Lyddie Essay

How would you feel if you were working in a place with loud, clattering, uncovered machines with air that you can hardly breathe in? Imagine working in a place with these working conditions. In the novel “Lyddie” by Katherine Patterson, Lyddie Worthen, a young girl who works hard to support her family and the family’s debts. She was the mother figure of her family. She was then sent to work at a tavern to pay the debts. However, Lyddie is fired and she decides to work at the the textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. At the mills, her friends tell her about a petition that protests the horrible working conditions there Lyddie should not sign the petition because she is accustomed to the noise, speed and strength/ energy required/ needed to do the work. She is happy with the amount of pay she gets, and later on, she is responsible for taking care of Rachel. On the other hand, others believe that Lyddie is overworking herself, but actually, she is willing to take the risks and work that hard. In the novel, Patterson states, “It was almost as if they had exchanged natures, as though she had become perfectly tuned with the roaring, clattering, beasts in her care.” (97) This tells us Lyddie is accustomed to the work that she does. She is no longer affected by the loud noises. The novel states, “She had done so well on her two, then three machines that Mr. Marsden gave her a fourth loom to tend.” (98) Lyddie is working hard and doing well on her work that Mr. Marsden, the overseer, gives her more looms to tend to. However, Lyddie is capable of tending all of those looms while she still completes it diligently. The novel also states, “Lyddie demonstrated- her powdered fingers pinching, looping, slipping, pulling- all in one fluid motion that magically produced a healed warped thread with no hint of a lump to betray the break. “ (109) This describes to us that Lyddie is skilled and accustomed to the work that she does. She is able to tie a broken warp thread with such