Anna Medvedovsky

I found the SparkNotes supplement to be moderately useful as I listened to the audio version of Hemingway's famous novel. Its chief utility to me lay with its summaries/ analyses of each of the chapters, as they helped me keep track of the plot, action, and characters. The work contains the following sections: Context, Plot Overview, Character List, Analysis of Major Characters, Themes, Motives, and Symbols, Summary and Analysis (of each chapter), Important Quotations Explained, Key Facts, Study Questions, and Review and Resources. I take issue in a small way with the work's contention that a major theme of the novel is how Robert Jordan learns to "integrate his rational thinking side with his intuitive feeling side". This observation strikes me as reflecting a jejune, post-1970s sensibility more than Hemingway's actual novel… but I could be wrong. In any case, while I was not overwhelmed with the Sparks Notes analysis, I found it sufficiently useful as to try others in the series... despite the fact that they are all written by "Harvard students for students everywhere," according to the back cover. Cliffs Notes, by contrast, are written by actual faculty members, albeit often at 2nd and 3rd rate institutions.… (mer)