Cliffs Notes: Mann's The Magic Mountain

A sanatorium in the Swiss Alps reflects the societal ills of pre-twentieth-century Europe, and a young marine engineer rises from his life of anonymity to become a pivotal character in a story about how a human's environment affects self identity. This concise supplement to Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain helps students understand the overall structure of the work, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.