INFERENCE

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INFERENCE

• A guess based on clues

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Inferring Time and Place

• Look for objects, example telephone
• Look at weather conditions
• Look at style of clothing

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Point of View

• Definition How the author feels about an issue.
  Who is telling the story?
• Clues words, actions
• Example The kids were excited when they saw the
  snow, but the wife and I only groaned. Winter
  just means more headaches for me. That wet,
  heavy snow means a backache from shoveling the
  driveway. I might get stuck driving to work. We
  should move to Florida.
• Point of view on snow?
• From whose point of view is the paragraph written?

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Point of View

• First of all, I was late enough for work to get
  old Ramsey all ticked off. Then Washington
  Street was all torn up for repairs, so I had to
  detour and dont you think that doesnt get the
  passengers all shook up. I mustve explained
  that detour at least five hundred times. And
  rush houreverybody in a sweat to get home. The
  last straw was this woman whos so loaded down
  with groceries that she cant get to her money.
  When I tell her to get a move, she just stares at
  me like some dummy. And then she finally pays
  the fare, all in pennies.

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Point of View

• I knew the driver was the mean type when I got on
  the bus, but I didnt know how mean until this
  woman and her little boy got on a few stops
  later. She was tired looking and a little sad,
  and the kid was crying and cranky. She was
  carrying two bags of groceries, so it was really
  hard for her to get the money out of her purse.
  It looked to me like she was hurrying as fast as
  she could, but I guess the driver didnt think it
  was fast enough because he really got mad and
  yelled at her. I felt so sorry for her that I
  wanted to give her my seat.

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Point of View

• The woman waited while her small son struggled up
  the high steps onto the bus. He was crying, and
  the woman looked overtired. Can waiting do that
  to a person? Waiting in doctors offices in
  unemployment lines, for the mail to bring a
  welfare check. She didnt really care anymore.
  The boy could cry, the bus driver could yell.
  These were only minor irritations in the grand
  scheme of things.

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ToneAuthors Attitude

• Clues choice of words
• Imagine how these words would be said aloud
• Examples formal, informal, serious,
  matter-of-fact, sympathetic, sarcastic

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Examples of Tone

• I love summer vacations. Theres always so much
  to do that you dont have time for during the
  school yearlike relaxing around the house or
  working outside and getting a nice suntan, for
  instance. You can sleep till noon if you want
  to, without having a nerve-shattering alarm clock
  jar you out of a sound sleep to go to school. Or
  you can get up early and go for a barefoot walk
  while the dew is still on the grass.
• AUTHORS TONE?

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Authors Tone

• I love summer vacations. Theres so much to do
  that you dont have time for during the school
  yearlike hanging around the house watching the
  living-room carpet grow, for instance. Or mowing
  lawns and pulling weeds just for the fun of
  getting a sunburn and blisters on your blisters.
  Its great! You can sleep till noon and get a
  gorgeous headache if you want to, or get up early
  and go for a walk while the pearly dew is still
  on the grass and catch triple pneumonia from
  getting your sneakers soaked.

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Tone

• By the time I was ten years old I had mastery
  over all the big-time sports moves the spit in
  the mitt the fluid infield chatter the three
  bounces and deep breath before a free throw. I
  went in for athletic clothes in a big way. I
  always looked good because, in truth, I wasnt
  really good enough. I didnt care enough about
  winning. Given a choice between winning and
  looking good, I always preferred looking good.
• Tone? Clues?

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MoodReaders attitude toward the subject,
characters, or writer

• How do you feel after reading a passage?
• Mysterious, joyous, gloomy, depressing, peaceful
• What makes you feel this way?
• Authors attitude and tone

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Mood

• He was eating a sandwich hungrily. He had eaten
  nothing since morning. He had been too excited
  to eat. He finished the sandwich, and taking a
  flask from his pocket, he took a short sip. Then
  he returned the flask to his pocket. He paused
  for a moment, considering whether he should risk
  a smoke. It was dangerous. The flash might be
  seen in the darkness and there were enemies
  watching. He decided to take the risk.
• Tone? Serious
• Mood? Tense
• Taken from The Sniper

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Satire

• Definition Making fun of human weaknesses,
  poking fun at society in general.
• Purpose Correct or change the subject of the
  attack.
• Clues humor, exaggeration

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Satire ExampleDave Berry

• URGENT TAXPAYER BULLETIN
• The Federal Budget Surplus Crisis has become so
  bad that there is talk of letting you keep
  slightly more of your own money. That is
  correct The government has been taking so much
  of your money that even Congress is having a hard
  time spending it all. Not that Congress isnt
  trying! In fact, Congress, faced with the quick
  build-up of your money, has come up with some
  truly creative things to spend it on. My
  favorite is the Greyhound Bus Museum.

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Inferring the Future

• What is the pattern?
• What have characters done in the past?
• Has anything changed?

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Infer the Future

• I started out life as a pretty baby and learned
  to be a pretty girl from a pretty mother. Then
  at ten years of age I suffered one of the worst
  cases of chicken pox I have ever heard of. My
  entire body, including the inside of my ears and
  in between my toes, was covered with pustules
  which I scratched off my face, leaving permanent
  scars. A cruel school nurse told me I would
  always have themtiny cuts that looked as if a
  mad cat had plunged its claws into my skin. I
  grew my hair long and hid behind it for the first
  years of high school. This is when I learned to
  be invisible.

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Situational Irony

• Definition The reader expects one result and
  something else happens.
• Example A family leaves for the beach on a hot
  sunny morning, but by the time they reach the
  beach, it is raining.

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Situational Irony

• Last night I missed two free throws which would
  have won the game against the best team in the
  state. The farm town high school I play for is
  nicknamed the Indians, and Im probably the
  only actual Indian to play for the team with such
  a mascot. This morning, I picked up the sports
  page and read the headline Indians Lose Again.
  Go ahead and tell me none of this is supposed to
  hurt me very much.

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Verbal Irony

• Definition Saying the opposite of what is meant
• Clues Does the comment make sense in the
  context of the story? If not, it may be very
  irony.
• Would the situation call for verbal irony?