Max M. answered • 04/05/21
Harvard Literature major with 20 years of coaching writers
Yes, definitely!
If those two lines are how you plan to write it, though, I have a couple of suggestions in descending order of importance, so take a look at as many as you have energy for.
First, what is the context of Starbuck's line? By itself, it doesn't say much, so you might very very briefly summarize in your own words what Starbuck is saying is not too late.
Second, what else could you call the quotation besides a quotation? First, "quote" is considered a bit informal, so you'd do better with "quotation" instead. But you'd do better still if you found a more specific word to describe it. Is it Starbuck's plea? An entreaty? A demand? A reminder? Something else? Be bold and pick a word that tells your reader how you understand his line.
Third, if you're up for the challenge, can you condense those two sentences into one? It's kind of nice to incorporate your quotations into your own writing so your reader knows how you're using them. When you leave them hanging out by themselves in the middle of a paragraph, we don't really know what's happening--it's a bit like that weird kid who just suddenly sings a line from a song for no reason...why did he do that? Did something remind him of it? Does he think we'll like it? Does he just want attention? Why? Same thing with quotations. So instead of writing: ""Call me Ishmael." This quote shows that the narrator may be using a different name for some reason." You could instead write: "The narrator introduces himself, "Call me Ishmael," a suggestion that he may be using an assumed name." Make sense?
Happy writing!
