INFERRING

CHARACTER’S
IDENTITY,
FEELINGS, AND
MOOOD
OBJECTIVES
The learners should be able to:

Define inferencing/inferring;
Infer thoughts, feelings, and intentions in the
material viewed; and
Recognize the importance of inferring
WHAT IS INFERRING???
Inferring means figuring out something that the
author doesn't actually say. You can use clues that are
in the text, and things from your own mind.

Sometimes it's called "reading between the lines," and

it adds a lot more meaning to the story.

To infer is to draw a conclusion based on reasoning

and evidence.
EXAMPLES
• The floor is covered in shreds of newspaper, and
Susan's dog has a small piece of newspaper stuck in
his fur.
• It can be inferred that Susan's dog ate the newspaper.

• John's house smells of soy sauce, and used chopsticks

are on the table.
• It can be inferred that John ate Chinese food recently.
INFERRING IN POEM
The persona is the speaker or the voice present in the
poem.
It may or may not be human.

Examples
Identify who or what the persona is.
 My leaves are ships that take you to places.
 My spine carries truth in my pages.
INFERRING IN POEM
The addressee is the person or thing the persona is
speaking to.
It is to whom or to which the message of the poem is
addressed.
May or may not be human.

Example:
Read the lines and identify the addressee.
 Mother Earth, thy strength overwhelms.
 Little did we guess thy vengeful eyes are at our doors.
INFERRING IN POEM
Imagery used in poem also conveys feeling or mood.

The images created personal views, stand or an issue.

Kyle ran into his house, slamming the
door behind him. He threw his book bag
on the floor and plopped onto the couch.
After six hours of playing Grand Larceny
VII, he ate some pizza and fell asleep
with a slice on his stomach and his feet
on his book bag. When Kyle came home
from school the next day, he was
noticeably distraught. He balled up his
report card and placed it inside a soup
can in the garbage. He then flipped the
soup can upside down in the garbage can
and arranged loose pieces of trash over
it. As he plopped down on the couch, he
let out a sigh and picked up his
controller.
1. Why is Kyle distraught? (How do you
know this?)
2. Why does Kyle put the report card in a
soup can? (How do you know this?)
3. Was Kyle’s report card good or bad and
why was it like that? (How do you know
Anastasia sat by the fountain in the
park with her head in her palms. She
was weeping mournfully and her
clothing was disheveled. In between
gasps and sobs, Anastasia cried out a
name: “Oh... John…” And then her cell
phone beeped. Her hand ran into her
purse and her heart fluttered. The text
message was from John. She opened
up the message and read the few bare
words, “I need to get my jacket back
from you.” Anastasia threw her head
into her arms and continued sobbing.
4. What relationship do John and
Anastasia have? (Why do you feel this
way?)
5. Why is Anastasia sad? (How do you
know this?)