Spark Notes is a very popular website offering the opportunity to dive much deeper into a book and open up views that one did not see while reading the actual book. Many teachers see Spark Notes as a burden rather than a blessing, but it has much more to offer than just giving an out for a student who does not want to read a book but have a feel for what it is about. After finishing the book The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, I found it very helpful to read the Spark Note to help my comprehension of the book’s plot, character relationship, and important quotes.
One aspect that I did not pick up very much from the book was some of the main character’s (Offred) relationship with other characters throughout the book. Atwood’s writing style to show Offred’s life before Gilead is done through many flashbacks by Offred, which I sometimes found confusing. The first relationship that I did not see correctly was between Offred and her husband Luke. Only through Spark Notes did I gain the knowledge that that relationship was an affair, and although they loved each other, was actually very wrong. Another relationship that was twisted in my mind was between Serena and Offred. From the time Offred finds Serena all the way to the end of the book, Serena treats Offred in low ways but I didn't realize how cruel Serena really was. When Serena tries to sway Offred away from her husband, and the commander, and towards Nick, the commander’s gardener and chauffeur. This was when Serena bribed Offred to sleep with Nick by telling her she could offer a picture of Offred’s lost child that she had before the time of Gilead. When reading the book I sort of overlooked this bribe by Serena and tried to focus on why she wanted Offred to have sex with Nick, coming to the conclusion that the biggest factor was jealousy that Offred was having sex with her husband. But now, after reading Spark Notes I realize how much more there was to this event. First off, according to spark notes, the photo that Selena said she would show Offred meant that Selena has known where her child was since the two were split up, which also increased tension between Selena and Offred. And secondly, Selena wanted Offred to have a kid and keep it as her own, scamming Offred into having her child. Without Spark Notes this would've blown over my head.
Another area that Spark Notes positively affected me was by going through the important quotes. “Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” (Atwood, 33), when I read this I put some thought into it but I didn't think much about it. I believed it was just an inspirational message to keep Offred going with a decent mindset. Spark notes dove much deeper into the single sentence applying it to the entire book and plot, which now makes sense and makes many other things clearer. This one quote clarifies the whole way the Gilead society works and mutilates the women's minds. It symbolizes how rather than trying to make these women who suffer believe that the ways of this society are right, but just make them not have memories of the “ordinary” things of the life before.
Finally, The Handmaids Tale’s is about a girl (woman) and the way she lives in a world where reproductive rates are low. Certain women have jobs to constantly have babies for higher class people. These women live in bad conditions with very strict rules about their everyday actions. As days go by, Offred encounters different situations, some that could get her in trouble. This was my (very) general overview of the book, but spark notes enlightened me in much more detail with new information. First, after reading the book, I didn't know that all of this happened and Gilead was created from a religious aspect. This makes me wonder what religion would ever make a society like this but spark notes isn't THAT reliable.
In all, Spark notes allows students the ability to discover brand new aspects about a book that can help people understand what they are reading. It helped me comprehend what happened in the book, The Handmaids Tale, as well as helped me understand many facts I didn't know that cleared up a spew of questions that I had had.
3 comments:
Although, I did not complete this particular assignment, I found myself using SparkNotes throughout the entire summer to comprehend the pieces of literature assigned to us. Books like The Handmaid’s Tale, A Tale of Two Cities, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter would have represented impasses had I not been able to glance at SparkNotes along the way. I particularly like the way you opened your piece by explaining that even though teachers have an eminent distaste for SparkNotes, it is a literary tool that can be utilized by students to further their understanding and knowledge about books they read.
Throughout my time reading The Handmaid’s Tale, I struggled to comprehend the dystopian society and the people living in it. I side with you in the fact that I also found the several flashbacks to be confusing. It was hard for me to picture Offred, to be honest I’m not even sure how to pronounce her name. Personally, I would go through the book marking page after page because I had so many questions, and these unanswered questions would have killed my understanding of the novel. Furthermore, the entire Nick situation was hazy to me also. I thought I comprehended what was going on, but SparkNotes pointed me in a completely different direction. To me, it sounds like we both struggled with similar portions of the novel, this could be a fault of Atwood’s.
Finally you wrap your analysis of your interaction SparkNotes by stating that they reveal the meaning behind quotes that explain the entire theme of the novel. I utilized this element as well, mostly because when they give context to actual quotes from the literature, it helps open my eyes to what is actually happening in the book.
In summary, I agree with you on a lot of your statements, had I done the assignment, mine would have been incredibly similar. I think SparkNotes is a tool, that when used correctly, can reform education and a student’s general understanding. Well done!
After reading the handmaid’s tale myself, I agree that Sparknotes is extremely helpful with understanding character relationships and the plot. I can personally relate to you being confused to the flashbacks because I was as well. The book wouldn’t say when a flashback was occurring, so Sparknotes really helped me differentiate between the present and the past. A perfect example of this is when Offred describes Moira’s escape. At first I believed this was not a flashback and rather an event happening in the moment, so Sparknotes was a big help for my comprehension of the timeline. On major component of Sparknotes that you did not mention are the themes, motifs, and symbols is includes. One problem I tend to have when analyzing literature is identifying and separating the main themes from the smaller less important ones. Therefore, the most useful feature of Sparknotes is its description of the major themes of the book for me personally. One of the themes suggests that “Gilead seeks to deprive women of their individuality in order to make them docile carriers of the next generation” when discussing the theme of using women’s bodies as political instruments. This strengthened my comprehension of the book as a whole since I was able to identify what the author wanted us to pull from the book. Overall, I agree with your claims on Sparknotes about how it can be an effective literary tool when utilized properly.
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