Notes

Making Connections
When you read a text, you can deepen your comprehension of the text by making connections.

There are three main ways a reader can connect to a text:
Text-to-self connections occur between a text and your own experiences. For example, a poem might remind you of the way you felt during a camping trip.
Text-to-text connections remind you of something else you've read. If you notice that the plot of a story is like one you read last year, you're making a text-to-text connection.
Text-to-world connections occur between a text and things you have seen or read about happening in the real world that go beyond your personal experiences.
This Reminds Me Of . . .
One way to make connections is to ask yourself questions as you read:

Has this ever happened to me?
Does this text remind me of anything?
How does this text make me feel?
Is this character like anyone I know?
Have I read something like this before?
Is this author's style similar to another?
Did I read something about this topic earlier?
How is this different from or similar to what happens in the real world?
Reading Between the Lines
Another way to make a connection is to make an inference by combining text evidence with prior knowledge or experience. You can make inferences with both literary texts and informational texts.

Have you ever wanted to do something but, for one reason or another, you weren't able to do it? Then you might know how the speakers in "Sympathy" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" are feeling.

Which text evidence supports the inference that the caged bird in "Sympathy" wants to be a part of the outside world? (ANSWER) After seeing the wide-open spaces of the outside world, the bird beats its wings against the bars of the cage. It must be frustrated to be in the cage when it can see other birds outside flying freely from tree to tree.

Which text evidence supports the inference that the speaker in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" would like to stay and watch the woods fill up with snow? (ANSWER) After describing the woods as "lovely," the speaker uses the word but. This word
suggests that the speaker is thinking about staying in these woods rather than keeping the promises he's made. Read these lines from "Sympathy" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Then select Natural World and Reaction to Nature to learn more about making a text-to-text connection.
from "Sympathy"
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;

from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Both poems describe natural settings. "Sympathy" paints a vivid portrait of a beautiful spring day; the sun is shining, the wind is blowing gently, and the birds are singing. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" presents its own kind of beauty in the snowy, dark woods. The wind blows here, too—but easily. Soft ("downy") snow is falling.
In both poems, characters react to the natural world before them. In "Sympathy," the bird sees the beauty of the outside world and reacts in frustration because, being caged, it cannot be a part of it. We know the bird is frustrated because it beats its wings against its cage until they're bloody. In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the speaker is tempted to stop and watch the woods fill up with snow but cannot because duty calls him elsewhere. He has promises to keep, and we can infer that it will be a while before he can rest because he says so twice.
We Can Work It Out
It's pretty easy to understand the explicit details of a text. After all, the author lays them out for you to read. But authors usually don't directly tell you everything you need to know. Most times, you need to work out the full meaning of what you read on your own.

An inference is a guess about a text based on a combination of text evidence and prior knowledge or experience.

Follow these steps to make an inference:

Look for textual evidence.
Ask yourself where the author makes a suggestion that goes unexplained.
Think about what you already know about the subject based on your own knowledge and experiences.
Look for further textual evidence to support your inference.
Inferences About People
Authors write about people - real or imagined - in ways that help us to feel as though we know and understand them. But this does not mean that writers simply tell us everything about every individual in a text.

Rather, authors leave us hints about people by relating their words, actions, and/or emotions. These hints allow us to make inferences about them.

One good way to make inferences about individuals is to think about these questions:

What does the person say to others in the text?
What does the person do in the text?
How does the person feel about events in the text?
What do the person's words, deeds, and feelings reveal about him or her?
What Can You Infer?
At first, the figure of the magician in "The Three Brass Pennies" and Paul in "Raccoon Olympics" may seem very different. One is a character in a folktale; the other is a real person that the writer knew as a young girl. But they actually share some of the same traits, and it's possible to recognize this if you consider what each does, says, and/or feels in each text.

In "The Three Brass Pennies," what does the magician do for Ah Fo? How does he feel about the wishes Ah Fo makes? What does the author's depiction of the magician allow you to infer about him? The magician gives Ah Fo the pennies, which grant Ah Fo's three wishes. However, the magician disapproves of the wishes Ah Fo makes. He thinks Ah Fo is making a mistake. Later, when Ah Fo realizes that he has indeed made a mistake, the magician takes back the pennies and makes Ah Fo forget all that the pennies have allowed him to know. The writer's depiction of the magician allows us to infer that he is a kind and thoughtful person who cares about Ah Fo's well-being.

In "Raccoon Olympics," what does Paul say about the raccoons that are caught on the island? Why does Paul tell the writer these things? What does the author's depiction of Paul allow you to infer about him? Paul says that the raccoons caught on the island are rowed away from shore and placed in the water so they can train for the Raccoon Olympics. He tells the writer these things because he does not want the writer to know a harsh truth: the raccoons are left in the water to drown. The author's depiction of Paul allows us to infer that he is a kind man who wants to protect the writer and to preserve her childhood innocence.
Different Individuals, Common Traits
Both the magician and Paul share some character traits: they are both kind and compassionate.
It's Just Emotion That's Taken Me Over!
Language that evokes emotion is called emotive language. The words the author chooses—or the words a character uses—have a big impact on the emotion a text conveys. Any language that creates an emotional reaction in a reader is emotive language.

Look at these two sentences:

I don't eat meat.
I don't slaughter innocent animals for food.

The first sentence is not emotive. It simply states a fact. The second sentence is emotive. It causes an emotional reaction or response.
Read these lines from "Sympathy." Then select the underlined text to study examples of emotive language.

know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;

Based on the emotive language in the poem, as well as your own knowledge and experiences, you can infer that by evoking sympathy for the caged bird, Dunbar wants readers to understand the oppression and lack of freedom felt by African Americans.


The magician demonstrates his kindness and compassion towards Ah Fo.
Paul demonstrates his kindness and compassion towards the writer as a young girl.
Just What Are You Suggesting?
Authors can use emotive language in many different ways. In "Sympathy," Paul Laurence Dunbar evokes strong feelings of pity and sorrow in his readers. In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," Robert Frost uses emotive language to evoke a different response.

Read this passage from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Then select Emotive Language to study an example.

Emotive Language
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
The language here suggests just how deep in the woods the speaker must be, creating a sense of loneliness and fatigue. The repetition of the line emphasizes how much more work he needs to do before he can finally rest. He is probably already weary, yet he will not be able to sleep for quite a while.
Emotional Tone
The tone of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is quiet and resigned. The woods are dark, and falling snow makes no noise at all. The speaker would like to pause for a moment, yet he knows he must move on. By contrast, the tone of "Sympathy" is anguished and desperate. The bird wants its freedom so badly it beats its wings until they're bloody. The bird is scarred. It prays and pleads to be let out of its cage.