Making Inferences, Interpreting Themes and

SymbolsUnit 3, To Kill a Mockingbird

Making Inferences

What does it mean to “infer” something?

Making Inferences

What does it mean to “infer” something?

What you see or read What you already know

Your inference

Inference Definition:

A judgment based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement.

Making Inferences

• Your inference might be a generalization about a character.• It might be a prediction about what they’re going to do next.• It might be a conclusion or an answer to a question you’ve had.

Practice making inferences:

• What you see:

• What you know: wagging is friendly; barking is unfriendly• Your inference(s) about this car’s owner:

Image sourcet: http://www.stickercafe.com/shop/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=174

Book cover InferencesWhat you see:

What you know:

What can you infer about this book?Image source: http://aptdesignonline.com/best-selling-book-covers

Making Inferences is like Being a Detective

1. Look for clues2. Add them to what you already know

3. Come up with your own conclusion, and you’ve made an inference!

How Strong Readers Make Inferences:

They use:1. Word/text clues2. Picture clues (film clips too)3. Define unknown words4. Look for emotion (feelings)5. Use what they already know6. Look for explanations for events7. ASK themselves questions!

Interpreting Themes

Review: what is a theme?

Theme definition:

theme: an idea or insight about life and human nature that gives meaning to the story.

Remember, ask yourself: what does this story reveal about human nature?

Some themes in To Kill a Mockingbird:• Prejudice and superstition can lead to injustice• Individuals have a responsibility to protect the innocent• One person’s wrongdoing can release evil into the entire community• People often fear what they don’t understand

Themes, continued

• The most important parts of a child's education may take place at home and in the community rather than in school• Insight, maturity, understanding, and integrity have no necessary relation to age, social position, or formal education• Appearances don't always reflect reality

Theme: prejudice and racial inequality

• Racial prejudice was alive & well in the 1930s. •Although slavery had ended in 1864, old ideas were slow to change. (Someone who was 14 years old in 1864 would have been 83 in 1933, still alive and passing on grandmotherly or grandfatherly advice, for good or ill.)

Theme: prejudice and gender inequality•Women were generally not educated for occupations outside the home•Men not considered capable of nurturing children

Interpreting Symbols

Review: what is a symbol?

Symbol definition:

Symbol: Miss Maudie’s Nutgrass

(See Chapter 5) Even one blade of nutgrass, if left to spread, will overtake the whole yard and garden. What could this symbolize?

Symbol: Mockingbird

•Praised in songs and poem, the mockingbird mainly resides in the South. It is pale gray and white, about the size of the robin.

•While its call is a harsh-sounding “tchack,” its song is beautiful and characterized by repeated notes and phrases.

•Its gift for imitation is how it got its name.Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingbird

Symbol: Mockingbird

• Miss Maudie describes the mockingbird as a creature that should never be killed because it is harmless and even provides song for the enjoyment of others.

Symbol: Mockingbird

• Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are basically blameless individuals who are at the mercy of society, yet society is cruel to Boo, and ultimately Tom is murdered.

Symbol: Mockingbird

• The symbol of the mockingbird also points to Scout, both as an innocent child and as the grown-up narrator, who "sings a song" in telling the story.