Reading Self - Improvement - Interpretation (1979)

[Music] Hey, what do you think of my hat? Nice color. stands out in the crowd. Looks like it's going to last a while. I'm glad you both like it. Now, that's the kind of conversation where people didn't really say what they mean. If they had, it would have probably gone something like this. Hey, what do you think of my hat? The color's nice. If you like ugly color, well, it stands out in the crowd. So, let's not be seen anymore. Looks like it's going to last a long time. Yeah, too long. I'm glad you both like it. You creeps. So, what we were illustrating were two levels of meaning, one stated and one not stated in the conversation. Now, some of the things you read also have unstated messages, but a good reader is able to discover these hidden meanings. The process is called interpreting what you read. It's a matter of reading between the lines. When people talk, their unspoken thoughts are communicated by all kinds of signals, gestures, body language, facial expressions, tones of voice. Printed words also give signals. We're going to see what some of them are and how you find them. These are the reading skills that Marie is working on now. Some of the skills she's learned you can put to work to help you practice interpreting meaning, not just in the reading center, but outside of school, the way Maria is doing it. All right, let's see what they are. First, notice how you react to these various ways of classifying you. You are a child. You're a kid. You're a juvenile. You're a minor. Well, you're a young person. Do you have different reactions to these labels? If you do, it's because although the dictionary defines all five similarly, each one has a different feel, a different unstated meaning that you're reacting to. Maybe the word child makes you think of people younger than you, and you feel put down. And the word juvenile might make you think in terms of teenage crime. A word's dictionary meaning is its denotation. An unstated meaning, the feeling you get from it, is its connotation. When an author uses a word, both meanings can come across. If a reader is able to read interpretively, if you practice finding secondary meanings, you can get more out of reading. In fiction, connotations can be more important than denotations, especially when authors use figurative language. A figure of speech describes one thing in terms of another. Here, listen. The lionist held him motionless with her icy stare. In that phrase, one thing, a stare, is described in terms of another, ice, not denotative frozen water, but connotative, dangerous, chilling, coolness. It's connotation that gives the figure of speech power. Here's one way to become more aware of figurative language. Next time you travel, try to make up your own figures of speech to describe what you see. Can you make up one to describe what you see here? How about this? Or [Music] these? Whatever you made up, it's probably more interesting than an ordinary phrase like busy city. That's why authors use figures of speech. So look for them. And watch also for another type of unstated meaning. Boy, Scarovich won by a landslide. Yeah, he was rich, so he got elected. What else can you say about that? Well, Wilson wasn't rich and he got elected. What this woman means is that the candidate got elected because he was rich. Her spoken words are based on an unstated belief. That wealth helps ensure a candidate's election. Unstated beliefs are called assumptions, and spotting them is an important interpretation skill. For practice, you might try to find a publication that prints interviews and look for the assumptions behind certain statements. For instance, this one. I'd like to express my opinion as forcefully as I can. Although most of the people that elected me were never forced to live during those terrible times, the tragedy of that era is so interwoven into our sense of history that most of us actually feel as though we live during the depression and never want to live through it again. Which of these is the assumption behind the statement? This is the unstated belief. Besides assumptions and connotations, there are still other kinds of unstated meanings. To see what I mean, answer a few questions about words and phrases from this [Music] book. What historical time do these words suggest? What place or nation? What mood? What feeling or [Music] belief? The time is the Middle Ages. The place England, the mood, one of urgency, and the belief that a knight is always loyal to his king. None of this information is given in what you read. Yet, you can get it by using key words and phrases to make educated guesses. This is called inferring. To practice it, take a book you've never read, open to any paragraph. Try to decide what time, place, mood, and beliefs or feelings it shows. Write down the key words and phrases that give you that information. Try it mentally with this excerpt from a novel. The humanoid Xandra must send coded laser messages to the orbiting Earth ships. Each message a step towards the liberation of Luna City and eventually all her beloved satellite. These are words and phrases from the excerpt which tell the [Music] time. These tell that the action probably occurs in the future. Which words tell where? These suggest that the place is on the moon. Which words suggest a mood? The mood is tense. Which words show the character's feelings? These show her dedication. Words and phrases that suggest secondary meanings can be found in almost anything you read. Because most authors want you to get more from what they write than just the dictionary meaning of their words. But how can you be sure that those extra meanings you get are right? Well, you can't. But you can see if they're sort of reasonable. You can compare your ideas with the ideas of other people. You can check with other sources of information. And most of all, you can compare what the author is suggesting with what you know from your own experience. What I've shown you so far is usually thought of as reading between the lines. But interpreting also means reading behind the lines. For instance, by looking for their purpose. The printed word can have many purposes. to provide information, to give directions or instructions, to offer light entertainment, or more serious entertainment. Many things try to persuade you to believe something, do something, or buy something. Those are general purposes. Keep an eye out for them. And look also for specific purposes. Sometimes they're visible, but sometimes they're hidden. There was a time when people seemed to avoid me. Then I tried Tingle. Now I'm so busy I hardly have time to see what I mean, tingle. It keeps you fresh and busy. That commercial's visible purpose was to sell a product. Its hidden one was to make you feel that people will like you better if you use it and avoid you if you don't. To practice finding both visible and hidden purposes, study magazine ads. For example, look at this one. Which of these is the ads visible purpose? The visible purpose is to interest you in buying the car, which is the hidden one. The ad's hidden purpose might be to make you think that the car will make you more attractive to others. Here's another ad. Which of these is its visible purpose? The visible one is to ask you to vote for McCoy. And the hidden one, this one, to make you fear that the other candidate is for pollution, reading between and behind the lines. Those are two levels of interpreting. A third is reading beyond the lines. To see what that is, think about what these people are saying. My brother-in-law works for the city and he says the energy crisis is a hoax. Hey, hospitals are full of sick people. If you want to stay healthy, man, don't go into one. This country's biggest problem is high food prices and clothes. Who can afford them? If you question those statements, you see what it is to read beyond the lines. It's being critical, making judgments, and questioning what you read before you accept it. For non-fiction, ask questions like these. Is the source trustworthy? Is the point of view reasonable? Is it logical? Are other viewpoints also reasonable? Are some more reasonable than others? To practice reading beyond the lines of non-fiction. Study a newspaper's letters to the editor. For each one, write down questions you'd like to ask the writer. Try it mentally with this one. Dear editor, the way to stop crime is to make everyone subject to a curfew. One study shows over 60% of all crimes are committed after dark. What questions would you ask the author? How about these? Does that survey really mean anything? The curfew might stop some crime, but what effect would it have on our freedom? Ask your own questions like these about non-fiction and ask about fiction, too. For instance, is the story true to your own experience? Are the characters believable? Does what you learn about fictional people help you more clearly understand real people? These questions aren't always easy to answer. In fact, none of the things we've just seen are as simple as we've shown them. Even so, it's important that you do try to interpret because reading between the lines, behind the lines, and beyond the lines gives you purpose and helps you put more into what you read so you're able to get more out of it. [Music]