Post date: Apr 17, 2018 2:19:11 PM
When you are using quotations in an essay or research paper, the quotations must always have a lead-in; they can never stand alone.
Dropped Quotations: This is how not to quote a literary work.
Tituba is a character who, being the only slave owned in Salem, is in the most dangerous position as allegations of witchcraft are directed at her by Abby. While she may not have much power, she demonstrates with her quick thinking that she does have her wits about her. When questioned by Reverend Hale, not only does she admit that she saw the Devil, but she also explains to him how she resisted Satan’s orders to kill Reverend Parris. “How many time he bid me kill you, Mr. Parris!” “But I tell him . . . I don’t want to kill that man!” Tituba effectively saves her life here by quickly coming up with a lie that the investigator Hale is perfectly willing to believe, and she makes herself look like a strong woman who, though she may conjure spirits, isn’t willing to kill her sometimes cruel master.
This is a poorly integrated quotation: It has no lead-in and simply stands alone as if dropped in to the middle of the paragraph. Don’t do this! This is bad!!
Acceptable Lead-ins:
Here are several acceptable ways the quotation from the previous passage could be better integrated in the paragraph.
The He Says/She Says Lead-in:
Recounting her experiences with the Devil, Tituba says, “How many time he bid me kill you, Mr. Parris! . . . But I tell him . . . I don’t want to kill that man!” (1156). With her quick lie, Tituba may have just saved herself from the rope.
You could, of course, use a variety of words in place of says; however, you should choose them carefully because of the various connotations they have.
Here are some possible alternatives to the overused “says.”
The Blended Lead-in:
With a blended lead, you simply take the quotation and work it in to your own sentence so that it all flows together smoothly and seamlessly. This may require altering the wording.
Tituba, while giving a false confession that she did see the Devil, also claims that he tried to get her to kill her master, the Reverend Parris, but she replied to Satan that she did not “want to kill that man” (1156). Tituba manages to mitigate her situation by showing with another clever lie that she is not as bad as she could potentially be.
Sometimes you may choose to lead in to a quotation with a complete sentence. When you do this, use a colon to introduce the quotation that follows. Just be sure that the quoted material is able to stand alone as a sentence, too.
Tituba finds herself in a difficult situation, having admitted that she saw the Devil, but she cleverly finds a way to make herself seem a little less evil to her inquisitors: “How many time he bid me kill you, Mr. Parris! . . . But I tell him . . . I don’t want to kill that man!” (1156). While Tituba is certainly in trouble for trafficking with the Devil, she has just saved her neck by showing that, while she may be a witch, she is no murderess.
Notice that the words on either side of the colon can stand alone as a sentence.
Sometimes it may be necessary to alter a quotation to make it flow more naturally with the rest of the paragraph. Other times it may be desirable to leave out part of a quotation.
If you change/add a word or words in the quotation, show this by placing the altered or added words in brackets [ ]. If you end up omitting words from the middle of a quotation, use an ellipsis (...) to show that the quote has been changed, with words being deleted.
In either case, be sure the quotation still flows smoothly.