Hard Decisions In Lyddie, By Katherine Paterson
In Life, we are always faced with hard decisions. We are sometimes forced to choose between decisions that support you or your family. Lyddie is faced with just that. In 1991 Katherine Paterson wrote the novel “Lyddie.” The main character Lyddie lived with her family but then is separated from them when a bear invades her house and is mistaken for the end of the world. Lyddie’s father sells the farm so she has to work at a mill in Lowell that pays little and the working conditions are very poor.She has the choice to sign a petition to try and convince the corporation to give workers better pay and working conditions. Lyddie should not sign the workers’ rights petition because of her financial needs and the risk of being blacklisted. Lyddie
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In chapter 12, Lyddie gets a letter from her mother considering baby Anges dying. Lyddie’s mother wants her to send more money to help Judah and Clarissa. Lyddie thinks to herself this, “She must work harder. She must earn all the money to pay what they owed, so she could gather her family together back on the farm while she still had family left to gather. The idea of living alone and orphaned, and without brother or sister-a life barren of land and family like Diana’s.”(88) In this quote Lyddie is eager to pay off her family farm debts before she has no more family to be with. Lyddie also fears that her family will end up like Diana’s. If Lyddie lost her family, she would be alone and have no one left to love. Signing the petition would increase her chances of leaving with a non honorable discharge. This means she will lose her chance to provide for the family farm. Next Lyddie tries to determine what would happen if she was late to paying the financial needs for the family farm. In chapter 15, Lyddie is in the mill and lets her mind wander. “She could hardly keep her mind on her work. What was the use of it anyway if the farm was gone? But it couldn’t be! Not after all her sweating and saving.”(122) In this quote, Lyddie inquires what would happen if she was too late and failed to save her family farm. Her saved money would be put to waste and her work would’ve been for nothing. In conclusion Lyddie shouldn’t sign the petition because that risks losing her job which pays money and little money is still better than no money at
In chapter 12, Lyddie gets a letter from her mother considering baby Anges dying. Lyddie’s mother wants her to send more money to help Judah and Clarissa. Lyddie thinks to herself this, “She must work harder. She must earn all the money to pay what they owed, so she could gather her family together back on the farm while she still had family left to gather. The idea of living alone and orphaned, and without brother or sister-a life barren of land and family like Diana’s.”(88) In this quote Lyddie is eager to pay off her family farm debts before she has no more family to be with. Lyddie also fears that her family will end up like Diana’s. If Lyddie lost her family, she would be alone and have no one left to love. Signing the petition would increase her chances of leaving with a non honorable discharge. This means she will lose her chance to provide for the family farm. Next Lyddie tries to determine what would happen if she was late to paying the financial needs for the family farm. In chapter 15, Lyddie is in the mill and lets her mind wander. “She could hardly keep her mind on her work. What was the use of it anyway if the farm was gone? But it couldn’t be! Not after all her sweating and saving.”(122) In this quote, Lyddie inquires what would happen if she was too late and failed to save her family farm. Her saved money would be put to waste and her work would’ve been for nothing. In conclusion Lyddie shouldn’t sign the petition because that risks losing her job which pays money and little money is still better than no money at