Re: Cliff's notes - Edit 1
Before modification by Seriana Sedai at 06/10/2010 02:16:51 AM
Are you missing something? Yes. What makes it literature. The reason why it is good. Cliff's Notes are like ... powder soup. It is not soup. It is just a powdery, boring extract of soup and it lacks the soupness of it.
I agree 100%
Let me state that I did not rely on Cliff for every single reading project. Just the few that I found unappealing. I'm a slacker, but I do like to read certain things! I meant more about missing something that might make Austen / Bronte more appealing to me.
Oh, sorry if I sounded judgmental. I thought I read the question "Did I miss anything" or something like that and the answer to that question is clearly yes.
For some inexplicable reason in my AP English class my teacher said we were going to study Paradise Lost by the Cliff's notes. It was supposed to prepare us for college, but from reading the notes you completely miss the beauty of the piece you are studying.
This is weird. That it was mandated by the teacher. My AP teacher knew I was doing it on a few (and definitely did not approve). I very much enjoyed Paradise Lost, sans Cliff's notes.
I thought it was weird too, but then again that teacher and I never really saw eye to eye on much.
Now, I appreciate the sidebars in works like Shakespeare that let you know how a word may be used differently in the play than it is now, but that's all the help I want with my literature.
This is a helpful aspect of Cliff on more difficult reading. I never used him in this capacity. Outside of avoiding certain assignments, I left Cliff on the shelf.