The Remains of the Day Group

Question:

sammybee
sammybee
Student
College - Senior

How do I include quotations in my assignment, and when do I fit them in? My assignment is on how Stevens has changed in Remains of the Day.

If I use the part where Stevens says Lord Darlington would never embarrass him or degrade him in any way, it would not be true at all. Lord Darlington allowed his dinner guest to question him and embarrass him greatly; this was degrading and unexceptable, yet Stevens excepted it and Lord Darlington allowed it. Would I beable to use this as a quote? If so, how? If not please help me. I need 6-7 quotes in my assignment.    

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Posted by sammybee on Monday January 28, 2008 at 8:32 AM and tagged with essay writing, quotes, the remains of the day.

Answers:


  1. amy-lepore Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Best answer as selected by question asker.

    First, you need to be sure of your purpose in the paper.  Every paper you write should be your ideas--not just a bunch of quotes from elsewhere tied together with a few buts, ands, and therefores.

    What is your main idea?  What are you trying to get across to the reader (are you saying that Stevens did or did not change)?

    THEN, what are your reasons for saying this?  You should have a minimum of 2-3 strong reasons for believing your main idea is true.  What reasons are there to prove that Stevens changed? Didn't change? 

    Once you have this basic outline in mind, then you should take a look at the quotes you want to use.  Keep in mind that you should never just fill up space in your paper with a quote that is 1/2 page long.  You don't have to use an entire quote, either.   Based on your main idea and the reasons you state for believing that main idea to be true, which quotes from the text in their entirity or in part, will most likely help you prove your point?

    Check the following websites on flawlessly integrating quotes into your paper with the use of ellipses, etc.

    Sources:
    http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/PDF%20Docs/Plagiari...
    http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/es...

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    Posted by amy-lepore on Monday January 28, 2008 at 9:20 AM


  2. linda-allen Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    First of all, you need to be clear on what your assignment is. Are you writing an essay? Are you supposed to comment on the section you described?

    In any essay, you need to take a stand and use quotations from the book to back up, explain, or illustrate the point you want to make. Don't just throw them in for the sake of having a quotation. Start with a guiding question, such as "Does Lord Darlington really respect Stevens?" and use quotations that help to answer that question.

    Since you disagree with Stevens's belief that Lord Darlington would never embarrass or degrade him, then you need to find other instances in the book where he is not treated fairly. You might point out that the fact that Stevens is a servant could be considered degrading by some people. Look back through the book and see if you can find other examples like the one you've given.

    Sources:
    http://essayinfo.com/essays/literature_essay.php
    http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-good-essay-english...

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    Posted by linda-allen on Monday January 28, 2008 at 9:31 AM