• @Sparkega@sh.itjust.works
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    2735 months ago

    Before the internet, Cliff Notes were popular books that summarized and provided insight into meaning for classical literature. Students used them in place of reading the actual book.

    • @edgemaster72@lemmy.world
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      475 months ago

      I completely missed that on the table until you pointed out, and was highly confused as to what he actually did

    • @chetradley@lemm.ee
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      365 months ago

      I vividly remember getting the cliff notes for “Of Mice and Men”, realizing it was nearly as long as the actual book, and begrudgingly hammering through the book the night before the test.

      • mosiacmango
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        95 months ago

        Steinbeck had a knack for saying a lot with a little. “The pearl” is another of his works that is also incredibly short but you could easily discuss it well past its length.

        I highly recommend the “grapes of wrath” to anyone who hasn’t read it as well. Its account of the brutal knock on effects of the dust bowl and the nature of human kindness and sadism left a mark on my life that never left.

    • @Gutek8134@lemmy.world
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      155 months ago

      In Poland, we still do read this type of things instead of the actual book, because it’s better at preparing you for the exams