>>536505420
>Clive was cool with the punch because he knew he deserved it. Not just because of Jill but he made his brother believe they would fight together then Joshua figured out Clive wanted to go solo.

No one said that Clive should have reacted to the blow in any other way. The point is that this "conflict" is a perfect illustration of the plot's conditions in which Clive exists as a character: he is to be beaten by his brother, but there is no real serious quarrel behind this blow; big baddie is trying to enslave him, but suddenly his brother flies in from nowhere and saves him; he seems to suffer a lot, but all this happens off-screen; he seems to lose, then five minutes later all his doubts disappear. Yes, exactly, they disappear and then the questions that Clive asked himself on the beach do not arise further in the story. He is actually quickly cured of depression. It's ok I didn't expect you to figure it out.