I find this a valuable guide to have around as I grade essays on by students. These days, the internet is a more useful tool for searching for plagiarism but good old cliffs notes are still useful. As for the book's real use, it is a good means of interpreting and studing the novel. I always find these notes helpful for checking and verifying my own understanding as for a guick summary. They should never be used as a substitute for the actual book. ( )