Understanding pointers and pointer arithmetic is fundamental to understanding c. Most books and courses would spend a considerable amount of time and effort to make sure the student understands that. So 'arcane' is the wrong word I think.
You just need to get it, and really its no harder than, say context managers in python, or promises in js. Its not relevant at what 'level' those constructs are. They are novel in they way in which they model and solve real problems in context.
So 'lack of clarity' is really due to misunderstanding the context and problem space the langue was made to operate in.
