Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews February 11, 2023 February 4, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Joe grew up in Shale City, Colorado, then moved to Los Angeles with his family where he worked in a bakery. An infantryman in World War I, Joe sustained serious injuries when a shell exploded near him. Lying in his hospital bed, Joe slowly realizes that he has no limbs, nor a face, and therefore cannot move, smell, see, hear, taste, or speak.
Joe's father, who died before Joe went to war. Bill Bonham was a hard worker and was close with his son and his wife. He kept a large garden that fed his family well, but never made enough money to be a financial success.
Joe's mother, who was very close with Joe's father. Macia would cook and bake delicious meals with the food that he produced on their property.
Joe's regular day nurse, whom he senses is a heavyset woman with a lot of nursing experience. The old day nurse, Joe guesses, is middle-aged and gray- haired. Joe likes her efficiency and her affection for him.
From the vibrations of her steps, Joe senses that the new day nurse is shorter, lighter, and younger that the old day nurse. The new day nurse has a sympathetic connection with Joe and understands that he is trying to communicate.
Joe's nineteen-year-old girlfriend when he left for the war. Kareen is beautiful and tiny, and Joe teases her about her Irish background. Kareen gave Joe her ring the night before he left.
Kareen's father, a crotchety man. Mike worked as a coal miner for twenty-eight years and then worked on the railroad.
Joe's best friend in Shale City, Colorado.
A boy with whom Joe grew up in Shale City. Howie and Joe were not good friends, but they decided to work on a section gang together one summer when they both learned their girlfriends had cheated on them.
Joe's girlfriend in Shale City until she cheated on him with Glen Hogan.
A Puerto Rican man who was hired to work in the Los Angeles bakery where Joe worked. Jose had been a chauffeur in New York City and was looking for a job in a film studio. He tried to be courteous and generous, especially toward Jody Simmons, who gave him his job.
The night shift manager at the Los Angeles bakery where Joe worked.
A worker at the bakery in Los Angeles. It was Pinky's idea for Jose to try to get himself fired by being clumsy.
The corporal in charge of the English regiment stationed next to Joe's regiment just before Joe was hit. Timlon was charged, by his superior, with the task of burying and then reburying the body of "Lazarus," the German his regiment shot and left hanging on the barbed wire.
A prostitute at Stumpy Telsa's in Shale City. Laurette and Joe became friends as Joe was finishing high school. Joe imagined that she was in love with him.
A woman, younger than Joe, who also grew up in Shale City. Bonnie and Joe met up again in Los Angeles.
One of the American prostitutes in the American House in Paris for soldiers overseas. Lucky and Joe would talk and gossip.
Please wait while we process your payment