shortly afterwards, Jess, Harold, and Loren come by to drop off some frozen supplies with Ty and Ginny. Jess kisses Ginny... (full context)
Book 3, Chapter 25
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
...been wandering around all night. He eventually wandered to Harold’s house, where he yelled until Loren found him there. Larry was yelling about Rose and Ginny being whores. Jess also mentions... (full context)
Book 3, Chapter 28
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
At the potluck, Ginny runs into Jess. Jess reports that his brother Loren went into Mason City. In the meantime, Jess has been exploring organic farming in more... (full context)
Book 4, Chapter 30
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
...wash the ammonia out of his eyes, but there’s no water in the tank. When Loren comes home that day, he finds his father in agony on the ground, and drives... (full context)
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Revenge Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
...Ginny, Rose, and Jess don’t visit Harold in the hospital at all. When Ginny sees Loren, they don’t talk. Then, one day, Ken LaSalle visits Ginny with a handful of papers,... (full context)
Book 4, Chapter 34
King Lear and Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Women, Sexual Abuse, and Fertility Theme Icon
Inheritance, Land, and Memory Theme Icon
Appearance vs. Reality Theme Icon
While shopping at a store called Roberta’s, Ginny hears Caroline, Larry, and Loren. Without showing herself, Ginny listens as Caroline helps her father shop for shoes—she speaks in... (full context)